Children first learn to place things in the middle of their tongues. For example, in the initial stages of weaning when they’re first feeding your baby may only put their first runny purées near the roof of their mouth. This is why they need to be this texture in the first weaning stage, so they can easily swallow their first foods without the need to easily move food around their mouth or chew.

As your baby grows, we want them to learn how to use their tongue to go from side to side. Developing lateral tongue motion will allow them to then move food around their mouth, aiding chewing and swallowing. This is where a teether is vital. Biting on a teether (especially side biting), encourages the tongue to move towards the side to find that stimuli.