4-year-old baby eats without chewing, what to do?

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Most cases of 4-year-old children not knowing how to chew are due to the wrong method of weaning or inappropriate eating habits. Here are some effective causes and solutions to help children chew food effectively and support their comprehensive development.

1. Learn about chewing activity

Chewing is the process by which food is crushed by teeth. This is the first step of digestion and it increases the surface area of ​​the food to allow digestive enzymes to break down more efficiently.
At about 6 months of age, infants begin to explore food using a bite and release pattern. Newborns start working their mouths as early as 7 to 8 months as they are introduced to new foods and textures. They try to manipulate food in their mouth to experience taste, which will lay the foundation for later chewing food. As an infant's diet gradually changes from soft to solid textures, babies begin to move their tongue and cheeks more, helping to develop their chewing reflex further.
As children pass their first birthday, they develop better coordination to chew food properly. This coordination mainly involves the movement of food with the tongue - to the side for chewing, to the center and to the other side. The side-to-side movement constitutes the act of chewing. At this stage, your baby's senses are developed enough to judge if food needs more chewing. If it does, your baby will move food from side to side and chew it again. When you have chewed enough, the food is pushed down the throat to swallow. This process is better regulated by the age of 2 or 3 years, and more perfect at the age of 4 - 5 when the chewing muscles are smoother and faster.

2. The reason why 4-year-olds don't know how to chew food

There are many 4-year-old children who do not know how to chew, only swallow food and this will be extremely harmful to the baby's intestines such as indigestion. In case the mother continues to feed the baby with rice soup or porridge, the baby will be even more lazy to chew.

Here are some main reasons why children do not chew food :
Lack of interest in food: Many parents when preparing food for their children do not pay attention to the variety of dishes that make children bored. Sometimes children also have a preference for foods that are easy to chew, causing them to lose interest in trying foods with different tastes and textures. Absence of solid foods at the beginning of solid foods: When the baby is almost 1 year old, it is advisable to offer foods with different flavors and textures. For a child who is completely dependent on breast milk at this age, chewing can be quite a daunting task to handle later in life. Delay in introducing solid foods: Chewing is a skill that needs to be developed fairly early in life. If you only offer solid foods after your child has grown, your child may have difficulty accepting such foods and prefer milk or liquid foods. Children respond to your pressure to eat by sucking: You are mistaken that the food you prepare for your baby needs to be consumed and you are inadvertently forcing your child to eat the entire portion. Too much pressure makes children lose their appetite, lose interest in food and instead of chewing, they will suck. Too much junk food: If kids already get enough calories from snacks, it's certain that at mealtimes they won't be able to finish their portion. Being too full also makes children lose interest in main meals and it is natural for them not to chew food. Children have problems with jaw deformities or digestive problems. Children are distracted by toys or TV programs by eating while playing or eating while watching TV. Children who eat without chewing for a long time will lead to food sucking, loss of appetite and loss of appetite, more dangerous than anorexia. A 4-year-old child who does not know how to chew will greatly affect the child's digestive system, the function of the jaw muscles is affected, the stomach does not function properly, it may be overloaded because the food is not crushed at an appropriate level or not. Digestive enzymes do not work at their full capacity to digest food because there is only liquid food.

3. How to help 4-year-olds chew food

A 4-year-old child who refuses to chew when eating is a concern, because at this time, children are gradually adapting to eating like adults and mastering chewing and biting activities. If this situation persists and you have applied many methods without success, please refer to a few suggestions below:
Do not be impatient to force your baby to chew but yell at him, this will affect his psyche. and make them more timid before meals. So make sure you don't lose your temper when trying to feed and chew food. Make mealtime a fun activity. Choose the right foods: There are sure to be foods that children enjoy when they eat, and moms should find new ways to prepare them to enrich the menu for children. Motivate children to eat better. You can start with soft, easy-to-eat foods such as slightly boiled vegetables, soft casseroles, chopped fruit. Feed when they are hungry: Children see chewing as an unnecessary activity and will do everything to avoid it. A full baby barely even touches any food that requires chewing. So turn the tables by offering them when your child's hunger is at its peak. At first, the child may be able to resist but hunger soon takes over and leaves him with no choice but to eat the food by chewing it thoroughly. Let your child feed himself: Children who refuse to chew often have self-control and want to do things their own way. You can also use this very point to your advantage. Prepare mealtimes for your child with foods in bowls and let your child learn to eat with a spoon or chopsticks. Babies will enjoy being able to control and choose the foods they like. Don't worry if your child only eats a little. That's a pretty good start on their own. Do not let children eat while playing or watching TV, smartphones. This will distract the child, not feel the food and sometimes even forget to chew. In addition, parents should also add necessary micronutrients such as: Zinc, selenium, chromium, vitamins B1 and B6, ginger, acerola fruit extract (vitamin C), ... to improve taste, increase strengthen the immune system so that children are less likely to get sick and have less digestive problems.
The improvement of symptoms can take place for a long time, so it is recommended that parents be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients for children, even through eating or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow simultaneous use of many types or continuously change the types of functional foods.
In case you have tried all the above methods and the child does not cooperate, it is best for the mother to take the baby to the nutrition counseling centers to receive reasonable advice for the child's condition.
Currently at Vinmec International General Hospital, there are general health checkup packages for babies. In the health checkup package, your baby will receive a comprehensive examination, from eyes, teeth, blood pressure, weight to necessary tests, combined with imaging diagnosis and assessment of muscle function. liver, kidney, blood sugar, nutritional status and hepatitis B virus. The examination package helps you check your baby's overall health, screen for symptoms for early detection and treatment if needed.