Holding food in mouth...

[denimtiger]

I'm getting quite frustrated with my 25-month-old dd's not-so-enchanting new habit. She's holding food in her mouth for LONG periods of time, not chewing or swallowing it. It's happened a couple of times today. Tonight it was a chunk of cheese and tortilla, and she just held it in her mouth for almost a half an hour (I'm not exaggerating), tortilla juice dripping down her chin, wanting to run around and play. Earlier, it was half a grape... when she finally swallowed that, she took a whole grape and held it in there, telling me "mommy! I put the whole thing in my mouth!" (we've been working on having her bite a grape in half instead of eating the whole thing). Later, it was something else that was grossing me out (I don't remember what, but I remember telling her I didn't want to talk with her until she chewed and swallowed because it looked yucky). She does it with liquids too.

I'm probably making it a bigger deal than it is, but it starts to worry me. She is doing it with her last bite, meaning she's getting up from the table and running around. If I try to reseat her, then she starts tantruming, making me worry about her choking (especially with a chunk of slimy tortilla), and then I'm also worried about her having that food all gooey in her mouth for so long and what that will do to her teeth if she's doing this several times a day!

Tonight, I finally got a tissue and pulled the tortilla out of her mouth, after asking her several times to please chew and swallow it. After I threw it away, her response was to ask "what happened to my tortilla, mommy?"

Anyone else have a toddler who does this, or any suggestions?

[adlib77]

I had a toddler (now 8) who did this and we wound up with MAJOR dental issues (several deep cavities when she was 3 that had to be filled) as a result. I was not as insistent about getting it out of her mouth as I should have been. I wish I had some brilliant advice, but I don't!

Maybe try suggesting before she takes her last bite that you save it on the plate? Maybe the issue is that she wants to save it until she's done playing?

[denimtiger]

Originally Posted by adlib77

I had a toddler (now 8) who did this and we wound up with MAJOR dental issues (several deep cavities when she was 3 that had to be filled) as a result. I was not as insistent about getting it out of her mouth as I should have been. I wish I had some brilliant advice, but I don't!

Maybe try suggesting before she takes her last bite that you save it on the plate? Maybe the issue is that she wants to save it until she's done playing?

Well, in a way I guess I'm glad to know I'm not having senseless anxiety about her having the food in there -- she shouldn't. Thanks for the insight!

She's actually not a big eater at all... by "last bite" I don't mean the last item on her plate, I mean the last possible amount of food anyone on this planet is going to convince her to eat at this meal... which is sometimes also her first or second bite. To be honest, it completely shocks me that she'd be willing to have food in her mouth for that period of time.

I insist that she sits when she eats (or I try), but most meals involve her popping up and down several times... I don't take her plate away for a LONG time, and even when I do, she knows that I would get her anything to eat that she asked. She very rarely asks for food of any kind. She'd rather nurse.

I guess maybe I'm just going to have to continue removing the food with a tissue, and then brushing her teeth, which I did tonight. (And she wasn't upset at all). I just wish I knew why she was doing it, or how I could get her to just chew and swallow.

[Okapi]

My 19 mo old DD does the same thing - has pretty much since we started offering food. And not just with food. We've come in from outside, she's fussing b/c she's hungry, asking for milk but won't drink it, and I end up digging a rock out of her mouth. She, also, is not a big eater. DH said when he was young he often had trouble swallowing food (like mild anxiety about it - the way some people have trouble swallowing pills), so we wonder if maybe that's something she got from him.

We just try to make sure we give her small bites, and if it seems like she's chipmunking, we talk to her about chewing and swallowing. GL.

ETA: And also, as PP mentioned, we brush her teeth a couple time a day. She seems to like doing it so long as I let her sit in the sink, lol.

[foreverinbluejeans]

I would worry about choking. Just tell the child to swallow the food or you will take it out. Then take it out with a napkin.

[Spirit Dancer]

LOL, sorry but I find this funny. Where do toddlers come up with this stuff?
If it were me I would ignore it. But I am not too worried about chocking. I would just not let her go to bed with it still in her mouth. LOL, wait till she tries to kiss you at the same time!