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Post by katiesmom on Feb 13, 2008 17:47:35 GMT -5
We have been starting to work on Katie eating with her mouth closed, but so far it just ends up being a funny game with us showing her how to do it by holding her lips shut. Lol! You can imagine how this gets us all giggling!  I know our kids have less room in their mouths due to the lower palate/tongue issues, but please tell me that it IS possible to teach them to eat with their mouths closed. Does anyone have any tips for how to teach this? (Other than turning me into the nagging "close-your-mouth-while-chewing" police!)  Thanks, Deane |
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Post by damarasmom on Feb 13, 2008 17:58:02 GMT -5
Can't wait to see if anyone has an answer to this one! It drives me nuts, but I haven't started that fight yet...I sure hope that there is a simple way to work through this one!
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Post by Chris too on Feb 13, 2008 22:27:26 GMT -5
For Stevie, we have to make her chew with her mouth open, because she cheats when she closes it (swallowing without chewing). For the rest of the kids, I just showed them what I meant by chewing with mouth open & just sealing the lips. In the beginning, I say "close your lips" rather than "close your mouth" just to be clear that only the lips need to clamp down. I tell them the rule & enforce it the same as any other rule - by giving consequences. You don't want to give them too many warnings or you end up nagging, so in the beginning, remind them of the rule before the eating begins - including the consequence for failing to heed the rule. Then just eat as usual. If they "forget", use the consequence - a good reason to pick a consequence well. With my first child I gave the consequence that she'd loose her meal if she failed to close her lips while chewing. She looked me right in the eye, opened her mouth that was full of food & chewed. She did it on purpose - the look in her eye told the tale. So we both cried that night as she went to bed without supper & I felt like a rotten mommy. But she never did it again. I've been much more careful with consequences since then. Live & learn.
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Post by mommygwen on Feb 13, 2008 23:02:44 GMT -5
My son's speech therapist suggested asking him to hold a cheerio between his lips while eating. Greg understood and was able to eat while keeping the cheerio between his closed lips.
BUT HE DIDN'T CHEW!!!.
He just looked hard at me, as if to make sure I really wanted him to do this after all the years of please chew before swallowing. He just couldn't move his jaw to chew unless his lips went also.
After the the hard swallow of the unchewed food, I told him that chewing was VERY important. I just wanted less noisy eating, with less big mouth opening. The therapist called being able to eat with the closed lips disassociation of the muscles, like bending the pinkie without bending the ring finger.
I try now and then to ask him to close lips...but the chewing has to happen.
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Post by momofrussell on Feb 13, 2008 23:06:41 GMT -5
No answers and I don't think for us it would be easy to teech this to Russell. Sorry I am not help! LOL
A.
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Post by Chris too on Feb 14, 2008 9:15:00 GMT -5
The chewing is the most important. Don't sacrifice anything for that.
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Post by Jessie on Feb 14, 2008 9:58:31 GMT -5
This is pretty much a nightly discussion at our table. There are a couple of factors that we have to keep an eye on when it comes to 'forcing' him (as in being the food police and telling him to close his mouth) and that is, making sure he doesn't take humongous bites of food and that meat is cut up pretty good for him - in particular steak. If he's got a cold, forget it! When his nose is stuffed up there's no way he can breathe and eat with his mouth closed.
But, if we have all of those factors under control I try to explain to him to move the food to the side/back of his mouth and chew with those teeth. He is still slightly tongue-thrusting and that's the problem. He's better at this, but it's definitely a work in progress and one that we started working on very late in life!
Jessie
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Post by momofrussell on Feb 14, 2008 10:17:22 GMT -5
Jessie, I am still doing that with my typical 14 yr old.. telling her to NOT take big bites... guess who ALWAYS sits across from her and her lovely eating habits?! It's lovely to watch let me tell ya! LOL A. |
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Post by Googsmom aka Jennifer on Feb 14, 2008 10:56:42 GMT -5
This is not fun, I know. My 14 yr old just stopped doing this not to long ago. I started out being nice about it and "asking" her not to do it. HA!!! Then mean ol' mom would get mad and she would get sad. Finally, this is terrible I know, but I, like Chris too, made a consequence. I said "If your gunna chew your food like your chewing your cud, you will go eat w/ the cow in the barn" ( we had a cow then ) She continued and off she went to the barn. The dogs ate her dinner and she was not happy. She hasn't done it sence She realized that mom was NOT joking!!! I understand it is "different" w/ our little ones w/ DS. Lots of factors to take into consideration. Smaller bites may help. They say that everyone should take smaller bites and chew very well. Chewing IS the most important part of eating esp. for our llittle ones w/ DS because of the tummy issues. Good luck to you and it will get easier. Might just take a while |
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Post by katiesmom on Feb 14, 2008 12:00:02 GMT -5
Thanks for all the great responses! Chris, I like your idea of saying "close your lips" rather than "close your mouth"....and you're right about being careful to pick the right consequence. Thanks again, Deane |
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Post by Kristin on Feb 16, 2008 0:09:36 GMT -5
We had a verbal cue for closing her mouth. We started pretty young. When she was smaller we'd tell her "pretty mouth", when the tongue started hanging out, and she'd close her mouth. So, when she started eating, we'd say pretty mouth and for the most part she'd comply. If she didn't, after a count to three, dinner was over. It didn't take long for her to comply. Tonight, she was sent from the table for stuffing her face so full of broccoli her cheeks were puffed out and juice was flowing from her mouth! It's as much an issue of choking, as it is looking good. As her therapist used to say...No means No...Always. You don't get a second chance to cross in front of a car when mom says no and you go anyway.
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Post by ALLISA on Feb 16, 2008 7:23:12 GMT -5
wow Kristin....that is great advice !!
Our issue wiht Erin is not only the chewing wiht mouth open, but she overstuffs her hands as well as her mouth and if her hands aren't holding food, then she takes the food in her mouth out and holds that !
I think I need to take Kristin's advice and just end the meal if she isn't doing as she should....because God knows food is her only motivator !!
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Post by steffipoo on Feb 16, 2008 13:33:19 GMT -5
Hi Olivia is a food stuffer. I tell her It's NOT going anywhere and this is when she has the mouth open problem. So we get her to take smaller bites then count to 10 but she only gets to 5 for her next bite. She hates it I swear she is such a hoarder she thinx we're gonna take her food. LOL reminding her with words helps if she forgets she'll stop then chew with her mouth closed with reminders.Definately don't want her to be the gross kid at school who is being piggy and overindulging.
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