A Scoping Review of Oral Feeding Skill Development in Typically Developing Children Part I: Methodologies, Populations, and Normative Data.

purposeThis scoping review is the first in a two-part series aimed at synthesizing literature on oral feeding skills and informing the development of a classification system of observable skills. This article consolidates research on feeding skill development in typically developing children. The second paper analyzes individual skills identified. This review addresses three questions: (a) What methods have been used to study feeding skill development? (b) What populations of typically developing children without feeding disorders have been studied? (c) What normative data on feeding skills are available?

methodFollowing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines, studies were included if they examined oral feeding skills in typically developing children born at ≥ 37 weeks gestation, aged at least 4 months, with a focus on skills related to drinking liquids by cup and eating solids, using direct observation.

resultsFourteen studies met inclusion criteria. Findings revealed significant methodological variability, particularly in the number of skills assessed, feeding procedures used, and participant characteristics. While some normative data exist, they were limited and inconsistently reported. A key challenge was the lack of standardized definitions and categorization of feeding skills, which limited cross-study comparisons.

conclusionsMultiple approaches have been used to study typical feeding skill development, presenting an opportunity for methodological standardization. Greater clarity around individual feeding skills, addressed in Part 2, may help resolve inconsistencies in developmental timelines and support the development of an observational clinical measure.