Daughter takes too long to chew food

[LTKoch]

My daughter is 6 1/2 years old.  She has always been healthy and within normal limits as far as height and weight.  She is a very picky eater.  I joke that she is a "carb-ovore".  If it were up to her, she would live on pop-tarts, chicken nuggets, cheese pizza, peanut butter and honey sandwiches and grilled cheese sandwiches.  We are constantly trying to introduce/force a wider variety of healthier foods to her - fruits and veggies and meat that isn't breaded.  This is where the problem arrives.  She either works herself up so much that she gags, or she takes so long to eat a bite of meat (not a large one and not tough in texture), like more than 15 minutes for a bite, that the meal ends with threats, tears, and frustration on everyone's part.  I don't understand why she can eat a chicken nugget in less than one minute, but a piece of pork the same size or smaller takes 15 minutes or more!  Is this a texture thing?  Is she just being stubborn?  Any and all advice or help would be so greatly appreciated!
Thanks!!

[margypops]

When mine were like that I tried to just leave them to get on with it as the more I chunnered the worse it got I also gave them a lot of time in the mornings as we learn't it was better to get up a half hour earlier than try to race them .in other words we gave them slack ..and it worked .and pork can take ages to chew more than chicken nuggets that are softer and easier and tasty to eat, I also found that buying in the healthy good foods worked as then my lot had to eat what was put in front of them,they got treats and desert later .,

[Sandman2]

    Got a feeling that  gagging on your food or taking 15 minutes to chew one bite of meat is more than just eating slowly.  If the only problem mentioned was what LT mentioned at the start of the post - I would agree with you completely.  I just had the feeling that the end of the post and her question about texture took it out of the normal range of just eating slowly.
    

[skepticalpeach]

It's better that she's eating slowly than too quickly. This gives her time to breathe and digest. I honestly don't see what the problem is with eating slowly... Sometimes I eat slowly! Eating and using the bathroom should be no pressure things for a child. Sometimes it's hard for a child to describe exactly what they are feeling so it's a good idea to be very patient and let them go at their own pace.

Having a picky eater is incredibly common. I hate to say it, but at least she's eating something. When we had some trouble with my DD eating her pediatrician just said to reintroduce a certain food she should/needs to eat every 2 weeks. That way it's stress free and there's no pressure. Eventually it worked! I gave up the battle over veggies though and I just give her V8 and pasta sauce. I also give her the chocolate Boost Kid Essentials (or Pediasure). She doesn't like the vanilla and it's not a battle I see worth fighting. I really think as long as you find clever ways to trick your kiddo into eating healthy, periodically reintroduce the food, and make it stress-free they'll grow out of the picky eating phase!

[margypops]

I had two of my children eat slowly and also were 'picky' I stopped being concerned about it, said nothing, let them eat the way they chose to , they did okay I sometimes think we get too concerned about their eating habits ..I myself am a slow eater I am always the last to finish ....lol

[specialmom]

Whether your child's eating issues are due to sensory or not matters not one bit, the tips I've learned and shared really help any child.  But, still---  how is her handwriting?  :>)  Oh, and her speech.  good luck!!!

[specialmom]

there is a book called "food chaining" which is really helpful for kids that have the reaction that your daughter does.