Why should I encourage mouthing on toys?
While it can be frustrating (and unsanitary!) at times, mouthing toys is important for baby's development for many reasons. Babies typically begin to explore fingers and toys in their mouth around 4-5 months of age. This mouthing behavior tends to peak midway through the second half of baby's first year and fades gradually over time.
Through mouthing, baby is leaning about:
Properties of objects: size, texture, shape, taste
Oral-motor skills: chewing (jaw strength), tongue movement side-to-side.
Strengthening and refining movements for eating and later speech sound development
Oral desensitization: Texture, pressure and movement in a controlled way to prep for transition to foods
Calming and self-soothing
Quick Note on Mouthing and Pacifier Use
Pacifier use, especially during waking hours and while playing, can greatly limit a child’s opportunity to mouth toys and reap the benefits mentioned above. When baby has a pacifier in their mouth they are either using a static bite with the font gums/teeth and retracting tongue far back in the mouth or suckling with the tongue to keep the pacifier from falling out of the mouth. Both are restricting tongue movement and limiting opportunities for practice moving the tongue freely in the mouth to develop more mature motor patterns for swallowing and speech sound development.
Around 5 months of age, when baby can sit supported in a highchair and bring toys to their mouth, offering teething toys is a great option for calming and self-regulation. Baby can explore the toy, bite down and chew as they learn to self-soothe instead of offering a pacifier. Baby will learn to self-soothe in this way while also working on improving strength, coordination, and sensory components needed to progress oral-motor skills- win, win!
More to come on pacifier use in another post, stay tuned!
When looking for a good teething/mouthing toy, look for these characteristics:
Lightweight and easy for baby to manipulate
Large enough to not be a choking hazard
Small protrusion that can easily be placed farther back in the mouth for chewing practice at the molar area (not just front and center)Variety of smooth and bumpy textures and firmness
Easily washable and durable for when teeth come in
See our post on the Top Feeding Products we recommend to see which teething toys are our favorite to use with babies around 5 months on up. You can also scroll through our post on starting solids here for HOW to use teethers as a tool to help baby transition to more advanced textures.
Gagging
Mouthing can lead to gagging at times, but unless excessive or often leading to vomiting, gagging is a very normal (and helpful!) reflex that baby will need to work through for purees and solids to be eaten well. Help your baby work through gagging episodes by staying calm and briefly labeling what just happened “Wow! You moved that toy too far back. Here, try again.” Try not to make it a big deal, and baby will likely move right along and try again.
Keep in Mind
When babies are in a mouthing phase (and beyond) it is so very important to ensure your home is free of items small enough to choke on. My favorite rule of thumb- if it can fit through a TP roll, it's too small for baby to have access to. Accidental poisoning is also a concern, so now is the perfect time to add child locks to your cabinets in the kitchen and bathroom and get those chemicals up away from baby’s reach. We like these locks here.
Mouthing can seem like it lasts forever, but before you know it, baby will have moved on to using their hands to explore and manipulate toys in so many different ways. Like all things in motherhood, it will seem long in the moment, but a blip in time once you’re through it. Encourage baby to mouth on safe, non-toxic toys and their fingers and watch those mouth skills blossom.
Jaclyn, SLP
We’re Jaclyn & Bree
Pediatric therapists and moms with a mission to empower you with knowledge to encourage your baby’s development and continue confidently into your parenthood journey.
If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below and we will get back to you. As always, the information we share is meant to provide general education and tips and is not intended as medical advice. If you have a specific question or concern about your child’s development, please speak directly to your child’s doctor or therapist.