Is it okay for a 14-month-old to eat solid food without having teeth?
My 14-month-old daughter is not interested in the usual soft food, but happily eats what we are having. Fruit, vegetables, bread, cheese, noodles, rice, etc.
Problem is she has no teeth for chewing (only incisors).
In many cases (e.g. when she is eating stoneless olives) the food comes out mostly unchanged on the other end. I am not sure what amount of calories and nutrients she gets out of this.
Is that a problem?
Update:
My doctor says that it’s okay.
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No it's not a problem.
For little kids, make sure you cut anything like an olive or grape into shapes so it isn't round anymore (to prevent choking from trying to swallow a whole grape or something like that)
But different people process food differently. If I eat corn I can see the kernels (almost unchanged) the next day too. As long as offer a diverse diet (in Western / civilized) countries you don't need to worry about the lack of nutrients. That only becomes an issue if you would be on something like a rice-only diet, or give bottles of regular mils (not the Western packed-with-vitamins baby milk) and nothing else.
As long as she gains weight/grows month over month she has sufficient calories & nutrients, as otherwise she wouldn't grow.
Yes you can definitely give your kid fruits/food even when they don't have full grown tooth set.
But please remember this kind of diet has to start post 8th month and
should be very slowly introduced.
One should start of initially with mashed potato or banana, which should be very small in portion and size very bite should be very small so they can nibble the items.
This is a very important to keep in mind to make kids nibble post 8th month as this will help them gradually develop the habit of chewing, else they will develop the habit of chewing very late.
One should start with Fruits and Veggies then gradually move to other regular fruits. Just make sure what ever they eat should not have huge amount of spices. I am from India and that's how i have raised my kid and he is a happy chewer now :)
Quick tips and points :
Keep a glass of water in hand always when they are chewing so in case if they cough up give a couple of spoon of water this will help them to take the food easily.
Avoid nuts (peanuts, almonds, etc.) and really hard or tough foods (steak, etc.) until the child can chew well and reliably.
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