Q: My son has completed four years and he is not chewing his food yet. He wants to eat crunchy food but because he is unable to chew, he avoids eating such food. So the choice of food he can take is very limited and I am finding it difficult to give variety food. Can you suggest some methods to make him chew his food?

A:It is likely that your son never learnt to chew because you have been giving him mashed food all along. If he eats chips, chocolates,and other such foods such as to be able to swallow them then the problem is more of laziness than not being able to chew. If there is no food that needs to be bitten or chewed that he eats, I would suggest you slowly introduce less mushy food and then food needing to be chewed. If inspite of doing this he does not seem to learn, then see a neurologist for further evaluation.