16 month old won't eat table food

[MommyInTraining]

My little boy is 16 months old and still won't eat anything that is not mushed up. If I give him a cracker he lets it soften and then just lets it fall out of his mouth. Same with cooked peas, he will let the skin fall back out of his mouth. He won't really drink much out of a cup either. He will take it into his mouth, but let it fall back out. The pediatrician is concerned that he is not eating table food. The last time I tried he wouldn't even eat just regular oatmeal. She feels it is a texture issue and that I need to take him to texture therapy. I am hoping there is something I can do with him to help him along. Have any of you been through this? If so, can you tell me what you did to help your little one swallow the food?

 

Thanks in advance for any help!!!

 

Terri in WA

[swellmomma]

I don't have any ideas to help you. My dd is also 16 months and while she eats most table foods easily some things she still spits back out, the skins of peas is one of those things, she also forgets to swallow when she takes that last sip of water/milk and is pour back out of her mouth. I found for the drink issue, if I give her a straw she still has some spill back out of her mouth but not nearly as much as when we used a sippy. Beyond that idea I have no idea how to help you.

 

I would ask that the dr do a swallowing assessment, which involves a scope down the throat to make sure there is no physical reason for it. And if that shows up normal then look into the texture therapy she recommended.

[Chris in VA]

I don't know about texture therapy from first hand experience, but I do know about sensory issues in young children. Get thee to a therapist! They can work wonders, really. If you find one who is also an OT or PT, they can work with your child on developing the muscles in the mouth and tongue also--and you want that, since speech can also be an issue--

[Macrina]

I agree with the pp's about calling your early intervention office, the county may even cover therapy costs. Meanwhile there is a book the mom's in my speech disorder group swear by for kids who don't eat because of sensory issues- I'll go find the name of it....

[Macrina]

I think it's Just Take a Bite I emailed my friend to be sure- I'll let you know if that was wrong, but I'm sure that was it.

[plansrme]

Try googling "oral defensiveness." This is not uncommon among children who were first given solid foods relatively late in life, as is sometimes the case with children adopted inernationally. Not saying that that's what you did, just that's why it comes up more often in adoptees. Therapy, the earlier the better, is important.

 

Terri

[Tap]

We are in sensory therapy right now with dd2 but for different reasons. If there is therapist who specializes in this, I would absolutely look into therapy.

 

We have seen HUGE changes in dd2 in just 3 months.

 

Good luck!

 

Tap

[lighthouseacademy]

I am going to have a somewhat dissenting opinion than most of the previous posters. I have heard over and over and over a fear that if we don't start giving solids early in life they will have oral defensiveness or texture issues or whatever. Yes, there may be some that do, but I don't think it is as big a problem as it seems to be portrayed as now (just like I don't think that speech therapy is as necessary as many believe- there are some real needs but most are just late bloomers). Anyway, I have 3 kids. NONE of my kids would tolerate anything food wise in their mouth other than milk until they had teeth, sitting up, pincher grasp, loss of tongue thrust reflex, and could crawl with their belly off the floor. These are all readiness signs that our society has been forgetting. Society as a whole starts saying 4-6 months but forgets about the other signs. Another thing people forget is that as the various teeth come in, the body begins to secrete more digestive enzymes. Prior to the eye teeth coming in, the starch enzymes are very limited- those are the ones in the mouth for CHEWING the grains. Once the eye teeth come in, they have all their enzymes.

Once my kids had all readiness signs, they ate a little off my plate. I never mashed anything much though, I literally fed them off my plate. Even then they really didn't want much. They nibbled here or there, but I didn't encourage eating anything. My oldest was nearly a year before he wanted to eat anything on a regular basis, my second was nearly 15 months, and my youngest was 16 months. In the case of the youngest, part of her delay was that I didn't bring her to the table to eat with us until she was older because it was easier to leave her playing on the floor by the table than to bring her to table level so she didn't really have the concept of wanting to eat like everyone else. So, long story short, none of them have any problems and are in fact some of the least picky kids I know. Of course, my 6 yr old is going through an I hate mushrooms phase and my 5 year old is going through an I won't eat red peppers if I can see them, even though I used to chow on them phase, but that is pretty typical. So, if it were my kids, I wouldn't get worked up- then again, I was nursing all the way through my children's transition, so they were getting good nutrition despite not eating solids. I would present what I was eating and allow the child to take it or leave it.

 

<donning my flame retardant coat> I tend to be a bit of a wait and see person. I have had speech delayed children- my youngest didn't have a single word until nearly 22 months (she speaks pretty appropriately for her age now, in only 8 months of her being ready to begin speaking rather than a year and a half like some kids)- but I wasn't neglecting them by not seeking early intervention quickly. I watched them, and listened to my intuition, which, I believe, as a mother we are blessed with in order to know what is best for our children.

[KJB]

My friend's baby had William's Syndrome. Until age 2 the little girl ate nothing but her milk and not very much of that. She would hamster her food in the pockets of her cheeks and spit it all out as soon as her Mom had finished attempting to feed her.

 

The therapist began to battle the little girl's food issues by trying foods like Cheetos. The little girl branched out to healthier foods fairly quickly but she still has major food issues and growth developmental delays.

 

It might be a place to start anyway. I think getting involved with a therapist is a good idea. You can always quit the therapy if the issue is resolving but in the meantime you might get some helpful strategies.