Food pocketing may seem cute at first but when your child keeps on doing it, it may become a cause for concern. Read more to find out why your child pockets their food and how to stop it.
Does your child store food in their mouth instead of swallowing them? If that behaviour weirds you out, do know that it is quite common among young children. In fact, some kids even hold food in their mouth for hours! However, when this food pocketing habit continues until your child is 5 years of age, that could be a cause for concern.
What is food pocketing?
Food pocketing is the action of storing food inside the mouth without swallowing it. Children
usually store or “pocket” their food inside their cheeks but some even store it in front of their gums. Alaina Everitt, a licensed psychologist, said that food pocketing usually starts at an early age when the child is still young. Occasionally, children may experience something painful or sore in their mouth and thereby, making it difficult for them to swallow (see more below). As a result, they would store, spit or refuse food altogether.
Why does it happen?
1. Sensory Issue
Most children tend to hold food in their mouth because they dislike the texture of the food. Meanwhile, some children store it because they are not even aware there is food left in their mouth. This happens when a child has oral sensory issues where they cannot feel where the food is in their mouth. As a result, they would stuff their mouth with food to increase the sensation but then it would be too much to swallow. This condition is fairly common among children with autism and sensory processing disorder, and it may require a more extensive therapy.
2. Oral motor skills
The other potential reason as to why your child is storing food is because they have weak oral motor skills. Oral motor skills have everything to do with the strength and coordination of the muscles inside your mouth, including how you move your tongue to help with swallowing and chewing, as well as keeping your lips shut to ensure that the food doesn’t spill out. If your child has weak oral motor skills, they might have trouble trying to remove the food that is stuck in their mouth.
3. Painful swallowing
It could start off as a sore throat, a swollen tonsil or chronic reflux for that matter, but the main point is that it hurts whenever your child swallows. As a coping mechanism, your child may decide not to swallow and hold onto their food instead. Worse still, the fear of swallowing becomes a habit or learned behaviour and if this happens, your child may need help to move past that mental block.
What can I do to stop my child from food pocketing?
1. Demonstrate how to eat properly

1. Demonstrate how to eat
properly
Walk your kid through the process, step by step, from scooping the food to chewing and swallowing. You can also teach your child to use an open cup instead of a sippy cup and take sips of water to help wash the pocketed food down the throat. Cutting their food to tiny bits may help them chew and swallow better too.
2. Use a toothbrush or a Myo Munchee
2. Use a toothbrush or a
Myo Munchee
If your child is struggling with weak oral motor skills, you can use a toothbrush to help them remove the pocketed food from their mouth. Another option is to use a device called Myo Munchee, a chewing appliance, that can help develop the muscles involved in chewing and also increase the muscle tone of the tongue. Just by chewing the Munchee for about 10 minutes every day, it can improve oral function and swallowing and as a result, improvements in facial development can also be seen.
3. See a dentist

3. See a dentist
If the solutions above do not work, the best option is to seek medical help. Your dentist will examine your child’s mouth to determine why your child pockets food. Sometimes, tooth abscess occurs in the roots of decayed teeth, which is why your dentist may take an X-ray of your child’s mouth to identify any tooth decay or infection. If the problem persists, your dentist may refer your child to a specialist as pocketing food can be a sign of a more complex feeding challenge and a feeding therapy may be required.
It is important to maintain a regular dental check-up in order to detect dental issues early. If you are due for a visit, come book an appointment with us!
Also, let us know if you have any topics that you would like us to cover!
References:
1. Checkup Newsroom. (2020, February 14). Checkup Newsroom. Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
https://www.checkupnewsroom.com/some-children-hold-food-in-their-mouths-why/
2. MOT, A. (2020, September 04). Pocketing Food Strategies and Causes in Kids. Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
https://yourkidstable.com/pocketing-food/
3. Pocketing: What Is It And Can It Affect Your Child’s Mouth? (n.d.). Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
http://globalriskpartners.com/2016/05/25/pocketing-what-is-it-and-can-it-affect-your-childs-mouth/
4. SMALL DEVICE – BIG IMPACT. (n.d.). Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
https://myomunchee.com/
5. Unantenne, N. (2014, June 18). “Help! My Child Stores Food in Her Mouth Without Swallowing… What Do I Do?” Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
https://sg.theasianparent.com/child-stores-food-in-her-mouth