Darling Boy.....But Driving Me Crazy At Meal Times!!

[Meeko]

I have a dcb who is 16 months old. He is gorgeous. Happy, well behaved and has wonderful, thoughtful parents who always pay on time etc.

This baby has a great appetite and happily eats anything put in front of him. So happy that is, that he makes loud "enjoyable eating" noises non-stop while eating. It was cute for the first day and now drives me insane at every meal. His parents think it's cute.

He eats like "Num num num...Mmmmm...mmnnn....nom...nom..."

It's very loud and continous from first bite to last. I am going to assume his parents made "Num num" noises at first when feeding him and he now assumes that's how you eat.

If I tell him gently to "Shh"...he looks hurt, bursts into tears and then just continues!

Any ideas???!!! I have mentioned it to his Mom, but she just grins and giggles and tells me they will work on it. She thinks it's the cutest thing EVER.

They are the perfect family except for this kid's dismal table manners! The little chap enjoys his food so much that I don't want him to feel awkward or nervous at meal times, but the noises are driving the other kids crazy too.

[jojosmommy]

Turn on the radio. I have a loud eater (not intentionally) and it drives me nuts. IMO if mom thinks its cute it will likely not go away easily.

[Heidi]

I play music while we eat a lot of the time. For some reason, it helps with table manners. It's also a good time to read a story-captive audience. Maybe he will be distracted enough to stop then.

[laundrymom]

I once had a grunt eater !! Lol. It was sooo not enjoyable The others thought he was growling at them. Lol

[Meeko]

Thanks ladies!

Tomorrow we will have "music to munch to"::::

[nannyde]

It's a phase. I had one do that for months.

[sharlan]

My mother in law did that. It drove me CRAZY.

It's hard to break a habit that Mom and Dad think is cute.