My son, who is 4, has always had texture issues. As a baby, he was well over 1 year old before eating any table food or anything like Cheerios, Puffs, etc. He still doesn't like foods with a different texture (ex: Jello, cottage cheese, etc). Over the years he will sometimes spit food out. I found that he usually did this when he had taken too big of a bite or he will also chew his food way too long. He then spits his food out and the meal is pretty much done. I did teach him the sign for napkin so he can ask for a napkin instead of spitting it out on his plate. Recently, it seems to be getting worse. At his 4 year check up last week I asked the dr. about it and she suggested a sticker chart. I made one and explained it and he has absolutely no desire in using it. I have also tried reminding him not to chew so long and cutting his food into small pieces. I have also tried to reward him with a treat after dinner if he doesn't spit any food out. We still have issues. He usually eats what I serve so I don't want to start the whole restaurant thing by asking him what he wants. I did have him look through some cooking magazines and tell me what he likes. I made tacos last night at his request and he ate 1.5 tacos before chewing too long and then he ended up spitting out a minuscle amount and then he was done. He had leftovers for lunch today and again ate most of a taco before spitting a bite out. I am wondering if anyone has had a child with problems such as these and what they did to overcome them? We have also tried ignoring the behavior to no avail. I am becoming more concerned because he has always been on the slim side and he only gained 2 lbs over the last year and I don't want his health to be effected. Thanks.
I thank everyone for their advice. I actually took him to an ENT yesterday and found out that he had more than likely had a bout of Tonsillitis. His Pediatrician wasn't concerned that he had white spots all over his tonsils but told me it was food particles stuck in his large cavity tonsils. Needless to say that after he stopped spitting out his food as much I looked in his throat again and his tonsils were no longer covered in white stuff. I didn't trust his ped. diagnosis and took him to the ENT because I was concerned it might be something more serious as this is at least the 3rd time this year his tonsils have looked like that. Thankfully he has fully recovered. He still does occasionally spit food out if the bite is too big or he has chewed it too long or the texture is too weird but he is at least eating. He now will spit out a bite maybe once a week versus the many bites during one meal while his tonsils were covered. Thank you for all of the advice. Dinnertime is now back to the enjoyable time that is was before.
I second Sylvia G's input - it sounds like a sensory issue more than a picky eater. As a special ed teacher for kids this age, I see this kind of thing often. I would call child find just to rule it out -an evaluation is free, and a speech therapist or an occupational therapist could probably help you get him over it fairly quickly. Her link is a great one too, please check it out and GL!
Deb
I tend to be more on the strict disciplinarian side, so take this with a grain of salt...
We have a rule that if it goes in, it does not come back out. Obviously if something is so rancid or hot or nasty that it invokes an automatic response, then I'm not going to enforce that rule. However, if it's simply that you don't "like" it, then you must chew and swallow it. I won't force my daughter to eat more, but its very important to me that she learn that she can't just spit out food b/c it is rude to the other people eating with her.
I'm sorry. I can talk so much and never say a thing. Anyway, have you tried PediaSure? At least then you know he's getting his essential nutrients until he stops spitting out...Just an idea. I would think it would taste like a milkshake or something. Of course, then there's the liquid issue...
I didn't go through the same exact situation, but wanted to share my experiences in case they help. Our darling son had always been quirky - wanted me to cut the tags out of shirts, didn't like loud noises - but it was when we started him in preschool at 3 that they really were able to identify the quirks as part of a pattern. Turns out he has Sensory Integration Disorder (SID or Sensory Processing Disorder - SPD) where the body over-responds to certain stimulus - an itchy shirt literally feels like it is attacking his skin. The SID takes many forms - for some kids they under-respond to stimuli. Part of what we were then clued into was the "picky eating habits" were really related to the texture of foods. We worked with an occupational therapist trained in SID to help him with these issues. It was a real eye opener for me to go through this and realize how many of my own quirks were just not noticed in childhood (I just can't eat cottage cheese). I say all this because when the preschool began pointing out behaviors that they felt should be addressed, we talked to our pediatrician who is a big proponent of uncovering and addressing SID. He helped point me to resources beyond what the preschool knew about and really supported our decisions. Having worked through this, at 6 our guy no longer freaks out over loud noises, isn't bothered by clothes or tags, and asks to try new foods. I know that we talked about chewing/eating strategies with the occupational therapist, so there are ways that you can help your little one build up some tolerance. If you think that anything in my story rings true to your experience, take a look at this checklist of clues to SID. http://www.sensory-processing-disorder.com/sensory-proces... I'd be happy to talk further and share more resources. It was hard to think of a label to describe my incredible kid, but having that as a starting point for research and support was really helpful. Many school systems will do the evaluation for free so that these kinds of issues are identified and treated early. In Montgomery Count MD the program is called Child Find.
