Whole Fruits for Jaw Development

It’s really important that we show our kids how to eat foods like apples, peaches, and nectarines in their whole form. 

I know as a parent it might seem more convenient to grab a bag of pre-sliced apples, but whole apples are such a great way to develop the jaw with chewing! People used to chew on things like roots, trees, bark, and bones, but let’s be honest, when was the last time you chewed on bark?! 

Some of the hardest foods we have easy access to are going to be raw fruit and vegetables. Often kids aren’t used to eating whole foods, so I like to showcase how to hold foods like apples from the bottom and at the top of the stem, at both ends of the core. 

You can model this for your kids, and show them how to bite their way around the apple, demonstrating how they tear off a bite and chew their food with their back teeth. Extra points if you act like a dinosaur!

It’s easy to pass over things like this that seem overly simple, but encouraging good chewing habits will help your kids to build a strong jaw, and that will serve them for the rest of their lives.

You’ve got this - let’s go make some Myo Magic!