Each child goes through his own special path of development, therefore, it is impossible to say with an accuracy of one month when he will be ready to fully chew food. According to the opinion of reputable pediatricians, at about the age of 12 months, the baby is already able to eat solid foods. Some children develop this skill several months earlier, while others - several months later. But if by the age of two the child has already developed fine motor skills hands, and he is not accustomed to full food, urgent action is needed.
The child takes the first steps in mastering the chewing instinct already in the fifth month of life, even before that moment, even before the eruption of the first teeth. According to pediatricians, "trying on the tooth" teether, drying or other small item, the baby not only tries to massage swollen and itchy gums, but also trains the jaw muscles. After the first teeth have erupted, the child will be able to chew the crushed pieces of solid food.
The child does not want to chew - what is the reason
There are a number of reasons why the baby refuses to chew and consumes only liquid food. A parent should not immediately get angry and nervous, there is a possibility that this is not a whim, but physiological problems. To find out the causes of problems with chewing, it is worth observing the child's behavior, analyzing the situation. Sometimes it takes a while to get used to a new meal.
There are such reasons for the lack of chewing skill:
Improper feeding
This is the main reason that the baby does not want to part with his favorite puree and switch to an "adult" diet. Overly caring parents offer their baby such a wide selection of liquid dishes that the baby simply does not want something else. Sometimes the mother feeds her child with cereals and mashed potatoes because of fears that he will choke: you should not be afraid, he will spit out a piece that has not been chewed.
Unformed skills
It has been noticed that babies who were artificially fed immediately after birth are reluctant to refuse liquid food. The reason for this is undeveloped jaw muscles: in order to get enough, you need to work hard, and to get the nutritional mixture from the nipple, you don't need a lot of work. Sometimes it happens that the baby is forbidden to "try on the tooth" steering wheels, various safe items, they do not offer a teether: this also does not contribute to development.
Physiological problems
Occasionally physiological problems can cause unwillingness to chew food. The little gourmet tries to swallow the food, but suddenly begins to cough, and he has to spit out the unchewed pieces. Difficulty swallowing is caused by common diseases of the larynx and oral cavity - stomatitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis. Any attempt to chew food causes pain in the baby, he is forced to eat ground food. To identify such diseases, you need to visit a dentist, surgeon and neurologist.
There are several ways to teach your baby to eat "adult" food. If you apply several methods at once, success is assured. At first, it is recommended to feed mixed - liquid food interspersed with solid foods, so that he gets used to the new diet. The main principle transition to a new diet - not to be led by the crumbs. If something doesn't work out, you can't show it, it's better to try it next time.
Lead by example
There is nothing better for teaching a little gourmet something new, as learning from the example of parents and other adults Calmly tell that from now on you will be eating together, and he has already grown up in order to eat ordinary food, and not just mashed potatoes. In order to develop the crumb's desire to eat solid food, show him a treat, a piece of colored marmalade is ideal. Take a leisurely bite of the delicacy, interest the child, let him ask for a piece.
Stop chopping food
If the kid saw the process of cooking, he should have noticed a crush, blender or other object for turning any dish into puree. One day, tell the baby that the blender is broken or missing, and you will have to eat food without grinding, whole. If the little gourmet doesn't like it, explain that this is only one time, next time everything will be the same, but now you need to eat everything.
Have a snack outside
If the parents are not the authority for the child, you should try to use the authority of other children. Try to be on the street more often, on the move, in catering establishments, at picnics. When the baby sees how other children carelessly eat any food, he will also want to try "for the company", there everyone will be indifferent to his culinary requests and whims.
Modern pediatrics has placed the stages of a baby's development within a certain age range. There are times when it is necessary to introduce complementary foods, start feeding with a spoon, teach the baby to hold it on its own and chew solid food. According to doctors, already at the age of one, it is necessary to teach a child to chew correctly.
general information
When the baby begins to give solid food, he refuses it, even if all the teeth are in place. She does not want to pick up a spoon at all, she ceases to be interested in food or begins to choke on pieces. About, how to teach a child to chew and swallow, Komarovsky says the following:
- There are no children who have not learned the skills of swallowing and chewing before the age of five.
