Melanie Potock

#ad #ellaolapartner ✨When your child’s a picky eater (and I work with the most extreme picky eaters) I know it feels scary. 🤦🏼‍♀️You’re constantly worried that you child’s pickiness will lead to nutritional deficits, especially when they refuse to eat a variety of healthy foods.

❤️Finally, there’s hope. @EllaOla Unflavored Multivitamin packets were developed by Pediatrician and Pediatric Dietitians (and moms!) as an alternative to the traditional gummy or chewable vitamins - this multivitamin has all the good stuff your little ones need without any of the icky stuff like dyes, artificial additives, or added sugar.

✨Let’s be sure to talk about choking. And as a feeding specialist with 30 years of experience helping the pickiest of eaters, I know that choking prevention is crucial for learning eaters. Many of the kids on my caseload can’t chew or aren’t safe to swallow pills – or simply will not try new tastes or textures without months of feeding therapy. When I need to consult with their RDN to find vitamin for them right away and @EllaOla gets the RDN’s thumb’s up! 👍🏼

✨Imagine - what if you could rest assured that your kiddo is getting the minerals and vitamins they need – because you simply stirred in the finest, lightest, colorless, tasteless powder into your picky eater’s preferred foods?

✨I’ve tested it in mac-n-cheese, catsup, ranch dressing and milk, just to name a few…and…

✨I cannot taste, smell or detect it at all.✨It’s a game changer!

❤️Melanie
#melaniepotock #feedingspecialist #kidsvitamins #kidsmultivitamin #ellaolapartner #pickyeaters #arfid #autism #feedinglittles #slpfeeding #melaniepotock

❓🎁Need 50 more ideas for baby’s first birthday? Comment FIRST for a direct link to my favorite feeding tools and toys!

🥳Happiest first birthday to your little munch bug!

🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #firstbirthday #smashcake #slpfeeding #asha2024

😒Is he going to be a picky eater? Maybe. But today he’s getting fruit for lunch and nothing else.

🤦🏼‍♀️Geez, this is hard. Hi, I’m Melanie, a pediatric feeding specialist and supposedly an “expert” on picky eating. Six books on the topic, 30 years experience and did I say this is HARD?

❤️That’s my grandbaby. He’s teething. He’s miserable. And you know what makes him happier than a pig in mud? Fruit. Going to @chickfila and all those cows. 🐮One of his first words was “moo!”) Being held A LOT. 🥹

💔And when you’re kid (or grandkid) isn’t eating, it’s stressful. But the occasional skipped meal, or a meal of just one food, isn’t going to sabotage your plan to raise an adventurous eater.

👏🏼Consistently offering the same foods over and over leads to picky eating, and research shows that. But you know what? Today we are just eating fruit and having lots of snuggles, or “huggles” as we call them in our family.

✨Here are tips to avoid the picky eating trap (when kids aren’t hurting, or sick). Try your best to…

✨Keep toddlers (and big kids) on a consistent meal and snack time schedule. Grazing kills appetite and is terrible for kid’s dental health.

✨Don’t stress if they don’t eat that snack or meal. Breathe. Try again in a few hours.

✨Focus on offering VARIETY. A little bit of this, a little bit of that. More if they want it.

🐮💗No matter what, keep it fun: COWS. Moos. Huggles.

❓Questions? I’m here to help – drop them in the comments. I’ll answer in between all the moos and huggles today.

🐮❤️🐮Melanie
#melaniepotock #teethingbaby #fussyeating #pickytoddler #feedingtherapy #asha2024

💦Worried your kid isn’t drinking enough water?

❤️Hi, I’m Melanie, a pediatric feeding specialist who not only helps kids eat, but makes sure they can drink enough water each day too!

💦It’s all in the video for you…but if you have older kids, then…

💦In general, Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends kids ages 8 and up should drink EIGHT 8-oz glasses of water per day. Keep in mind that hydration can come in many forms, like fruits, smoothies, and other beverages like milk. Always check with your child’s health care provider for specific recommendations for your kiddo.

🚽Hey, and don’t forget about PEE!
Yep, urine tells us so much about hydration. It should be almost clear to “straw” color. Darker urine throughout the day indicates they need more water.

❌And remember, no water for babies under age 6 months, unless it’s appropriately mixed into their formula at the recommended ratio.☺️

❓And how about you? How do you ensure that you get enough water to stay healthy and hydrated? Tell me your tricks in the caption, I really want to know!

🥂Raise your glass! 🥰Cheers!💦

🥰Melanie

#melaniepotock #waterforbabies #waterforkids #asha2024 #slpfeeding
Source: HopkinsMedicine.org

🥰Questions about picky eating, starting solids, feeding therapy, family mealtimes? GO!

