When Will My Child’s Feeding Tube Come Out?
“When will my child’s NG tube come out?” – why there isn’t a simple answer
This is one of the most common questions I’m asked by parents of tube‑fed children. It’s also one of the hardest to answer.
If you’re reading this hoping for a clear timeline - three months, six months, by their next birthday - I want to be honest from the outset: there is no single, straightforward answer. And that isn’t because professionals are being vague or evasive. It’s because NG tube weaning is influenced by a complex mix of medical, developmental, sensory, emotional and family factors.
In this blog, I want to explain why the answer is complicated, what actually determines readiness for tube removal, and what parents can realistically focus on instead.
First, a quick note on NG tubes
An NG (nasogastric) tube is a medical intervention used to keep a child safe and nourished when they can’t meet their nutritional needs orally. For many families, it is both a lifeline and a source of grief, exhaustion and uncertainty.
Wanting to know when it will end is completely understandable.
Why there is no set timeline
Two children can look very similar on paper - same age, same diagnosis, same duration of tube feeding – and yet have completely different weaning journeys.
That’s because tube removal isn’t driven by time alone. It’s driven by readiness.
Let’s break down what that actually means.
1. Medical stability comes first
Before anyone seriously considers tube removal, a child needs to be medically stable.
This may include:
Stable growth and weight gain
Medical conditions being well managed
No frequent hospital admissions or acute illnesses
Clear guidance from the medical team that oral feeding is safe
If a child’s body is still under significant stress, the focus remains on safety and nutrition, not speed.
2. Oral feeding skills matter (a lot)
Eating is not a single skill. It’s a combination of:
Oral motor skills (chewing, tongue movement, lip closure)
Swallow safety
Coordination of breathing and swallowing
Endurance and efficiency
Some children can eat, but not enough to meet their needs. Others can manage only certain textures or volumes. Tube weaning requires a foundation of functional feeding skills that can be built on safely.
3. Sensory and emotional factors are often the biggest piece
This is the part that is most often underestimated.
Many tube‑fed children experience:
Oral aversion
Strong gag responses
Fear or anxiety around food
Avoidance of the high chair or table
A long history of uncomfortable or pressured feeding experiences
For these children, eating isn’t just hard - it feels unsafe.
Until a child feels emotionally regulated and safe around food, progress is usually slow, fragile, or inconsistent. And that’s not a failure. It’s information.
4. Appetite and hunger regulation
Tube feeding can significantly disrupt a child’s natural hunger cues.
Some children:
Don’t feel hunger in a typical way
Feel full very quickly
Have learned that food is optional because nutrition arrives regardless
Part of tube weaning often involves carefully supporting the return of appetite – a process that must be medically supervised and individualised.
5. Developmental stage and learning readiness
A toddler is not the same as a pre-schooler. A pre-schooler is not the same as a school‑aged child.
Developmental factors such as:
Ability to sit at a table
Curiosity and play
Imitation and learning from others
Communication skills
all influence how a child engages with food and feeding therapy.
6. The family system matters too
Tube weaning doesn’t happen in a vacuum.
Parental stress, trauma from past feeding experiences, sleep deprivation, and fear of weight loss all shape how feeding unfolds at home.
A calm, supported parent is not a luxury - it’s part of the intervention.
So… when does the NG tube come out?
In practice, NG tubes usually come out when:
Oral intake is consistently meeting nutritional needs or
A clear, safe weaning plan is in place and the child is demonstrating readiness
For some children, this may be weeks or months after starting feeding therapy. For others, it may take longer - and that does not mean therapy isn’t working.
Progress is often non‑linear. You may see bursts of eating followed by plateaus. This is normal.
A more helpful question to ask
Instead of asking:
“When will the tube come out?”
I often encourage families to ask:
What is standing in the way right now?
What does my child need to feel safer with food?
Which skills are missing, and which are emerging?
What would progress look like in the next 4–6 weeks?
These questions lead to clearer goals, more realistic expectations, and less emotional whiplash.
If you’re a parent reading this
If your child has an NG tube, you are not behind. You have not failed. And you are not doing anything wrong by wanting it gone.
Tube weaning is rarely about pushing harder. It’s about building readiness, layer by layer, at your child’s pace.
With the right support, many children do transition away from tubes. But the path there is individual – and it deserves patience, compassion and nuance.