Melanie Potock

🍝Your picky eater only eats plain or buttered noodles? Use my step-by-step solution to gradually introduce the sauce of your choice!

✨Start with the tiniest bit of sauce at the bottom of a bowl. Kids can participate in these steps if it’s not too stressful for them. For kids who are very anxious, you might start with their favorite plain pasta in one bowl and the final product from this reel in a bowl set next to it. Every kid is different… But let’s keep going here with the final steps:

✨Add pasta and stir well.

✨Here’s the most important part: add more pasta and stir again. Why? Because that pasta will be lighter in color and hold less sauce then the pasta you first stirred in… And now your child has options to pick the lightest (least saucy!) pasta from the bowl.

✨Bonus tip: Add two or three plain noodles to the top of the pile for those kids who are very hesitant about sauce. If they just fork those three noodles that’s awesome! This technique takes time and breaking it down into even smaller steps maybe the magic for your child. Step #5 is just adding a bit more sauce with each presentation!

🥰COMMENT COURSE for My Picky Eater Course & a discount code!

❤️Melanie
🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝🍝
#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #pickyeaters #originalidea #arfidawareness

😳Sneaking veggies into your kids food? Did my response surprise you?🤍

Keep it in perspective.🥰

😉Melanie

#melaniepotock
#slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #responsivefeeding

Preventing a toddler from throwing foods means parenting proactively. The key is to teach them something better to do with it.

Whenever you can, keep an empty section on baby’s plate. If you sense they are going to toss the food, point to the empty spot, smile and say “You can put it right here.”

If they oblige, praise, clap or just smile and keep eating together. If it gets pitched, just ignore it.

Toddlers will quickly learn to keep food on the plate if they aren’t eating it. See how this little guy moved the tater tot from the silicone mat onto the plate? Bravo!

Want more tips like this from my on-demand course, taught with pediatrician Dr. Yum?
Comment COURSE for your discount code and a link to my entire course library! Choose THE PICKY EATER COURSE for tips from toddlers to kindergarten!

Melanie

#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #pickyeaters #responsivefeeding #originalidea

Know that your kid’s picky eating is not your fault.

✨👉🏼✨That’s my #1 tip, because if I can help you put that guilt away once and for all, the better it will be for you, and your sweet kid, and the sooner we will be on our way to finding joy in food!

😊Hi, I’m Melanie, a pediatric feeding specialist with over 25 years of experience. I can confidently share with you that after treating thousands of kids for picky eating (and even the most extreme picky eating) I have never met a parent who didn’t think they were somehow to blame. Stop. You’re a wonderful parent!❤️

✨Here’s what one of those parents said to me, and I’ll never forget it.

😔For years, her son was consisting on potato chips, french fries and a prescribed pediatric formula, and he was 8 years old. After a few sessions together, she told me this:

✨”Mel, I get it. This is not my fault. But, the change in HIM begins with the change in ME.”

🥰Wow. Smart, smart mom. So here’s what she did:
🧘🏼‍♀️She put on her best Academy Award-Winning performance and modeled calm when he didn’t eat, when he threw a tantrum or when he refused to eat at all at school. Inside, she was anxious, worried, and certain that he would starve. But she still modeled calm, and in turn, he also became much calmer. Meanwhile, we started implementing strategies.
💕Together, we worked on helping him tolerate having new foods on his plate, siting the in the cafeteria without hiding under the table and introduced him to cooking with his parents. We started small. We built from there. And all that time, she made a conscious effort to stop looking so worried, even if she still felt it inside.
✨👉🏼✨Her body language shifted from “He’s not going to eat it” to “I trust that he can do this.” Her feelings of guilt shifted from “This is my fault” to “He trusts me to help him get better.”

❤️❓❤️Tell me, what’s the one thing you worry most about, when it comes to your hesitant eater?

🤍Melanie

#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #pickyeaters #arfidawareness

😳Are you scared that your child might choke while eating? Do your best to keep an eye on them while they eat, even if you can’t always sit at the table with them. You won’t hear a child choking, you’ll SEE them choking. 👉🏼Signs include open, gaping mouth, often drooling; scared wide-eyed look and sometimes reaching toward the mouth or throat.

✨Know the facts & Save this post:

👉🏼Food is the most common cause of nonfatal choking in young kids.
👉🏼Kids under the age of 5 are at greatest risk
Young toddlers account for 37.8% of cases*
👉🏼For kids under age 4, (unless modified for safety) avoid serving:
•👉🏼Hot dogs (especially cut into a coin shape), meats, sausages, fish with bones
•👉🏼Popcorn, tortilla chips, pretzel nuggets
•👉🏼Candy (especially hard or sticky candy), cough drops, gum, lollipops, marshmallows, caramels, hard candies, and jelly beans
•👉🏼Whole or halved grapes & blueberries, raw vegetables, raw peas
•👉🏼Dried fruits, sunflower seeds, whole nuts
•👉🏼Peanut butter, especially when served as a spoonful or thickly smeared on soft breads
✨👉🏼✨ALWAYS feed kids in a highchair or supported seating that keeps them upright, sitting well-supported and buckled in!
✨👉🏼✨Pro Tip: Dips and drinks via a straw are always helpful to add moisture

📚This is not an all-inclusive list! To learn more, comment BOOKS and I’ll send you a link to look inside all 4 of my books on raising healthy, happy little eaters!