❤️Melanie
#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #asha2024 #otfeeding #ARFID

🛑Stop. Let me tell you about the best Halloween I had as a kid…

👻I was 4, and a told my mom I just wanted to stay with her and give out candy. At the very last minute (seriously, as my 4 big brothers are walking out the door to go trick-or-treating) I screamed “I WANT TO GO!” and my mother didn’t even flinch. She ran upstairs, grabbed a white pillowcase off her bed pillow and quickly cut 2 holes in it for my eyes. “You’re a ghost, have fun.”

🎃That was it. Best Halloween Ever.

👉🏼My point? Take a breath. It’s ok if you don’t want to put up 10 ft. tall, $350 plastic skeletons in your front yard. (Seems to be the trend this year!) It’s ok if you decide to just buy one bag of candy and be done with the door bell ringing. It’s also totally ok if your family THRIVES on spooky and loves this holiday more than ever, with all the yard decorations and the incredible costumes and king-size candy bars for all. 🧡🍫🧡

🤍Keep in mind that most kids don’t need to have the full-blown experience to enjoy Halloween.

🤍🎃🤍AND…many kids can’t experience the same way as other kids. So if they don’t say “trick-or-treat” or “thank you” just smile and tell them you love their costume. They may have a developmental delay or have other special needs that make the rituals of Halloween a bit tricky.

📌💕Please share this post or tag a friend who may need to hear this today.

❓Tell me, what do you love (or hate) about Halloween?

🧡🎃🧡Happiest Halloween to you and yours,
🍫Melanie
#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #halloween2024

🤍Helping kids with ARFID and their families understand pediatric anxiety, feeding development and finding the right support for their individual needs is incredibly important to me.

✨Comment ARFID and I’ll send you resources and a discount code for on-demand learning.

🥰Hi, I’m Melanie, a feeding specialist who understands the nuances of pediatric anxiety and a child’s negative predictions about trying new foods. In some ways, it’s about the feeling more than the food itself.

✨Learn more by commenting ARFID – and drop questions in the comments too!

❤️Melanie
#melaniepotock #arfidrecovery #arfidawarness #asha2024

🦷👶🏻When it comes to baby teething (ouch!), I love a good silicone food feeder.

🥰Hi, I’m Melanie, author of 6 books on feeding babies, toddlers & big kids and here to help you navigate every.single.step…That includes teething.

✨Comment AMAZON for a link to my favorite feeding therapy tools – and that includes my 2 favorite ice pops for EVERY teething baby!

😁Silicone food feeders are also great for occasional practice munching up and down, just like the baby in the video. I like to fill mine with frozen fruit for more resistance and to encourage that “munching” action that develops baby’s facial muscles (especially the jaw) and provides deep sensory input to help calm baby too. PLUS – it sure does help those aching little toofers!

❓Questions? Drop them in the comments!

🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #asha2024 #responsivefeeding #feedingtherapy

🎃Ready to shop for Halloween treats? Careful, some candy and toys can be deadly for young children.

📲You`re going to want to save and share this post.

😮Were you surprised by the lists in this post? Are you wondering why…

🍫MILK, not dark chocolate? It’s because it melts easier in the mouth and that`s important for toddlers.

🎈Balloons – Latex balloons are a MAJOR choking hazard for kids up to age 8! 👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼According to Nationwide
Children’s Hospital: “Children inhale latex balloons (mostly while trying to inflate them) or choke on their broken pieces. Latex is dangerous because it is a smooth material and can conform to the child’s throat, blocking the airway and making it impossible to breathe. Performing the Heimlich Maneuver is usually no help because the air that does get through can make the blockage worse by completely covering the throat. Using your fingers can easily push the balloon further back into the airway.”*

🐈‍⬛Small stickers – These get easily stuck on a child’s finger and they will use their mouth to try to get them off. Tiny stickers can then be inhaled.

🎃On the big day, as soon as you
get home, sort through your child’s loot for anything with loose wrappers, homemade treats (like popcorn balls – just toss ‘em) or the items in this reel.

🎃Have fun, but stay safe! Share this with someone you love.
💕Melanie💕

*nationwidechildrens.org/family-resources-education/health-wellness-and-safety-resources
#melaniepotock #halloween2024🎃👻🕷️
#chokinghazards #kidsafety #feedingtherapy

❤️There are so many nuances to parenting a picky eater. I am not saying these six words will change picky eating overnight, but it’s an essential phrase to raise an adventurous eater over time…

❓Want practical tips on avoiding picky eating, solving picky eating, bottle weaning, pacifier weaning and so much more?

✨COMMENT VIDEO✨
& I`ll send you a discount code for my on-demand video library!

🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock