Developmental Sequence of Eating Skills
The development of sucking, drinking, biting, and chewing is highly related to the overall motor development of the child. The development of more mature oral patterns occurs as the child has changing nutritional needs, demonstrates interest in self - feeding, and expands communication efforts.
The changes in jaw, tongue, lip, and cheeck movements are associated with the development of skills in sucking and drinking, coordinating sucking, swallowing, and breathing and sequence of eating skill development. So it's importance for children to have eating/feeding skills associated with their age.
Age
Type of Food
Sucking/Drinking Skills
Bitting & Chewing
Swallowing
1 month
Liquids only
Uses a sucking or sucking pattern.
Tongue moves in extension - retraction to swallow
Does not bite or chew
3 months
Liquids or pureeds
Uses a sucking or sucking pattern. Tongue moves in extension/retraction
Use a primitive suckle swallow pattern. Sequence 20 or more sucks from bottle/breast
Rarely exhubited, may demonstrate reflexive biting
5 months
eats pureed foods.
Formula or breast milk remain primary source of nutrition.
Continues to use this sucking pattern. Tongue moves in extension/retraction.
Choking on breast or bottle is rare. Takes pureed food well.
Use a primitive phasic bite & release pattern. Bitting is not yet controlled or sustained. Jaw moves up - down in munching & biting.
6 months
Liquids and pureed foods
No longer loses liquids during sucking. Use a suckling or sucking pattern for cup drinking. Tongue moves up - down on bottle but extension - retraction with cup. Has difficulty drinking from a cup & loses liquids.
Swallows thicker pureed foods & some lumpy foods. Uses long sequences of sucking, swallowing, & breasting with breast or bottle. May cough or chock when using a cup.
The up - down jaw movements are more variable and less automatic. Uses diagonal rotary movement when moving the tongue to the side. Some tongue lateralization when food is placed to the side. Lips help to hold the food in place for chewing.
9 months
Soft foods, mashed table foods.
Srong sucking pattern, no liquid loss.
Uses long sequences of sucking during cup drinking. Takes one to three sucks before stopping to swallow or breathe.
Mumches with diagonal movements as food is transferred from center to sides. Voluntary biting on food & objects. Lips are active with jaw during chewing. Uses lateral movements to transfer food from the center to sides of mouth.
12 months
Easily chewed foods including meats, coarsely chopped foods.
Most of liquid is now from a cup. Uses a sucking pattern (up-down tongue movement). May lose liquid when using a cup.
Swallows liquids & semisolid foods with tongue tip elevation. At times exhibites tongue protrusion. Lips are closed during swallow.
Controlled sustained bite with soft cookie. Begins rotary chewing movements. Lips are active during chewing. Easily transfers food from the center to both sides.
18 months
Coarsely chopped table foods, including most meats and raw vegetables.
Mature sucking patterns. Jaw is stable when drinking from the cup.
24 months
All table foods, all foods except those with skins, very tough meats, or foods that break into large peices.
Adult - like sucking patterns : up - down tongue movements.
Uses tongue - tip elevation with swallowing. Swollows solid foods with easy lip closer. No loss of food.
No liquid loss. Swollows solid foods with easy with lip closer. Tongue - tip elevation used for swallowing.
Uses a controlled sustained bite on a hard cookie. Chews with lips closed. Demonstrates rotary chewing.
During chewing, can transfer food from both sides of the mouth. Lips are closed during chewing. Uses circular rotary movements when transferring food across the midline from one side to the other.
Adult - like sucking patterns : up - down tongue movements.
Age are approximate and may vary among infants.
Source : Glass, R.,& Wolf, L. (1998). Feeding and oral motor skills. In J. Case - Smith (Ed.), Pediatric occupational therapy and early intervention. Boston, MA : Butterworth Heinemann ; Morris, S.E., S.E., & Klein, M. (2000). Prefeeding skills (2nd ed.). San Antonio, TX: Therapy Skill Builders.