- The chewing reflex is present in every person, only its activation occurs in everyone at different times.
- Only parents can hinder the development of this process.
Parents are sometimes overprotective, they do not give the baby food in the form of solid food, because they are afraid that he might choke. The result is that by the age of two, the baby is still receiving puree-like food.
To teach a child to chew at 2 years old, first of all, you need to offer him solid food more often.
This is a rather acute problem for those who have been breastfeeding for a long time and have not tried to accustom them to other foods. First you need to check the presence of teeth... If there are only two of them, then it is better not to let the baby gnaw a bagel or fruit, since he can bite it off, but it is unlikely to chew.
The best option is to introduce solid foods gradually. For a start, you can limit yourself to mashed potatoes, then add a few small pieces to it. Subsequently, you can move on to thick, homogeneous food, which in the future can be replaced with food with the presence of solid fragments.
Refusal to eat without cartoons- is also a very common problem. Many children try to imitate their parents who eat and watch TV. For some mothers, it is quite normal to turn on cartoons to distract the baby's attention in order to feed him.
In this case, the baby will eat more, however, the production of gastric juice does not occur, therefore, such a meal will not be beneficial. Food will become harder to digest, which can lead to stomach ailments.
It happens that the baby gets sick, and in the background high temperature refuses to eat, he may vomit. Komarovsky recommends not to force-feed the child after vomiting, it is better to give a little warm water and put him to bed.
While accustoming the crumbs to solid food, one should not show aggression, do not forget that the reflex is not developed immediately. Some babies begin to bite their nails in early age, this should not be allowed.
In the first months of life, the baby receives breast milk(or its substitutes), and with it all the necessary nutrients. During this period, the so-called congenital (unconditioned) reflexes are expressed in children, first of all - sucking, as well as a protective "pushing out" reflex: when solid or large particles of food enter the baby's mouth, child automatically pushes out foreign objects with the tongue so as not to choke. In addition, the gag reflex is sufficiently developed (it is caused by irritation of the back or root of the tongue, for example, with a spoon). Aged from 4 to 6 months these reflexes weaken, which is the reason for the introduction of complementary foods into the children's diet and the beginning gradual the transition from liquid food to solid, from the sucking process to the chewing process. Now it becomes clear why the attempts of parents of early (up to 3-4 months) starting to spoon-feed their child cause "protests", the baby pushes the spoon out, spits out the food, and sometimes vomiting may occur. So, after 4-6 months, the toddler is able to eat puree food from a spoon, but food containing even small lumps is recommended to be introduced into the children's diet during the period of active teething (as a rule, from 6-7 months and not earlier). It is this time that is considered the most favorable in order to accustom baby to more solid food - the crumb reflexively pulls hard objects into the mouth in order to "scratch" the gums. Changes in the baby's behavior can also serve as a permissive "signal" for the transition from mashed potatoes to food with lumps - if he becomes actively interested in food in his and your plate, "begs" your food, puts it in his mouth and bites a spoon, opens his mouth wide when feeding, does not suck food from a spoon, but removes upper lip and tries to chew. The principle of matching the size of food pieces to age categories is strictly observed in the industrial production of canned food for baby food... So vegetable purees according to the degree of grinding are divided on homogenized(for children from 4-4.5 months) and rubbed (for children over 6 months). Meat puree are subdivided into homogenized (particle size up to 0.3 mm; intended for children from 6-7 months), puree (particle size up to 1.5 mm; suitable for children from 7-8 months), coarsely ground (particle size up to 3 mm; intended for children from 9-12 months). Grinding degree fish puree: puree (particle size up to 2.5 mm; for children over 8-9 months) and coarse (particle size up to 4 mm); for children from 11-12 months. The baby will be able to eat solid food, food in pieces (for example, meat or fish) when he has a sufficient number of teeth, as a rule, in 12 months and older. The final eruption of deciduous teeth occurs by 2 years.| Try to adhere to the following recommendations for preparing children's meals at home. To receive homogenized puree, boiled vegetables, meat is passed twice through a meat grinder, then, after adding vegetable broth or milk, beat in a blender. After which a homogeneous mass is obtained. Mashed vegetables prepared by boiling with further wiping on a fine grater or passing through a meat grinder once, then add a vegetable broth and mix until puree is obtained. To receive puree with chunks(up to 1.5 mm), it is enough to pass the meat through a meat grinder once, but then mix with a blender, and to obtain larger particles, it is enough to stir the meat scrolled in a meat grinder with a fork or whisk. Coarse puree can be obtained by dividing meat or fish into fibers (split by hand or crush with a spoon, and then finely chop across the fibers. Then add vegetable broth or boiled milk (mixture), and to obtain meat and vegetable puree add mashed vegetables, and stir on a small speed with a mixer. |
For what reasons can a child refuse solid food, food with lumps?
