Has anyone else got a very messy eater? sensory?

[Marne]

We have just had the OT over to watch dd2 (40 heat her dinner.

Dd2 tends to fill her mouth, chew, spit it out and then eat it. She also does this with drink and often spits her drink into her dinner.

Dd2 has always been a good eater, will eat anything and has no sense of being full, the OT doesn't really understand why she spits her food out and then eventually eats it, its not as though she doesn't like what she's eating as she always eats it.

Has anyone else got a dc who does this?

Does anyone have any ideas to why she does it?

My DC doesnt spit out but uses her hands, not cutlery very often, she over fills her mouth, to the point of gagging/choking herself and continues to eat food even if its too hot and hurting her mouth.

She recently started eating her food in sections...mash, peas, chicken. She always clears her plate and eats lots of veg, she also begs for food all day, so must also be unsure of when she is full. Ive started finding apple cores hidden under furniture!

DS2 is a very messy eater, doesn't use his fork/spoon except for mullerice and weetabix.

He also does the spitting out thing, mainly with chicken. He'll spit it out into his hands turn it over and then put it back in again.

He also won't put food into the centre of his mouth, he puts it in the sides iygwim.

Not sure if it is sensory or not though, but it is pretty annoying at times.

5inthebed, that's exactly what she does (spits it out, turns it over and then eats), OT said she has never seen a child do it before so was unsure why she does it and how we can stop it.

Woolytree, she often puts too much in her mouth too, sometimes she is in a hurry to get back to playing so she will shove loads in her mouth and then run off.

It annoys Dh a lot more than me. She reminds me of me as a child, i was a very messy eater, as i got older i was picked on (by my brother) for my eating habits and then i had a phobia of eating in public (as i thought people would be watching me), i don't want this to happen to dd2 .

Shall I send DS2 down so you can take him to the OT with your DD?

Does she wipe her mouth a lot as well? If DS2 is eating something wet and it gets around his lips he will use his hand/arm/shoulder/leg to wipe it. You should see what he looks like after eating spaghetti bolognese.

Good idea

Yes she does the wiping, smears it across her face, in her ears and up her sleeves and then she wipes her hands off on her clothes (or the furniture) .

It's a deal! I'll come down, we'll take them and the OT out for something to eat, really messy like and see what she has to say on the matter

The worst situation to be in is eating out in a large group of people, last time they brought the kids meals out last, obviously to completely stress her out, then the kids food was very hot and on a warmed plate!....She had to wait twice!

She smears and has spaghetti face too! I love it!

I hate it when you eat out and they send out very hot foot for dc's. Both dd's get fed up waiting for the food to come and then when it comes its far to hot to eat and they get even more frustrated . I think thats why the dd's like McDonalds (the food comes out quick and is often almost cold) .

My Dd3 is a messy eater too, she generally uses just a fork/spoon or fingers, cereal is a nighmare, she fills her spoon and then just sucks a tiny bit off the end of it, most of the milk ends up down her front, spag bol is just everywhere, I am trying not to nag tooo much at the mo and did catch her using a knife the other day, maybe there is hope!
She also wipes her hands constantly down herself and on the chair cushions, Yuk!

Forgot to say she is constantly hungry at the mo to doesn't seem to know when she is full, had a right battle at bedtime tonight cos she wanted more food despite having a good tea followed by an apple.
I managed to passify her with some milk, I am worried about her weight.

Marne, 5inthebed and Woolytree you've between you described ds1. Smearing, yep! spitting out then putting in again, yep! eating with hands, yep! The only thing that is different is that he will eat a very small amount, announce that he's full and then be hungry again half an hour later with meltdown because he's so hungry if food not forthcoming.

Funnily enough I'd just turned the computer on to start a thread on this very topic, after ds1 had to change entire school uniform after breakfast this morning due to the effects of eating rice krispies with chocolate milk and cocoa powder (I blame DH)for breakfast.

Please can I come to your OT party?

I wonder if a SALT may have some ideas about this as well?

DD is dreadfully messy and overfills if not monitored and gags / chokes. She often gags and spits something out and will not eat it immediately but goes back to it almost as if she has no memory of having spat it out.. She mixes savoury and sweet in the same mouthful and will pop in a strawberry whilst still chewing a sausage! Yuk!

She is obsessed with mayonnaise and I worry about her weight as she has a real appetite for high fat food.. The mayo goes everywhere and she scoops it up in her fingers when you're not looking and eats it like ice cream, then smears hands down her clothes. She has mayo stains in all her tops! Nice!

Mine is the same! Sauce, mayo...returning to old food, picking up food off the floor, crisps with baby slobber on! Shes constantly begging food but went the other way and binged on fruit...= bad guts! Yuk! Up to six apples, a bannana, an orange and snacks and meals! I have moved the fruit bowl but she is quite cunning.

We tried substitue snacks that she thinks are treats but not as bad, dried fruits, school bars, icepops, crackers, fruit salad, sorbet....and making smoothies together, she loves chopping...plastic knife of course!

Other than that I just say NO!....and watch her for stealing the babies food!

was going to suggest SLT rather than OT, or even better, a joint SLT/OT assessment (they used to come out for joint assessments of dd2 when she was younger)

anyhoo - it's ds1 here who has more sensory issues re eating (he'll wipe stuff on his face or pull it part before it goes in his mouth) but there may be a few things the SLT might be able to check as well.

for example, dd2 was 4 before we worked out that she didn't have any lateral movement of her tongue - she has quite poor oromotor anyway, but essentially used to squash food in the roof of her mouth rather than chew it, as she couldn't move it sideways to position between her teeth (a few bells rang with the 'puts food in the side of mouth') - also the stuffing food - dd2 can't grade bites very well - and i think has a lack of sensation around her mouth, rather than heightened sensation, which means she can't actually tell when her mouth is full (esp with foods like banana)

the SLT can come up with lots of exercises depending on specific issues.

and spag bol looks like a murder scene in my house...

OT is going to talk to SALT today (they work in the same building which is where dd2's nursery is), OT thinks that using a visual timetable will help dd2 at meal times (they have worked well with other things), hopefully i will see OT and SALT on thursday and they will have come up with something.

niminy- you are welcome to our party , dd1 (AS) does the 'i'm full thing' and then is hungry.

Thank you! will bring another vat of bolognese sauce, some chocolate milk, and a couple of bottles of tomato ketchup .

What are you going to put on your visual timetable, Marne? I'm desperately looking for tips here. DS1 is on the books of a sensory-trained OT (though he seems to be focused on helping at school) so I will try and see if I can get an appointment. I'm also thinking of doing a social story to explain why it's important to try and eat tidily -- I'm sure he doesn't understand.

This thread has spurred me into action, as well as being very comforting now I know we are not alone.

I'm not sure what will be on the visual timetable, hopefully the OT will give me more info tomorrow, she seems in a hurry to sort it out, sadly we only have access to the OT until dd2 finishes nursery (in a few weeks time) as when dd starts school she will be in a different county ( OT won't see her in our own county as they are short staffed). I will let you know what the OT suggests and then we can both give it a try.
Dd2's understanding is not great at all but she responds well to pictures, fingers crossed the OT will come up with something.

my fingers also crossed for you!