My daughter is almost 2 and she has just recently started putting food in her mouth and keeping it in her mouth for hours, literally. She then drools all over the place. I've tried plugging her nose to make her swallow but she usually squirms away before she swallows. How do I get her to stop doing this??? It's driving me nuts!
My youngest SS did this...we used to call him chipmunk cheeks! I always worried about him choking on it but I think that is why he did it...he held the food in his mouth till it was nice and mushy then he would swallow it. If it bugs you, I would just make her spit it out...however she will outgrow it...promise!
My son did the same thing, and it drove me absolutely nuts!! At first I thought it was a control thing, and he liked to get a reaction out of me. I tried ignoring it (it was nice to have some peace and quiet when he wasn't talking!!), but would get frustrated when it became nap time or bedtime and I knew he had to get rid of it or he would choke in his sleep, so we would end up holding him down screaming and crying and pull it out with his fingers. What we realized later, though, was that he was getting his 2-year molars and we think having the food back there helped with the pain since it would rub on the gums back there. He hasn't done it since getting his teeth in. So I really have no advice since it will continue to drive you crazy, but maybe it's teeth and will stop on its own...especially with her drooling, it's a definite possibility it is the same as what happened to us!
I would fish it out or have her go back and sit at the table until she swallows or takes it out. Then tell her that food is only for the table, and her mouth has to be empty for her to play. My daughter did this too. I wouldn't make her swallow it though because she might choke.
My son is 4 and he sill does this often ... we were suggested to to do a swallow study ... you may want to check that out.
oh, please don't plug her nose (or hold her down to pull it out with your fingers), you are just setting the stage for food fights that will earn you much greater problems down the road. you can go uber-controlling and only give her tiny bites and no more until she swallows, but that's not much better. making yourself into the food police is a Very Bad Idea. as the other moms have suggested, approach it as a teething issue and help her get more comfortable with what are probably molars coming in. other than that, gently encouraging her to spit out food she doesn't want to swallow, and then ignoring it, are the best things you can do. yes, it will make you nut up. but you're the grown-up, you can handle it. i promise this is not a phase that will last long, and you have much bigger fish to fry.
khairete
S.
