18 month old woes!!

[natnut]

Hi, My 18 mth old boy still eats only mush food....have tried everything consistently and he gags and tries to throw up when i increase the consistency of the food...ive been doing that very slowly but he still cant take the lumpiness. The doc says its OK and that he knows kids of 5 yrs who still eat just mush. Well, any ideas of getting him to increase his adventurousness is welcome...ive taken him to kids play areas with his nfriends for meals to expose him to what they eat without actually saying it (silent exposure), i given him finger food since he's 9 mths but he throws it around and never puts in the mouth. For abt 2 mths now, my only success has been biscuits which he bites and eats. And yes, he does have a few teeth (abt 6). Im quite desperate...any suggestions welcome!!! thanks

[Aliya]

Sounds like he may have some sort of oral food sensitivity.  I would not just rely on a doctor but take him to a child occupational therapist, a friends little girl was like that and she wouldnt eat anything apart from mushed food, once they worked out what it was and worked with her she got over it quite quickly.

[mum 2-2]

I remember seeing a show about this exact problem although the boy in the show was about 3, I think. He had a very good appetite and would eat most things but only once it had been in the blender. He too would gag at anything else. The show was Little Angels by Tanya Byron an English psychologist and child therapist. The show has been on here on one of the BBC channels. The family had success in a matter of days, but I can't remember what they did to change the bahaviour:-( Good luck! She has books too!

[difrent strokes]

my lil girl was a slow starter on the eating front too.
for a while we wondered if there was something wrong with her throat but she outgrew the gagging very very slowly, all on her own.
(i detest doctors and only go to them as a last resort.
my philosophy is to let minor problems sort themselves out. in my experience, overthinking and overtreating have always lead to additional problems that i could have done without)
she was eating mushy food till nearly three. although she could eat cookies, fries, etc just fine.
she's four now and even now i give her much softer food than the adults in the house.... not blended , just cooked for  abit longer.
i think it helps them digest it better and prevents constipation.,
her friends eat regular food and their moms do urge me to give bring her up to speed. but it doesnt bother me. all kids are different ..... its better to accept that than use a cookie cutter approach for everyone.

[throat]

My nephew had eating problems and was in the bottom 5% of his weight. He then had his tonsils removed and bingo he ate like a horse. May not be a little devil thing, it may be a physiological thing. Get your Doc to check out his/ her tonsils and throat.

[mush mush]

I would echo the previous poster about hyper sensitivity.  Does he not like having his hands dirty or ask you to wipe them often?  Google Embarassing Bodies Kids - It is a Channel 4 UK programme and in Episode one there is a case study of a child with fussy eating and sensory hypersensitivity. He eats only milk, mushy cereal and yoghurt apparently

The parents were advised to approach a clinical psychologist who attempts to introduce new textures through play and it seems to work. Good luck!

[Andy&Cass]

We have child with similar problem (now 22 months and only first stage baby food), she has some other issues too, but the feeding one sounds exactly like yours.  We have had lots of investigative work undertaken - conclusion is that she has 'hypersensitive gag reflex' probably caused by her being tube fed in her early weeks (11 weeks premature).  At 22 months she still vomits nearly everyday when she catches some saliva etc at back of tongue, or if she is teething and has runny nose.  Very frustrating and stressful - we feel for you.  As some of the previous posts say this can be helped by occupational and/or speech therapy, but is a very slow process.  The hospitals here have specialised feeding clinics - if you haven't had a referral you should consider attending one eg KK Women & Children's hospital.  Do let us know if you find anything that works - it is very hard to cope with.  A&C

[natnut]

Thank u all for yr suggestions.

I read the books by Byron and she does give some handy tips..tho they have not worked with my son yet...im plodding on tho with them hoping...

some of the tips were :

dont wipe the mouth during feeding
introduce new textures so as to make the child open to finger feeding...i took him to the beach this weekend and he looked at the sand and then at me as if i was mad playim with it...but soon he got into the thick of things too.
introduce a booster chair and eat with the child
food olypics - where the child is encouraged to taste a spoon atleastr
and let the child play with the food ( somethin i never allowed earlier) as thern at some pt the fingers do go in the mouth!!! its az gd book tho havent had much luck yet with the transition food as he's still very much of mush..tho im wonderin whether to force the issue and take away the mush for a day or 2 as the doc seems to suggest.

Anyone done that and how does the toddler react....mine lives on love and fresh air so im afraid doing that will be feeding into his intentions anyway! gosh this is really so confusing

[Trina]

How is he with toothbrushing, does he put up a fight?