Spits Out All of Her Food... WHY???

My twins started doing that, too. Around this age toddlers become very inconsistent eaters. Something they ate for lunch the day before now gets spit out and thrown on the floor. Just keep offering a variety of food, and just because it's spit out today doesn't mean she won't eat it in another couple of days. Keep feeding her like you have been.

I don't think her behavior is that odd for her age, and my guess is that she's enjoying your reaction to her antics. She's working out cause and effect, and you're the subject of her experiment, lol. She may also be trying to exercise her independence. In either case, I wouldn't worry too much about it. Our pediatrician says to feed our child when she will eat, because there will be times when she won't. Hang in there!

Because she can. :)

It could be related to the molars (they take forever and are - in my experience - completely disruptive to all "normal" behavior).

I agree it could be for your reaction. My kids went through the "gagging themselves" phase as well.

I'd ignore, put one or two bites on her plate (or tray) at a time. Once those have been eaten, put one or two more bites.

Good luck, and know that "this too shall pass".

Jessica
SAHM to Charlie (5) Joey (3) and Rebecca (18 months)

Is she putting TOO much in her mouth? If so, then maybe she can't swallow it. Actually, if that is the case, spitting it out is safer... because if not she can choke or aspirate it.

Toddlers, and she is only 14 months old... often put too much in their mouth. They can't "portion" how much to put in their mouth or not.

Or, just serve her semi pureed chunky finely minced foods. Still.

My baby is younger, only 12 months, almost but since he started eating he finds it funny to spit out food on occasion, even with food items I know he likes and even when I know he's hungry. So, I don't think he's protesting the food. I think he's simply playing and experimenting which your baby could be doing too. I stop feeding him at that moment and come back to it later, often distracting him with entertainment, as someone else mentioned with Baby Einstein (he LOVES those) at which point he'll cooperate fully.

How are you reacting to this behavior? If you are making a big deal out of it, she might be doing it just to get your reaction (she might think of it as a game). If you're not making a big deal out of it, she may just be practicing her ability to chew and spit out - she might think that the 'chewing' motion makes the food so neat and interesting and she's proud of her newly acquired skill. At any rate, try not to make a fuss over it; simply clean up what she spits out and move on with little reaction.

It could be worse - she could be like my son, who thought it was a really cool idea at meal time (and many other times) to stick his fingers down his throat and gag himself. He'd do it over and over and over and it sounded so gross. We ignored it completely and he just stopped once the novelty of it wore off.

Because it's fun for her. So long as she doesn't seem to be fussy or starving, I would say that during these times, she's doing it because she's playing and it's fun - cause and effect, etc.

My son is an ultra picky eater, but when he starts playing with his food, we just do what another Mamapedia Mom suggested - just calmly say, "We don't spit out our food, so I guess you're all done eating now." and calmly take away the food, clean her up and go about your routine. If she gets hungry, bring the plate of food back out and start over.

No one said it was easy right? :)

OMG my 13 month old does that! I have no idea why and she is driving me crazy, I worry she is not getting adequate nutrition; she takes her bottles but when it comes to solids she spits EVERYthing out. It doesn't matter if it's strawberries, bananas, baby food, meat, cereal, cheese, bread etc. the only thing she eats is chicken and she even spits that out sometimes.
My daughter has two lower teeth and two upper, I can see two more coming up in her upper gum, but I haven't found any info if the spitting has to do with teething. Sorry I cannot help much but just to let you know you're not alone, I get so worried that she will lose weight if she doesn't eat.

I do think its just a fase. My daughter used to do the same. I think as long as she is getting enough nutrients, she is not in pain and she is happy she will be fine. If you are really concerned though, just ask your doctor to make sure.

Hello, We are having a similar problem with my 20 month old grandaughter. The difference is that she has Downs Syndrome. She did not eat anything at my house yesterday. She didn't eat at her Auntie's the day before. Auntie and I both babysit on alternate days. She did eat breakfast before coming yesterday. She also didn't drink her milk. If you get it in, she just spits it out. I thought also that it could be her teething again. I know they will not starve to death, but she has always had eating issues due to surgeries and this worries me. I will be interested to see the other replies.
Good luck with your precious baby.
K. K.

2 of my 4 kids did this, and it drove me crazy, especially since both tended to be underweight. All I could figure out was that they just wanted the taste, and didn't "get" the idea of swallowing. Eventually they outgrew it, but until then I spent a lot of time saying, "No," and, "Keep it in your mouth," and, "Swallow, please!"

I experienced this with my second baby. She wanted to eat what her sister was eating at two years which was becoming 'human' food such as crumbled up hamburger, etc. My 1yo would gum and gum the hamberger to a gray-mess and spit it out (all over her chin and chest)... I concluded... 1. she wasn't really ready for this type of food and 2. she was actually getting the nutrients of the food even though she spit the remains out.

This daughter was mildly allergic to milk products and drank soy for most of her baby/toddlerhood but I don't think I can associate the spitting with allergy.

Rather than make an issue of it, I put food in a tray in front of her and let her pick what she would like to have. She grew to be 6-ft tall, her sister (a very good eater) 5'6". While I'm sure that was genetic it makes me laugh to think of it when feeding my gr-kids. I watch them try to control their situations and think just let them eat (or not) as they desire... There isn't much they can control at that age and a little freedom of choice is a benefit in the future....