Help - DS has developed a fear of swallowing food

[joshandjamie]

My DS (6) choked on a piece of meat a couple of weeks ago. Not badly - but enough to give him a fright. Since then he is too scared to swallow. There are a few times when he will eat - but we've tried soft things like jelly and yogurt and sometimes he'll eat that. He will drink things and will eat chocolate (because according to him it melts so he can swallow it - sounds convenient!) but it is becoming a major issue. He is hardly eating anything (having always been a good eater).

Any tips on how to help him overcome this new fear?

This happened to my ds a couple of years ago , he was 8 at the time and somebody had to intervene ( we awere at a hotel)
I gave him less chewy food and helped him cut up food into smaller pieces, but tried to not make too much of it .
I also let the school know and one of the dinner supervisors reassured him that they would know what to do if it happened again and they kept a discreet eye on him.
After about 6 weeks we noticed that all his concerns had vanished, although i was at the point of taking him to the doctors as he was losing weight ( he was already underweight)

Thanks. We've done the same. Today I managed to get him to drink a cup of tea (which he did no problem) and then pointed out at that as he'd managed that so easily perhaps he could try a yogurt. Which he did and managed albeit slowly. He's prepared to try things but he just sits with it in his mouth. He is super skinny as it is so I really don't want him to stop eating. I am taking him to the doctor on Thursday in the hope that the doctor will tell him that all is well with his throat (perhaps having a professional tell him that there is nothing wrong might help!). I am hoping it's a phase that passes soon.