❓Questions on how to modify the foods above? Drop them in the comments. I’m here to help.

❤️Melanie

*Pediatrics (2013) 132 (2): 275–281.
https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-0260

#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #pickyeaters #responsivefeeding #startingsolids #chokinghazards

Picky Eater won’t eat green beans? Make this recipe together & let’s go from fun to yum!

👋🏼Hi, I’m Melanie, author of Adventures in Veggieland, here to help you raise healthy happy eaters. RECIPE is below, but 🗣️comment VEGGIES to look inside the book!

You’ll need:
✨1 pint sized canning jar with lid
✨4 oz green beans
✨3 sprigs of fresh dill
✨1 large garlic clove, sliced
✨½ t. mustard seeds
✨1 cup distilled white vinegar
✨1 cup purified or bottled water
✨3 t. sea salt
✨3 t. sugar

❤️Kids Can (with your help)
✨Wash and blanch green beans
✨Put dill, garlic and mustard seeds in jar
✨Snip ends of beans (discard ends) so beans will stand up in jar
🤍In large saucepan, combine the vinegar, water, salt and sugar. Bring this brine to boil for 2 minutes till salt and sugar dissolve.
👉🏼ADULTS put brine into jar, stopping just below rim. (Beans immersed completely.)
✨Place lid on jar, refrigerate 24 hours, then enjoy! (Last in fridge for up to 4 weeks)

🥰Such a fun, quick and inexpensive way to cook with your kids. Double the recipe to make a gift for a neighbor too!

🗣️Comment VEGGIES to look inside the book!
🤍Melanie
Hey, did you notice I forgot a few steps in this video? LOL! And I wrote the book!😂

📷Eric Harvey Brown
#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #pickyeaters #responsivefeeding #originalidea #arfidawareness #adventuresinveggieland

Here are 4 things you MUST HAVE if you’re going to eat out with baby, and they fit right into this pocket of my favorite carrier from @tushbaby!
✨Keep baby’s eating area germ and mess free by packing these 4 things!

🗣️COMMENT DINE for my tested and true favorite products sent right to your inbox!

✨1.✨A @purellbrand wipe for wiping down surfaces/highchairs.
✨2.✨My favorite LARGE disposable mat that REALLY sticks
(I have a superb silicone option if you prefer!)
✨3.✨Supporting our hard-working waiters (and hard-working YOU!) – The best compostable floor mat. Let me tell you how to use this:

👉🏼a. Unfold, place under highchair.
👉🏼b. Toss any trash you accumulate UNDER the chair onto the mat.
👉🏼c. Pick up any crayons, toys that baby drops and USE AGAIN because they landed on this magical mat. (You’re welcome!)
👉🏼d. At end of meal, gather rest of trash, place on mat, fold it up and your waiter will burst into tears because they are so happy you came with your kids to eat at their restaurant. (But remember to tip too!)

✨4.✨Disposable bibs that are lifesavers if you forgot your own.

✨5.✨Bonus: Something to nibble while waiting for their meal, like @cheerios!

#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #pickyeaters #responsivefeeding #startingsolids #kidsmeals

💚Picky eaters will have fun trying greens if they get to add my secret ingredient to Dr. Yum’s Green Dragon Smoothie!

💚Make this with your kids, and let them add a small handful of chocolate chips at the very end of blending. They are surprisingly low in sugar, and chop up in seconds to become POLKA-DOTS making this green dragon the cutest and friendliest in town! (and so yummy!)

👉🏼Here’s the recipe from my book, Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Child Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes. 🗣️Comment VEGGIES for the link to look inside the book sent directly to your inbox!

✨1 cup fresh baby spinach, packed
✨¾ cup fresh or frozen pineapple
✨½ cup fresh or frozen green grapes
✨Small chunk frozen or fresh banana
✨½ peeled orange (I like to freeze peeled oranges too!)
✨Small wedge of lime, with rind, seeds removed
✨Tiny (pea sized) piece of ginger or a pinch of powdered ginger
(More ice if you’d like it extra cold and slushy!)
✨1/8 of a cup chocolate chips
✨👉🏼✨Blend everything except the chips in the blender until smooth, adding a splash of water if needed for smoother consistency.

🪄Here’s the MAGIC: Kids add chocolate chips and blend for just a few seconds, creating polka dots throughout!

