The Banana Dilemma

By Stacey Bahr

Published Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Think about the basic functions of life. Eating, toileting, speaking come to mind. They all come very naturally to most of us. It is a natural instinct as a baby to start to “gum” our food, and then transition to actual chewing as we get our teeth. Toilet training, while it is a process, becomes a very natural thing. Speaking is also a very natural activity. So, how do you teach these things to a child that doesn’t have language skills? How do you explain chewing to them, or the process of making sounds, or how to use the toilet when imitation is a struggle?

Last night, like most nights, I tried again to teach my son to chew his food, tried to make him understand what his teeth are for. He chews on just about everything else, because of his oral sensory issues, the only reason I can come up with for not chewing food is the fact that everything else he chews on doesn’t come apart in his mouth. The minute a “chunk” gets in his mouth, out it comes faster than lightning.

So, there we sat at the dinner table, David with his half of the banana, and me with mine, and I tried again to demonstrate to him the act of biting into his food. It’s a good thing that there was no one else there to witness it, because I probably looked really ridiculous as I exaggerated the act of chewing while he watched. But, then, a glimmer of hope, he sunk his teeth into the banana… only far enough to make small teeth marks. Not the outcome I was hoping for, of course, but a big step in the right direction. I will say, though, that we have come a long way in the last two years, because he is now willing to engage with “finger” food that doesn’t involve a spoon, even though he only sucks on it. He loves to have a banana, a cookie, or a fruit bar with his meal, and even though none of it really gets into his belly, every time that he is exposed to them is more time to grow accustomed to them, and to explore them. And who knows, maybe one night he’ll decide to just gnaw the heck out of it, and realize that it’s OK.

Now if I could just get him to say banana…