Chewing and Swallowing Food

It's a texture thing. lol. They've already learned that their tongue can have a sense of touch and now they are finding out that the rest of the mouth does too (but that it feels totally different).

Most little kids go through this phase (2 of my 3 did). It amuses them to do so. Remind them that they need to swallow and they normally will.

As long as it's not bedtime immediately after, or they aren't about to go running around with half chewed food in their mouth (a choking hazard) there's no real reason why they can't sit for a few minutes with their "chipmunked" food. Just make sure they understand they can't get up until they have swallowed all of it.

My daughter just turned 2 and also had started doing this. I thought it was because she was cutting molars but I took her to the pediatrician and it turned out she had an ear infection on the side she was storing the food on. This was the only indication that there was anything wrong with her ear - she never pulled or rubbed it. After starting the antibiotics, the fever disappeared and so did the food storing. Don't know if this helps you, but I thought I would mention it.

Hi T.,
I have a 28 month old that does the same thing!! I thought she was the only one that was weird!! Ha Ha. She usually starts doing it when she has had enough. Sometimes it is when she has had a few bites and other times she will do it only after a couple of bites when I know she should have more. Sometimes I squeeze her cheeks (not hard!) to make the food go into her mouth. She dosen't like that too much though!! I have to hound her and tell her to swallow her food or you will rot your teeth out!! I think it is so gross!! She is a pretty picky eater too so believe me she does it quite often! She is a grazer though. She will eat little snacks all day. She had trouble gaining weight too before and a little after she was 1 years old. She is much better now but still is on the slender side but in this day and age of obesity I don't think that is such a bad thing! She is in the 90th percentile in height though so I know she is growing!
Wish I had a solution for you but I just found it funny that somebody has a kid that does the same thing!

Both of my children weren't wild about eating small pieces of meat as they began to eat table food. The texture was a little too tough. Try very tender chicken... Don't push the meat as long as she will eat other things with protein.
Good luck!