Serves 2. NOTE: Omit chocolate chips for kids under age two.

🥰Your kids can: Peel the orange & banana! Add ingredients to blender with adult’s help. Toss in those magical chocolate chips!

✨🗣️More fun recipes like this in my latest paperback, with over 50 color photos too! Comment VEGGIES for link to look inside.
🤍Melanie

#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #pickyeaters #ashaigers #originalidea #adventuresinveggieland

😳It’s dangerous to have stuffed animals of any size in baby’s sleep space, especially near their nose and mouth. PLUS, ideally we want to wean baby from the pacifier during the daytime at age 6 months. So, the animal pacifier makes no sense from a practical standpoint. BUT…here’s another point.

🐿️🦊🐻If your child is older and has not weaned from the pacifier, cut off the animal. The added weight hanging from their mouth may contribute to the intensity & duration of the sucking, which we know influences dental, facial & palate formation in conjunction with the frequency of sucking. They can still have the cute animal, just not hanging from the pacifier. Also, it’s time to wean anyway, so let go of the pacifier and hang on to the cute animal for comfort.

🤔Wondering how to wean a baby, toddler or older kiddo from the pacifier?
🎉COMMENT COURSE for a link sent straight to your DMs for ALL my video courses, including THE PACIFIER COURSE, plus a discount code!

💕You can do it… It just takes the right guidance to wean and I’m here to help!

🥰Melanie
But wait, there`s more! 🔥Recently, a pilot study concluded that “When toy plush animals are attached to a pacifier, the forces transmitted to the nipple of the pacifier can exceed the 0.4 N minimum force (100 g equals 0.98 N) required to cause orthodontic tooth movement.” Tesini DA et al., Forces Generated During Plush Animal Pacifier Use: A Pilot Study. Pediatr Dent. 2023 May 15;45(3):177-180. PMID: 37381124. Thanks to @functionfocusacadamy for sharing & @oral_motor_institute for sharing that study.

#melaniepotock
#pacifier #bestpacifier #speechtherapy #slp #feedingtherapy #feedingtherapist #myfirstbaby #babyregistry #toddler #mytoddler #toddlerlife #ashaigers #orofacial #orofacialmyology #toddlertrouble

🍓Kids love fruit, and it’s a common concern for parents that it’s all they will eat if they serve it with the meal. BUT, let’s take dessert (and fruit) off it’s pedestal and remember 3 rules on parenting mindfully at mealtimes:

1.✨You decide how much is available, and when. So, if you’d like to save fruit for snack time paired with a little fat or protein, that’s one option.

2.✨Your job is to offer a variety of food, but you can also say “That’s not on the menu today” or “Blueberries aren’t available right now – but we will have some for breakfast.”

3.✨Personally, I like fruit to served with the rest of the meal, and I feel that way most of the time about dessert too. But the portion is small. And I rarely provide “seconds”. I’m more likely to provide a bigger portion of fruit if I suspect they will enjoy it AND they need it for a nutritional reason – like a little extra fiber or Vitamin C.

🤦🏼‍♀️Also – anybody else feel like the entire grocery budget goes to BERRIES? LOL!

🗣️Comment COURSE for a discount code to any course on my on-demand course library, including The Picky Eater Course, Bottle Weaning and My Pacifier Course too! (and so many more!)

🥰Melanie

#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #feedinglittles #ashaigers #pickyeaters #responsivefeeding #arfidawareness

👶🏻Babies need iron, especially when starting solids. It’s essential for brain development, immune function, and the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body.

😳Without enough iron, babies can develop iron deficiency anemia, which may affect their growth and learning. Want an easy way to ensure your baby is getting enough iron?

❤️First, shout-out to the registered dietitians that have taught me tips like these:

• You can choose Heme iron (easily absorbed): Found in animal products like red meat (beef, lamb), poultry (chicken, turkey), and seafood.
• And/or you can choose Non-heme iron (plant-based): Found in lentils, beans, tofu, spinach, quinoa, and fortified cereals. Pairing these with vitamin C-rich foods (like oranges or strawberries) can enhance iron absorption.

🗣️Hey did someone mention fortified baby cereals? YES PLEASE! ✨Sprinkle some into baby’s yogurt, purees or mix into pastas. ✨Add a few tablespoons to those banana-egg pancakes that we all love to make for kids – yep, bananas have Vit. C to help with the absorption. 🍌

✨❤️✨I keep a box of iron-fortified baby cereal ready to add to almost anything. It’s so easy and I can rest assured that I’m not forgetting the importance of including iron in baby’s diet.

🥳Today is National Registered Dietitian Day! Cheers to the RDs! We love you!

🥰Melanie

#melaniepotock #responsivefeeding #startingsolids #feedingtherapy #slpfeeding #ashaigers #feedinglittles