Based on the foregoing, this is a discrepancy between the size of food pieces and age. baby... Most likely, your attempt at early introduction (up to 5-6 months) of food with lumps will be unsuccessful, since at this age the sucking reflex has not yet died out in children, and protective reflexes are automatically triggered. The child is not yet able to remove food from the spoon, much less chew. If the baby has reached 6 months of age, his teeth are erupting, he is interested in food, in dishes, and feeding food with lumps is accompanied by refusal, pushing it out of the mouth, do not despair - repeat your attempts day after day. Not every new dish (e.g. vegetable puree) is liked by children, and in order to finally introduce it into the diet, many attempts are required. Be patient with this - to kid it takes time to get used to new sensations. In no case do not take violent actions, do not force the baby to eat through force - this will not lead to anything good, baby only a negative attitude towards the new consistency of the product and towards food intake in general will be fixed. Many child psychologists offer a version of their own example: before starting to feed baby eat the first spoon from his plate yourself, feigning pleasure in every possible way, showing how delicious it is. Do all movements slowly and expressively so that child had time to consider. A child may refuse to spoon-feed solid food if this action is associated with unpleasant associations, for example, you are giving medicine from the same dish. Therefore, try to give medicine, carry out unpleasant manipulations (look at teeth, etc.) with other objects. Refusal of solid food, and the gag reflex can be caused by the wrong feeding technique, as well as the wrong size of the spoon for the crumbs. A deep introduction of a spoon into the mouth, its large volume can lead to irritation of the root of the tongue, which will certainly cause a gag reflex. These sensations are extremely unpleasant not only for children, but also for adults. Avoid the "fixation" of the gag reflex and negative associations in the baby, observing the correct feeding technique: the spoon should touch the tip of the tongue or its middle. Make sure that the spoon you feed baby, was small in length, width and depth (volume - 2.3-3 ml). Negative attitude baby solids can be caused by introducing new foods too quickly, rapidly increasing the volume of solids. Take your time, try to adhere to medical recommendations for the timing of administration, volume and consistency of food. By the time solid food is introduced into the diet, baby his taste preferences have already appeared, start the introduction of small particles of the product that he likes, paying attention to the well-being of the crumbs and the individual tolerance of the products. Remember that your little one is a non-violent person and that it takes time to get to know something new. And perhaps the most serious reason why child refuses solid food - this is poor health or medical problems. If all your attempts to introduce more solid foods into your diet baby food were correct, but were not crowned with success and the baby still refuses to eat "new" food, perhaps he needs to be consulted by specialists (neurologist, gastroenterologist) to exclude pathology that interferes with eating solid food. Perhaps, to kid you will need treatment and medical supervision. If your child completely healthy, but still continues to be capricious - be patient with the peculiarities of his character. You will succeed!February 18, 2013
Once a mother of two wonderful children turned to me (at her request I will omit the names) with an alarming message that her youngest daughter is 3 years old refuses to eat chunks of solid food(afraid to swallow).
Since this problem is quite interesting, because it relates more to the psychology of a child's perception of a particular situation (provided that bodily health leaves no doubt), I agreed to our meeting.
A Skype consultation was held, during which all issues were worked out, including the girl's anamnesis, her psychological and physical development, as well as the system of relationships in her family.
Hello readers of the Your Child Psychologist blog!
I would like to express my deep gratitude to Tatyana for her invaluable help in my situation.
