Oral Motor Skills and Feeding Development
What are Oral Motor Skills?
Oral motor skills refer to how the lips, tongue, jaw, and cheeks work together during eating and drinking.
These movements are needed for:
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Sucking
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Chewing
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Moving food around the mouth
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Swallowing
Oral motor development begins before birth and continues to grow during the first few years of life. These skills build alongside other important areas like posture, coordination, and early reflexes.
Strong oral motor skills help children:
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Eat a variety of foods
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Safely manage different textures
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Have positive and successful mealtime experiences
Signs Your Child May Have Oral Motor Difficulties
Every child develops oral motor skills at their own pace, but these signs may suggest challenges with oral motor skills:
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Difficulty chewing or moving food in the mouth
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Food staying in the cheeks (“pocketing”)
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Gagging with textured foods
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Preference for purees or very soft foods
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Refusal of chewy or harder foods (like meats or raw fruits/vegetables)
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Taking a long time to finish meals
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Coughing or choking during eating
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Difficulty using straws or bottles
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Excessive drooling
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Poor weight gain or limited food intake
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Mouth often open at rest
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Messy or uncoordinated eating
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Challenges with clear speech or being understood
Why Oral Motor Skills Matter
Feeding & Safety
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Help children chew food thoroughly
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Support safe swallowing
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Allow progression to more complex textures
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Help protect the airway during swallowing
Independence at Mealtimes
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Builds confidence with eating
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Encourages trying new foods
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Supports participation and communication during family meals
Speech & Communication
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The lips, tongue, and jaw also play a role in forming sounds and words
Developmental Milestones
Birth to 3 months
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Reflexive sucking begins
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Babies are able to suck and swallow milk
3 to 7 months
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Early chewing patterns (up and down motion) begin
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Increased lateral tongue and jaw movement (side to side motions)
7 to 9 months
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Improved jaw stability
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Beginning of self-feeding
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Better lip closure and food control making it easier to remove food from a spoon
9 to 12 months
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Emerging chewing skills like a rotary chewing pattern (circular motion to grind food)
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Improved ability to bite and manage soft foods
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Less food spilling from the mouth
12 to 24 months
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Drinking from an open cup (with spilling) begins around 12 months
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Improved coordination of biting, chewing, and swallowings
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Improved lip closure
2 to 3 years
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More controlled chewing
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Ability to handle a wider range of textures
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More established rotary (circular) chewing
3 years and up
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Mature chewing patterns develop
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Improved tongue control for moving food efficiently
How Therapy Can Help
Feeding therapy helps children build the skills needed for safe, effective, and positive eating experiences.
An occupational therapist may focus on:
Jaw Strength & Stability
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Supporting more controlled chewing
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Building strength for biting and managing textures
Tongue Movement & Coordination
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Encouraging side-to-side movement of food
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Improving how food is positioned in the mouth
Oral Awareness
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Helping children better understand how their mouth moves during eating using tactile, visual, and movement-based input
Positioning & Mealtime Support
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Adjusting seating and posture for safer feeding
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Creating more successful mealtime routines
Sensory & Food Exploration
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Gradual exposure to new foods and textures
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Supporting positive, low-pressure interactions with food
A Team Approach
Sometimes, occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists work together to support feeding. The goal is to help your child feel safe, confident, and successful during meals.
What Can Parents Do at Home?
Watch for readiness signs
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Leaning toward food, watching others eat, or showing interest in new textures
Support good positioning
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Make sure your child is stable and well-supported during meals (see positioning section)
Offer a variety of textures
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Use different foods and utensils to build oral-motor skills such as offering crunchy crackers, soft banana slices, or different spoon types.
Present the spoon flat
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Let your child use their lips to clear the spoon instead of tilting it—this strengthens lip muscles
Encourage self-feeding
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Explore spoons: ~6–9 months
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Scoop and bring to mouth: ~12–18 months
Model eating behaviors
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Eat alongside your child and show them how to use utensils and explore food
Use the right spoon
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Short, wide-handled spoons are easier for little hands to control
When to Seek Support
You may want to reach out for support if:
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Mealtimes feel stressful most days
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Your child is not exploring or progressing with different textures
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Gagging, coughing, or choking happens frequently
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Your child avoids many types of food
Start by talking with your child’s pediatrician, who could recommend an occupational therapist (OT) or speech-language pathologist (SLP) for further support.
Disclaimer
This website is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. The information provided is meant to serve as a general resource for families and is not a substitute for professional evaluation or guidance. Every child is unique, and strategies or recommendations described on this site may not be appropriate for all children, particularly those with complex needs such as Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) or Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Always consult a licensed healthcare professional — including your pediatrician, occupational therapist, gastroenterologist, or feeding specialist — before implementing any new feeding strategies or interventions. If you have concerns about your child’s feeding, oral motor skills, or nutritional intake, please seek guidance from a qualified provider.