How to show a 22 month old to chew his food?

Question

I baby sit him and i have notice that he does not chew his food he just passes it maybe a lil smush with his pallet and that is all, he does have teeth. i have told the mother and she was like i don't know what to do. so since i am with him mon-fri. i thought why not me teach him.. so if u have advice please send it my way thank you

Answer 1

Give him big bits of finger food that he has to chew or they won't fit in his mouth! Bread sticks, or whole biscuits, or slices of apple, or carrot sticks...

Answer 2

This is really a tough task.  He is almost 2, this should not be an issue.  I'm guessing that the parents kept him on baby food way too long and he did not learn how to chew.  He should have been given firmer finger foods at 9-12 mos of age.  Here's an article that may be helpful.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Parenting-Tod...

Answer 3

um that's something children have to learn on there own not a good idea to show them

Answer 4

The first thing I have to say is in regards to the other poster. Please do not give a child that does not chew a carrot or apple to start teaching him. My son has choked on apples and carrots and he does chew well. There is something about their texture that lends itself to being chewed for a long time, and they get tired of doing it so they just try to swallow. Start with a crunchy cracker or something that will soften after a while to prevent choking. Also, my husband taught our son to eat animal crackers my doing it with him. He'd say "take a bite" and then he would take a bite and have our son take a bite. Then he'd say "chew" and he would make a big deal of chewing the food. Really funny but it worked!