Toddler Meal Time

At this age... a baby will NOT know how to portion food, nor in his mouth.
Put it this way, even 2 year olds and 3 year olds do that.
Over stuff their mouth.
Even a Teenager will do that.... but by this age they know better.

You cannot 'teach' him, nor expect him at his age to 'know' this.
So you have to always supervise while he eats... due to choking dangers... and if they aspirate their food. Which can happen.

As he gets older, he will learn. Just not yet.
Keep food pieces real small... and no hard foods. It is a choking hazard.
Keep foods small or foods that will melt in the mouth right away.
Also, bread, is a choking hazard, because the longer it is in the mouth, it gets 'gummy' and can can get stuck in the throat. Causing suffocation.

Yes, meal time is tedious at this age and throughout toddler-hood. Because they are not yet, self-reliant and cannot self-gauge eating, at-will.
He is so young.

As he eats, wait until he has chewed and then swallowed what he already has in his mouth before giving him more.

ALSO, what I taught my kids is, when they were older babies/toddlers, is that if they have too much food in their mouths and cannot then talk or swallow it... they HAVE to tell me... or point to their mouth and throat.... so that I know they are in trouble or cannot swallow. AND I taught them to simply spit out their food when too much in in their mouth. AND I would not scold them for that. To me, their safety is more important. But both my kids did over-stuff their mouths when younger toddlers/babies.

But again, your baby is too young to portion foods and in his mouth at-will yet, or understand completely.

all the best,
Susan

Does he use utensils? I have to constantly remind my girl to "use the fork/spoon," but it seems to keep the bites manageable. I also praise her when she remembers to use them on her own. If she starts taking bites really fast, I also remind her to "take a drink" to make her pause in between bites. She's also 18 months old and this hasn't been too much of an issue for us. Good luck!

Our kids did this, but at an older age due to sensory issues. I think your son is pretty age appropriate. You can do things to help him feel his mouth, though. Something crunchy before meal time helps. We did Pirate's Booty at the recommendation of a feeding therapist. It seemed to help. It's been so long, I don't remember the other things any more. You might get him a Beckman Tri-Chew to have at other times. It is made to help a kid find his mouth. I'm not saying your kid has issues, these are just things that we've found friend's babies like, as well. He'll figure it out eventually. GL!

My 19-month old does it as well. And bless his heart, after he spits it out he just grabs a bite from it and starts over.

They'll learn...