I am an ordinary mother of two children - a son (6 years old) and a daughter (3 years old). I will say right away that I was prepared for hysterics, but I was not at all ready for the fact that my child would not eat and fell into a stupor. My daughter refused to eat rough food - she only drank (and only fruit kefir, drinking yoghurts, tea and juices). The reason, according to the striker, “ Crumbs interfere and I'm afraid to swallow».
The pediatrician, who looked at my daughter 2 times, said that the child is completely healthy, just wait. But, like any mother who thinks that my child is not eating enough, having read all kinds of horror stories on the Internet, she could not leave this situation. “Why didn't you feed her mashed potatoes ?!” you ask. Yes, because my daughter on mashed potatoes does not open her mouth since 10 months, when she learned to chew adult food, because if mashed potatoes were pushed into her, she spat it out. God forbid, any lump or crumb gets caught (even a clot of yogurt) - the daughter immediately began to scrape everything out of her mouth, spit, even to the gag reflex.
How - my child is hungry, my child does not finish eating, my child is emaciated, my brains were screaming! Therefore, I cooked oatmeal porridge, broccoli, carrots, rubbed it through a sieve (God, I didn't rub it that much in infancy), bought ready-made sweet potato puree (because sweet) and green beans (at least some variety) and mixed it into fruit kefir, orange juice (it turns out orange juice interrupts many of J's flavors), mixed with chocolate milk once a week. If only the daughter received at least some nutrients. And God forbid, if a grain comes across - the daughter spits, if you go too much mashed potatoes - the daughter immediately felt that the taste was changing ...
Since the child is healthy in body (according to the pediatrician), then it is necessary to show the soul, or rather, the brains of the specialist, and not only daughters, but also mine.
I turned to Tatiana after more than two weeks of fasting the child. And so, having sent a detailed letter about the situation, photographs of the child, her drawings, work, my consultation with Tatyana Egorova took place.
Omitting all the details of the conversation, I will say one thing that Tatiana skillfully dotted the "I", directed me in the right direction, pointed out my mistakes and pointed out my further tactics. The hardest hit tactic ever was to shut off my brains, my MOTHER brains. God, and I did it!
Educator-psychologist, neuropsychologist, family counselor and coach on parent-child relationships. She has publications in the magazines "9 Months" and "Nanny" as a medical psychologist, led the heading "Question to a psychologist" in the magazine "9 Months". Published in Rossiyskaya Gazeta. Author of seminars, courses and trainings for parents on practical child psychology.
From the very birth, the baby not only grows, but also develops, every day he learns new skills, learns to roll over, sit, crawl, stand on his legs. In the same way, step by step, the baby learns to eat from the common table. So that the child does not have problems with the work of the gastrointestinal tract, so that he eats in a balanced and correct way, the learning process should take place gradually. First, the baby is offered complementary foods - at about 6 months, unobtrusively, otherwise the child will not develop an interest in food. Milk cereals, vegetable and fruit purees are introduced into the child's diet. All food should be homogeneous so that the crumb does not choke. But sooner or later, mothers begin to think about when to introduce solid pieces into the child's diet? How to do this safely so that the baby does not choke? What if the child refuses solid food and just spits it out? You can find answers to all these questions in this article.
When Should You Teach Your Child to Chew Solid Food?
Chewing is not an innate reflex; it is acquired with age. Chewing hard pieces of food is very important for a child. Correct jaw function and tongue control perfectly develop speech abilities. When the baby actively moves his jaws, gastric juice is produced, food is better absorbed. And also a regular load on the jaw is the formation of the correct bite.
It is very difficult to learn to chew pieces of solid food right away, it is a long and step-by-step process that requires patience on the part of the parents. From the very beginning, the baby is offered vegetable puree or porridge. The consistency of the product is homogeneous, but thick. Now the child needs to work hard and work with his tongue in order to swallow this porridge. Next, the mother should gradually leave tiny pieces in the food. That is, at 8-9 months, it is quite permissible to leave pieces of vegetables or fruits the size of a match head in mashed potatoes, which the baby must chew. It is believed that in a year, a child should already be able to chew small pieces of vegetables, fruits, bread and cookies the size of peas. Gradually, the baby moves to a common table, he is offered larger pieces of food - pasta, potatoes, etc. As for meat, don't expect your baby to be able to chew on a whole piece of boiled beef. It will be much easier for the child if it is minced meat, from which mom prepares meatballs or cutlets. It is believed that by the age of two, the child already knows how to chew completely, moves to a common table and does not differ in this sense from adults. If by the age of two the baby has not learned to fully chew food, it is worth contacting a doctor - a gastroenterologist, an orthopedist, perhaps the matter is in the work of the gastrointestinal tract or problems in the development of the jaw system.
