Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP is a mom who once had a picky eater. She’s experienced first-hand the stress that parents feel when they are worried about their child’s nutritional health. Fast forward to today, and you’ll find Melanie blending her knowledge of feeding therapy with practical parenting strategies that help the entire family eat healthier. She’s an international speaker and author of six books, including co-authoring the award-winning Raising a Healthy Happy Eater. Whether you’re raising a child who seems to be on the path to loving all kinds of healthy foods (and you want to keep it that way) or if your child is stuck in the chicken nugget rut, “Coach Mel” is here to guide you.
Melanie Potock
Pediatric Feeding Expert and Author
Expert Feeding Help
for Professionals and Parents
Melanie Potock’s keynotes, courses, books & articles focus on raising kids to be healthy, happy eaters. From babies to toddlers to teens, “Coach Mel” is here to help.
Raising a Healthy Happy Eater Isn’t Always Easy
Get Expert Advice on Feeding Babies, Toddlers & School Age Kids,
Including Extreme Picky Eaters
Upcoming Events & Courses
Babies
This book is designed to answer the most common questions about feeding babies and toddlers up to age three. It also debunks myths while offering practical tips on making mealtimes joyful and less stressful. It teaches a no-nonsense, straightforward approach to responsive feeding that’s focused on nurturing trust and communication between parent and child. Read more about Responsive Feeding here.
Toddlers & Preschoolers
In her award-winning book, Raising a Healthy Happy Eater, Melanie and her co-author, pediatrician Dr. Yum, teach parents how to guide their children on the path to adventurous eating. Parents report that toddlers are the most challenging to feed, thanks to active little bodies and fleeting attention spans. Learn how to lay positive foundations for eating at 6 months of age, navigate the “terrific twos” and avoid picky eating in the preschool years! Get the brand new, updated 2nd edition. Read more about feeding young children here.
School Age
Kids can cook right along with their parents from an early age, but it’s especially important from preschool and into the elementary school years. What’s the number one food group that parents struggle with the most? Vegetables! The secret to helping kids love any kind of food is to follow Melanie’s Three E’s: Expose, Explore, Expand. You’ll learn how to use the Three E’s and create veggie-love in Melanie’s book, Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Kids Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes. Read more about feeding school-age kids here.
More fun!
As a speech language pathologist, Melanie combined her love for language, little kids and food by writing a children’s book! You are Not an Otter: The Story of How Kids Become Adventurous Eaters is available on Kindle, in paperback, and in both English and Spanish. Don’t miss the parent tips in the back of the book! Learn about all of Mel’s books here.
♥️Parents often apologize when they meet me, because they are worried that their child’s picky eating is their fault.
It’s not. No need to apologize.
You love your child.
You’re doing your best with the information you have.
That’s all any of us can do.
✨Evidence changes.
✨Recommendations change.
✨Children change.
TIPS:
✨Feeding therapy is customized for your kid!
✨BOOKS are the next best thing to learn how to raise an adventurous eater.
✨Talk to your pediatrician on how to find help.
The good news?
Small changes at the table often lead to big changes over time.
💕 Progress doesn’t require perfection.
It requires consistency, patience, and a little hope.
🎙️Comment BOOKS if you’re ready for practical, evidence-based strategies you can start using today. Be sure you’re following @mymunchbug_melaniepotock to get the links!
🥰Melanie
Melanie Potock picky eater help, feeding therapy, family meals, responsive feeding, toddler meals
Counting bites is one thing, but it’s NOT EVERYTHING when it comes to extreme picky eaters in feeding therapy.
Progress doesn’t always look like eating.
Sometimes it looks like:
💜 Sitting at the table longer.
💜 Touching a learning food.
💜 Laughing while playing with mashed potatoes.
💜 Taking one tiny taste after weeks of saying “No.”
These wins matter.
In fact, they’re often the reason bigger changes happen later.
The next time your child doesn’t eat much, ask yourself:
“Did they build confidence today?”
