My toddler doesn't enjoy eating and is lazy to chew. Up until a few weeks ago he was still eating mashed food. My infant has caught up with his eating and it was depressing to see my two boys eating the same things because it only highlighted the fact that my eldest is so behind in terms of chewing and eating different varieties of food.
My eldest never liked eating so he never had the urge to chew. When he ate, he simply swallowed whatever was given to him. Feeding him has been a struggle for us and we've tried everything so after two years we simply succumbed to him. When he started going to school, we got hit by the reality of how behind he was among his classmates in terms of eating.
I had a good talk with his guidance counselor and we devised a plan that allowed my son to choose to chew and eat because he would be given a prize or we'd take away a privilege if he didn't eat. In order for him to visualize where he was already I made a chart wherein he'd get a happy or sad face for lunch or dinner depending on how he ate for that meal time.
For the first week, if he did not chew and eat his food in 30mins he would get a sad face and he won't be allowed to watch TV. For dinner, we promised him that we would give him his spiderman costume if he gets at least 6 happy faces in one week. We made it clear to him that we won't pressure him and he will be the one to decide what he can get or what will be taken away from him. Surprisingly, he did pretty well for his first 2 weeks.
After halloween we had to change our strategy for dinner time so we told him that he can have any toy that he wants if he gets 12 happy faces in one week. For lunch, if he gets a sad face we still take away his TV on top of the fact that he has one less happy face from his total. So far so good. If he really doesn't like his food, he'll tell me he will settle for a sad face and he'll be ok with no tv. At least now he knows that he has the power to get things or not.
I don't think that there will be a miracle and that my son will start liking all foods. He has added quite a number to his usual food and he eats everything without them being mashed or chopped up so he is improving. At least he feeds himself and he is able to finish his food within his 30 minute deadline. I am proud of him for his marked improvement and I am very grateful to his teachers for taking the time to talk amongst themselves to help us make this change in my son's life.
My son now looks forward to eating and me drawing more happy faces onto his board. Life is good =)
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