How to teach a child to chew solid foods?
Any child needs to be taught, step by step, this is the main responsibility of parents. And it only depends on you when the kid will master this or that skill. In the struggle to chew food, many problems can arise, which we will try to cope with together.
After 8 months, the child can be offered familiar vegetables and fruits in the nibler. The nibbler is a modern device that is a mesh made of silicone or nylon fabric. A large piece of food (usually a fruit or vegetable) is placed inside the mesh, after which the bag is tightly closed and fixed on a comfortable handle. The design is absolutely safe - you can safely give it to your baby. The child sucks and chews the bag, from which the fruit comes out in the form of juice or small pieces, usually babies like this pastime. Most importantly, it’s a safe way to teach your child to chew and squeeze the gums firmly.
After 8 months, you can teach your child to eat solid foods, namely, give him cookies. But not ordinary, but special for children. It gets soaked quickly, does not get stuck in the throat, very soft and tender. As a rule, babies love this delicacy.
Mom has to keep track of what she cooks and how she does it every day. That is, with age and each new month, it is necessary to increase the size of large particles in the baby's food. First, you can grind food with a blender, then use a fork for this, leaving larger and larger pieces. If you can't keep track of this, just use ready-made mashed potatoes. Each package shows the age for which that portion of food is intended. How older child than larger pieces of vegetables and fruits remain in the puree.
Another way to safely feel bits of solid food on your tongue is to soak the bread. That is, you just need to put pieces of bread in the soup, they will not get stuck in the throat, but the baby will have to work hard to chew these lumps.
Surprisingly, children who have been accustomed to the common table through pedagogical complementary foods do not suffer from the problem of inability to chew. The principle of the technique is the introduction of adult food in pieces. That is, the baby sits on his mother's lap, and if he is interested, he can take small pieces of healthy food from her plate - boiled vegetables, cereals, etc. This is a completely different feeding method, which also has a right to exist.
Sometimes children cannot chew, just because their teeth have not yet grown. Remember, it is worth teaching your baby to eat solid food only when the child has 8-10 teeth.
In the process of mastering the skill, it is important to know the most important rule - take your time and NEVER leave your child alone with food. The crumb can choke, a piece of fruit can fall into the wrong throat, the baby can suffocate very quickly, this is extremely dangerous. It is better to do everything gradually and not give your baby a piece of bread or an apple at 7-8 months.
It so happens that a child who is over a year old does not want to chew, literally chokes on pieces, they cause a gag reflex. As a rule, this is a lack of gradual accustoming. If the baby is gagging, most likely, he is simply unfamiliar with solid food and was constantly fed only mashed potatoes. In fact, this happens very often - mom does not want to fight with capricious child, just wants the kid to finally eat. This happens from time to time, the child grows, but he never gets used to adult food. In this case, you can go for a trick, because children after a year already understand quite a lot. Tell us that the blender is broken and the jars of puree are out. Offer your baby to chop pieces of boiled vegetables himself - give him a plastic fork. Of course, the child will not be able to grind it qualitatively. But sometimes hunger, combined with interest and curiosity, brings wonderful results - the child is happy to put small pieces on a fork and send them into his mouth. And it doesn't matter that half of the contents of the plate will end up on the floor - this is a completely different problem, which you will deal with later.
Teaching a child to chew solid food is easy, but it takes a lot of time and patience. Try to dine next to the baby - put food in front of him and sit down to eat next to him. Firstly, it will teach the child to eat independently with a spoon, and secondly, the child will see how you chew food. Thirdly, this will add independence to him, he himself will choose the size of the pieces that he can chew and eat. As they say, patience and work will grind everything!
Video: how to teach a child to chew
