Kids Don't Just Know How to Chew—You Have to Model It!
In this monologue, Hallie Bulkin emphasizes that children do not innately know how to chew and must be taught through active parental modeling. She asks parents whether they eat alongside their kids, sit with them, and deliberately exaggerate their own chewing to demonstrate the process. Bulkin highlights that children with oral‑motor challenges such as tongue‑tie, airway problems, or jaw discrepancies are especially dependent on this modeling. She notes that many preschoolers (e.g., 3‑4‑year‑olds) still do not chew solid foods and stresses the need to keep offering foods even when a child initially refuses. The talk also touches on feeding strategies as children grow, including food preparation tips, and underscores that many parents simply aren’t aware that they must explicitly show their child how to eat.
