lo doesn't chew his food!

[Ryan&HollysMom]

hey there. my 8 month old is an inhaler of food! he eats a lot of fingerfood, especially cheerios, cubes of meat, cheese, toast with fruit or meat spread on top, etc. he loves it all. the problem is that he doesn't chew it. i believe he must be swallowing them whole, because he sticks one thing in, in the meantime already uses his other hand to get the next thing. is this healthy? is there a way to make him take longer between bites? right now the cubes are quite small (about a little less than a cm square) because i'm worried about choking. should they be bigger?
any advice?

[momofclaire]

My dd does the same thing.   I have started putting less peices on her tray at a time.  I think the more food that's there the faster she thinks she needs to eat it.  I have also been offering her cup every few bites to help her slow doen.

[M and N's Mom]

We had that problem with DD and had to only give her a bit at a time.  She would shove so many Cheerios in she would choke (nothing serious, but she would then gag and spit everything back up).  So, we had to offer it slowly, and offer a drink, just like pp.

[Ryan&HollysMom]

thank you both! i will give him only a few pieces at a time from now on. yes, i did kinda pile things on his tray. i hope it helps. not chewing doesn't seem to be causing him any distress, it's just good for him to learn rather sooner than later.

[Nadia's Mom]

RyanDsMom Thanks so much for posting this question because my DD is an inhaler also. If I don't feed her myself she will stuff everything that she can get in her hand into her mouth (especially Cheerios). I've tried the just put a few pieces on the tray idea but she picks them up so quick and put them in her mouth like they are going to get up and walk away. I've also tried the put a sippy cup in front of her so she will stop to take a drink in-between bites but noooo........ she stuffs herself and then tries to actually get water in as well go figure. So far she's never choked and most of the time when she's put to much in she'll just sit there w/ a mouth full of food. I hope that when her top teeth come in (on their way now) that she will start chewing her food. Until then I guess I'm stuck on food watch.