How to get your kids to close their mouths while chewing. Here are 7 parenting tips.

Enjoying a meal with family is a time-honored tradition filled with laughter and delicious food. However, for a young child, it is filled with endless rules, manners, and etiquette to learn. Table manners like keeping your elbows off the table, eating with utensils, and not reaching over others can be uncivil. Chewing with your mouth open is slightly more unsettling. If you have a child who insists on showing their food during every bite, then the following list of tips is for you.

1. Start small.

Changing a habit is complex and stressful, especially if trying to change someone else’s habit. It will help your sanity if you start small. For instance, you can say that next week, we will focus on chewing with our mouths closed during breakfast. So, for breakfast only, you will use your chosen technique to remind your child to chew with their mouth closed. At lunch and dinner, however, sit back, enjoy the meal, and don’t worry about your child’s open mouth. The following week, work up to focusing on breakfast and lunch. Add dinner for the third week. You can also start small in many other ways; the bottom line is to keep it simple.

2. Set the expectations.

You probably have already told your child to close their mouth while chewing numerous times during countless meals. I set some expectations this time and created a clear plan to achieve this goal. You can do this easily with a mobile chore chart. If you plan to start small, as mentioned above, then outline the incremental plan you’ve designed. Whatever technique or plan you decide on, make sure your expectations are clear and your child understands them.

3. Set an example.

Changing a child’s behavior mostly always begins with the parent. If you want your child to close their mouth while chewing, you must also eat with your mouth closed.

4. Make a game of it.

Get the entire family involved and see who can chew with their mouths closed the longest. You can also gamify their reward chart by incentivizing them with something from the family’s universal wishlist, such as Wishfinity.

5. Signal your child to remind them to close his mouth.

This is extremely helpful when dining in public. Children don’t react well to ridicule or embarrassment. While at a restaurant or with family, you can use a subtle signal to remind your child to close their mouth. You might also tell your family or meal guests privately about the signal so they know not to react or question it during the meal.