My 7 year old chews with his mouth open and makes noises like a cow chewing grass! I must remind him 15 times every meal to chew with his mouth closed and 15 seconds later he's doing it again. I'm horrified to think what other parents are thinking when he eats over by their houses. Anything else I can try to help him remember to chew with his mouth closed?
I agree with the others who suggested seeing an ENT. That is one of the signals that tell you to watch for if they need their tonsils out.
Good Luck!
tough love works the best.
if you remind him 15 times... that's 14 too many.
count 1, remind him to close his mouth while eating, explain to him that it's rude to eat with his mouth open.
count 2, do #1 and tell him if i have to tell you again you will be eating by yourself after everyone else is finished with thier meal.
count 3, tell him you already reminded him and now he needs to go to his room until we are done, walk him to his room and when everyone is done go get him, explain to him why he was sent there and tell him we will try it again.
Start over the process.
we did this with one of our boys and it only took two times of his room and then one reminder for about a week and we haven't had problems since.
Have you ruled out a medical reason? Has your son had his adenoids and tonsils checked? In young boys, tonsils and adenoids are often enlarged and block the nasal passages and eustation tubes. Find an otolaryngologist (ENT) and have him checked out.
Good luck!
Peer presure will take care of the situation. If he is being invited to have dinner at friends houses this is a good thing, but if his manners are a bit sub-par the invitations will soon slack off or his friends will make fun of him and the behavior will stop. Sometimes this is the best lesson a child can get.
he may not be able to breathe well enough through nose to chew politely.
i would have an ent check him out to make sure.
i know i had a swallowing problem til i was in teens and couldnt chew with mouth close well or swallow at all with it closed.
then at 42 found out part of all that was also due to i couldnt breathe through nose almost at all.
good luck
Is it possible he cant breathe through his nose? Try plugging your nose and chewing, its really hard!! I agree that you should go see an ENT, both my young ones had their tonsils and adenoids out and it made a huge difference!
I would possibly talk to the doctor to see if his atnoids or tonsils are large. This would cause him to have issues breathing through his nose and allowing him to chew with his mouth closed.
Warn him X amount of time. If he is still disobeying and outright defiance, then take his food away for that meal. Maybe it'll make an impact both to listen and obey, but also make a point of remembering that mom means business :)
Hi M.,
Have you ever given your son consequences for eating with his mouth open? Like ... he has to leave the table until he can come back and eat like a "big boy" with his mouth closed? You might want to try this a few times and see if this works ... if he comes back and does the same thing right away - I'd tell him he must leave the table until everyone is through eating and then he can come back to the table and eat by himself.
I feel, unless there are consequences and they are followed through with each and every time, they will just keep on doing whatever behavior you are trying to change.
Just my take on things :-)
D.
(mother of 3 grown children and 6 grandchildren)
Personnaly, I would have his doctor check him for any respiratory problems. My son ate with his mouth open a lot and it was because of his bronchitis and eventually asthma. I hope not, for your sake, but it is worth the check-up.
Have you tried telling him to chew with his lips closed? Some kids, when you tell them to chew with their mouth closed think that that means their teeth must be together and don't know how they are supposed to chew like that! lol This is what happened with my kids, they simply didn't understand what I meant when I said for them to chew with their mouth closed. Friends have told me that they had this happen with their kids as well.
ugh. this drives me crazy as well.
are there any nasal issues? i had 2 kids in my child care who simply could not breathe through their noses well enough to be able to chew with their mouthes closed. and to be blunt, they came from a smoking home, so it was no surpise they couldnt breathe.... and im sorry if that is an issue for you. i could never relate because ive never smoked, so i can come off as insensitive to how really hard it is to quit. so im sorry for that.
any colds? allergies? etc?
one thing i tried was sitting close to them and chewing the way they were chewing. it seems rediculous, but some days it worked because it made them realize what they were doing and they would stop. its been 2 years, and i still have to remind them sometimes.... so i dont know what the 'cure' is.
perhaps your doctor has an idea? i dont know.
im excited to hear other suggestions on your post, and i would be glad to know what works for you.
Have patience.. this too will pass. Just keep reminding him. You might want to have his adnoids and nasal passages checked out just in case he is having a hard time breathing while eating. Otherwise, be patience boys love to pull your chains and do everything they can to irritate you. You might also want to tell him that if he can not eat correctly then he will be done with his dinner for the time being and when he is ready to eat like a human and not a cow he can come back to the table. Believe me after a few times of doing this he will learn how to eat properly.
