- Seeing your little one do this
when you're introducing solids is alarming
for a lot of parents.
But while it looks like he's choking,
he's actually gagging,
and it's happening because his mother
is making one really common mistake with spoonfeeding
that can cause children to constantly gag
and spit out the food.
And as you can see, when this is happening,
it makes introducing solids really difficult.
Luckily, it's an easy one to fix.
The gagging you just saw is happening,
because young children have very small mouths,
which means they can only manage
a very small amount of food at a time.
Their gag reflex is also much further forward on their tongue
and much more sensitive than ours.
That means if you place too much food on the spoon,
they become overwhelmed by it,
and struggle to manage the large mass in their mouth,
and move it back to swallow properly.
This then leads to triggering their gag reflex,
and them spitting it out,
which is what we're seeing in this video.
So a simple way to avoid this is to make sure
you only place a small amount of food on the spoon.
By doing this, you're ensuring that when the food
does enter their mouth, they can effectively manage it
and move it back to swallow
without triggering their gag reflex.
But even with tiny amounts of food on the spoon,
you might notice your little ones
still gagging on some foods.
And that's because there are a few more common causes
that we're going to walk through right now,
which can trigger the gag reflex
starting with the temperature of the food.
Often we feed our babies warm or room temperature foods.
And while this is a logical choice,
the mild temperature of the food can cause babies
to actually lose track of it in their mouth.
And when they lose track of it, it's easy for that food
to move further back in their mouth unexpectedly,
which then triggers their gag reflex.
Making the food slightly colder can help your baby
keep track of the food in their mouth,
and move it to the back of their mouth
in a controlled way to actually swallow it
without triggering their gag reflex.
Something I also recommend when introducing solids
is regularly offering your baby items to mouth
like safe stick foods such as steamed
or roasted sticks of carrot or potato,
teethers, toys, or spoons.
Allowing your baby the opportunity to place these items
in their mouth helps to move their gag reflex
from the middle of their tongue to the back,
as well as make it less sensitive and harder to elicit.
In addition to desensitizing their gag reflex,
another thing that I think is pretty cool
is that when you let your little one mouth
these stick like items, it helps to develop their ability
to move their tongue from side to side.
And this is a skill that they need to develop
when eating solids because they need to be able to move
the food from the middle of their tongue
to the side of their mouth,
to then chew and then swallow that food.
So by letting your little one mouth these stick like items,
as soon as they place that item in their mouth
and touch the side of their tongue,
it actually triggers a reflex,
which causes the tongue to curl up
and try and follow that item.
So naturally, as they move it from side to side,
the tongue follows it.
So this helps to develop their ability
to move that tongue from side to side,
and master that skill required for safe eating.
Now, as I said, using a spoon is a great way
to desensitize their gag reflex
as well as encourage that tongue lateralization skill.
But unfortunately, I see so many spoons on the market
that look really nice and are marketed
really well as baby spoons,
but they're actually way too big.
When a spoon is too big, it doesn't fit well
in your little one's mouth, making it really difficult
for them to eat from and it also encourages you
to overload the spoon with too much food,
leading to the problem I talked about
at the start of this video.
So just make sure that when you are buying spoons
for your little one, you choose ones
that are really nice and small.
Doing this really does make a big difference
when it comes to spoon feeding
or even self-feeding at this point.
If you're interested in seeing which ones I recommend,
be sure to check out the link in the description box below
for my free Mealtimes Essential Guide.
In it, I share with you all my favorite products
that make mealtimes easier and slightly less messy
for both you and your little one.
Speaking of mess, it's essential to let your baby touch
and explore their food before eating it,
as allowing your little one to touch
and explore their food before eating it,
can significantly reduce the chances of them gagging.
When your baby handles the food,
they can familiarize themselves
with its temperature, texture, and consistency.
And this familiarity helps them feel more comfortable
when they finally taste the food,
making them less likely to gag.
Something else that's really important
when introducing solids is to make sure your baby
is well supported in the highchair.
If your baby's legs hanging down without any support
causing them to lean to one side,
or the tray or table is at the same level
as their shoulders, so they can't actually see the food,
or the highchair itself tilts backwards,
your baby won't feel balanced, secure, or comfortable.
And in this unsafe position,
your baby will struggle to focus on eating
and instead devote their attention
on maintaining their balance and posture,
increase in the likelihood of them actually gagging
or choking on food.
Therefore, to minimize the risk of your baby gagging
or choking on food,
you must ensure that they can sit up straight
and centered on that highchair
with their feet flat on a stable surface.
Now, unfortunately, most babies cannot achieve this position
in a highchair without significant adjustments.
So make sure you watch this video next,
where I show you how to adjust your little one's highchair
using everyday items around the home.
By taking the time to get your highchair set up
to support your baby at the start,
you're actually ensuring that they can focus
on the skill of eating and helping to ensure
that each mealtime is successful and enjoyable.