Picture this – you spend all afternoon cooking dinner and finally get food on the table. And your reward is your toddler spitting out all of their food. 🙂
Why do toddlers spit out their food? Are they trying to communicate? Do they not like their food? Are they having issues chewing? Maybe all of the above!
Although food spitting is a frustrating experience, your toddler isn’t the only one! 25% of normally developing kids experience some sort of feeding problem (1). And the most common feeding problem is food refusal – aka spitting out their food (2)!
Despite it being very common, we want to identify and treat food spitting early on so that it doesn’t escalate into a further issue. The longer your child has issues with mealtime, the more resistant they become to change (1).
So let’s review the top reasons your toddler might be spitting out food and tips and tricks to fix it.
Top Reasons Your Toddler is Spitting Food
Communicating Likes & Dislikes
Before your toddler learns how to speak, body language is their number one communication tool. And their food preferences are ever-changing.
It might not be the food itself that your toddler dislikes, but the texture or the temperature. Before eliminating a food completely from their diet, try introducing it in an alternative way!
They’re Full
Toddlers can’t always tell us they’re full. And their appetite changes all the time – by the day but also through the years of toddlerhood. Between the ages of 2 and 5, most toddlers have drastic changes in appetite (3).
Watch for early, active, and late signs of fullness in your toddler.
Sensory Exploration
Your toddler spitting out their food can also be part of their play! And although we want our kids to eat their food and not play with it, it’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Playing with their food might entail some exploration – squishing it with their teeth, rubbing it with their lips, and spitting it out then eating it again. This food exploration is a necessary step to them being more comfortable around new foods, and eventually eating them!
Especially because toddlers have very little control over other parts of their life, exploring their foods acts as their small slice of autonomy.
They’re Overwhelmed
Toddlers can be overstimulated by their surroundings at meal time. Loud noises, the television, or anything contributing to a chaotic environment can disrupt their focus on food.
These distractions can cause difficulties in their sensory processing, which is directly related to spitting out food (4).
Pressure from caregivers during mealtime can also affect your toddler. Excessive encouragement to eat is directly related to increased toddler anxiety – and less eating! (1)
Teething
Loss of appetite is one of the most common symptoms of teething (5). Especially in the few days before a tooth comes to the surface, it can drastically impact their ability to eat.
Teething often starts between 4 and 7 months old. But good news – this study found that one of the most effective treatments for teething is cuddle therapy.
Oral-Motor Development Struggles
Your toddler might be spitting out food because the texture or size of the food is developmentally inappropriate. That means you might be going too fast or slow with food introduction (6).
Lastly, your toddler might have a structural issue with chewing or swallowing. Watch for the signs of this such as frequent respiratory illness, slow feeding, regurgitation, gagging, choking, or coughing before or during swallowing (1).
How to Stop Your Toddler from Spitting Out Food
Now that we’ve gone over the causes of your toddler spitting out food, let’s review some research-backed ways to stop it.
Create a Patient and Positive Environment
I know creating a chaos-free dinner table is easier said than done. But a stress-free and low-pressure meal experience is directly linked to more positive food interactions (1).
To help take the pressure off of your toddler when they’re eating, aim to limit:
- Commenting on how much or how little they are eating
- Using foods or activities as “rewards” for eating
- Rushing or telling your toddler to eat faster
Instead, try to leave as much time for meals and snacks as your schedule allows. And celebrate the small wins of toddler eating – like food exploration!
Eliminate Distractions
Try to limit noises or visuals that will distract your toddlers from their food. Phones, TVs, and toys with sounds should be minimized.
And although we said earlier that toddlers playing with their food can be a normal part of food exploration, food should be removed after 10-15 minutes if they play with their food without eating it (1).
Introduce Appropriate Textures
Serving your toddler developmentally appropriate foods makes sure that they have the oral motor skills needed to eat that food.
For exact timelines of when to introduce each food, check out Solid Starts. It’s my favorite resource for food introduction.
Make sure to introduce small serving sizes at once to minimize overwhelming “newness” in a meal.
Involve Your Toddler in Meal Preparation
Giving your child hands-on involvement in food preparation is one of the most effective ways to pique their interest in eating (7). This gives them autonomy and ownership over the foods on their plate.
Some of my favorite ways to get kids involved in the kitchen are:
- Go to the grocery store together
- Wash the produce
- Organize the ingredients
- Measure the ingredients
- Practice reading with the recipe
- Slicing and dicing with a kid-safe knife
- Mixing
- Setting the timer for the oven/stove
Establish a Consistent Feeding Schedule
Kids thrive on structure and clear expectations. Feeding difficulties happen most frequently when there is a break in their structure.
Try to set a meal and snack time routine that is the same each day. This way, your child will start to anticipate meals and regulate their hunger cues.
Along with a consistent routine, make sure you as the caregiver are setting realistic expectations during meal time. This includes:
- Start with very small servings and work your way up
- Avoid emotional responses if they do not eat a certain food
- Expect hesitancy around new foods
Address Teething Discomfort
Teething is never an easy – for the toddler or the care giver. But if this is the reason for your toddler spitting out their food, then it isn’t long before they will likely accept foods again.
The most helpful remedies for teething include (8):
- Cuddle therapy: physical touch, extra attention, distraction
- Ice or a cold towel on the gums
- Lighting rubbing the gums
- Teething rings or toys
- Teething Foods: cucumbers, mango cores, popsicles, etc
Troubleshooting Common Challenges
Resistance and Power Struggles
To some degree, power struggles during meal time are normal. You are trying to provide guidance to your child at the same time as them discovering a sense of autonomy.
The more pressure you put around meal time, the more pressure they will feel! Some tactics to help reduce the resistance include:
- Work on a different meal (set more focus on snacks or breakfast)
- Ask them a question about their food (“What sound do you think this makes when you crunch it?” “Do you think you could brush your teeth with this?”)
- Join them! (“Who do you think can crunch this food the loudest?” “This food tastes sweet to me, what does it taste like to you?”)
Even better, focus on strategies to prevent picky eating before it even starts.
Seeking Professional Guidance
However, if meal time has become a constant battle, and you child’s picky eating is out of control, it might be time to work with a feeding therapist or dietitian.
Here are some signs that it might be time to work with a professional:
- Your child is choking or coughing during meals
- Signifigant weight loss
- You or your child’s doctor is concerned for nutrient deficiencies
- Their “accepted foods” are decreasing
Looking to learn more about toddler feeding issues? Explore food pocketing and go-to strategies for picky eaters.