Big hugs to you and your son!
This just may be a sign that your son has had enough! If he consumes a bit then spits it out, he probably has reached his limit. Perhaps a solution could be that you give him half of what you would normally give and allow him to ask for additional food, if he desires it.
I don't necessarily have a spitter, but I have a child who is very reluctant to try anything new. Her therapist had us list all of the things we give to her without even thinking (going out for ice cream, staying up to watch TV, Computer games, a new toy, a treat like a tastycake, etc). Then he got out poker chips that would be the new "money" of the house. Each thing was listed with a value of poker chips, from 5 to 250 chips. For each behavior that we wanted she earned a certain amount of poker chips and then she could spend them on things on her chart. It worked well for a while. So maybe for each meal without spitting he gets 2 chips and then he gets to spend them when he wants to. If you use this method, it is important that there is no credit or ious, i.e. if he has no chips, he cannot get the things on the chart. It could be a texture thing with your son that he can learn to overcome, or it could be just one of those traits. I remember as a child I wouldn't eat the last bit of anything that my hand touched. As an adult and I have become aware of the habit I have overcome it somewhat.
Good luck.
Hi S. B~Unfortunately I don't have any good advice for you. You mentioned being concerned about his health being affected, have you tried giving him pediasure as a nutritional supplement to his eating? This might help to put some weight on him. They come in 3 or 4 flavors. Hope this helps.
Hey S. - it's M. from the mom's group. C does the same thing. We attribute it to a host of things -- taking too big a bight, getting tired of the chewing, and also LARGE tonsils. I think when he just gets too much in there he knows it's hard to swallow.
C is different though because if he sits at the table long enough, he'll eventually eat everything on his plate - macerated food and all. Yes, gross.
Is your doctor concerned over his lack of weight gain? Has your son shown any other signs of being unhealthy -- lots of sickness, lack of energy, etc?
Make sure his vitamin contains zinc. A lack of zinc will cause food to have no flavor and so not be very appetizing. My son saw a nutrionist when he was very young because he was taking in only 400 calories a day. The zinc worked like a charm in about a week or two. The Vitaman Shop carries a brand with th zinc but the name escapes me now. Go check out the kids vitamins in that store and see what you can find. Good luck!
We are having the same issues with my 3 year old son. I guess I see it as two separate things: 1-the spitting food out. 2- not eating as much as I think he needs to for good nutrition. We have decided he will eat what I make for everyone for dinner, like you, I odn't just want to fix what he likes, but I keep in mind what he likes when I'm planning the entire meal (just like I keep in mind what I like and what my husband likes). But the general policy I have is he can take or leave what he wants (though I try to get him to at least taste everything)...if he doesn't eat then he must not be hungry. Even so, I don't feel like that is an excuse for bad table manners (like the spitting or complaining that it's "gross"). So when my son spits stuff out, I usually say something like "We don't spit our food out, it's not nice. If you don't want to eat it then that's fine, but no spitting." I also remind him to take small bites and make sure I cut up things into small pieces that I know he has issues with. Is your doctor concerned about him weight? It could be that he is just naturally slim. Unless your doctor is concerned, I would just decide what your meal rules are going to be and stick with them. Good luck!
A child having issues with texture? I can totally understand. Not because of my kids, but because of me. There are things that I refuse to eat because of the texture. Persimmons come to mind. They make my mouth feel like the inside of a sweatshirt. And I'm 53! As long as he eats, and the doctor doesn't seem concerned, I wouldn't worry about it.
Hi. Could it be that all the chewing is just making him tired?
Reading you issue, I don't really see it as an issue. Yes, I can see where its inconvienent, or gross if your at a restaurant, but I don't see it as a problem. Our kids are 2 and 8 and the 8yr old sometimes still spits his food out. We make sure that he has a napkin handy at all times.
As for the weight issue, is he on a daily vitamin? Have you tried the PediaSure shakes? They are made for picky eaters in mind.
M.