That answer may tell you much more than the number of bites they took.
I hope you’ll follow me @mymunchbug_melaniepotock for daily tips, I’d love for you to be a part of my community!
Melanie
Melanie Potock, feeding therapy, picky eating, toddler meals, responsive feeding, food confidence, pediatric feeding
Parents of picky eaters sometimes tell me, “We’re not making progress!”🤦🏼♀️
Usually...
That’s not the case. It’s that progress comes in tiny steps, and THEN, it snowballs.
Learning isn’t a straight line.
Children move forward.
Pause.
Move forward again.
That’s development.
Celebrate every small step.
🥇Because those tiny wins become big victories over time.
🤔❓What questions can I answer? Be sure you’re following me @mymunchbug_melaniepotock to see the replies and tips!
🥰Melanie
Melanie Potock, feeding progress, picky eating, feeding therapy, toddler development, responsive feeding
♥️One of my favorite conversations is helping grandparents understand how feeding recommendations have evolved.
♥️Not because they were wrong.
Because science keeps teaching us MORE.
♥️Most grandparents are eager to learn when they’re approached with kindness.
✨Lead with appreciation.
✨Share the evidence.
✨Work together.
✨Children benefit when everyone is on the same team.
❓What questions can I answer about feeding your grandkids?
👉🏻Be sure you’re following me to see replies and tips!
🥰Melanie
Melanie Potock, grandparents, feeding advice, responsive feeding, family meals, picky eating
Here is what I can tell you about very picky eaters refusing new foods…
Behavior is communication.
⚠️When children refuse food, they’re telling us something.
🤔Our job is to become curious enough to figure out what that “something” is.
Sometimes it’s oral motor skills.
Sometimes it’s sensory differences.
Sometimes anxiety.
Sometimes appetite.
And often... it’s a combination of many factors.
The solution is understanding why eating feels difficult in the first place.
💕 That’s where lasting progress begins.
🎙️Comment BOOKS to explore my favorite resources for raising adventurous eaters. Be sure you’re following me @mymunchbug_melaniepotock to get that link!
Melanie
Melanie Potock picky eating, feeding therapy, toddler eating, food refusal, responsive feeding
Well...explosive 💩wasn’t on my feeding therapy bingo card. 🤦🏼♀️
♥️We work so hard to help children become comfortable with fruits and vegetables...
...and then Cyclospora makes headlines.
For many families, this isn’t just about avoiding an upset stomach or “explosive” 💩…Some of the children we see in feeding therapy are medically fragile, have weakened immune systems, or experience significant anxiety around eating. A single episode of severe nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea could make future feeding therapy even more challenging.
🥬Yesterday, it was reported that bagged lettuce might be the culprit, but we still don’t know for sure .
What to do? Let’s adapt.
Some ideas I’m using include:
• Checking in with caregivers before introducing fresh produce.
• Following my clinic’s policies and recommendations.
• Thoroughly washing and scrubbing produce when using fresh fruits and vegetables.
• Choosing produce that’s easier to peel when appropriate.
• Cleaning cutting boards, knives, utensils, countertops, and hands after preparing fresh produce.
• Using well-cooked vegetables, served warm or chilled.
• Making smoothies with frozen options.
• Blending frozen fruit into simple “ice cream” for a fun feeding therapy activity.
⚠️Caution: Frozen fruits and vegetables can be a choking hazard for children under age 4. Blend or thaw them first, and always choose foods based on the child’s feeding skills. But for older kids with mature feeding skills, frozen peas or frozen berries can be super fun and yummy!
As feeding therapists, we’ve always been creative problem-solvers. This is simply another opportunity to meet families where they are while keeping children moving forward.
✈️Send this to another feeding therapists, or repost on your page – let’s come up with creative solutions together!
🥰Melanie
Melanie Potock, feeding therapy, Cyclospora, cyclosporiasis, pediatric feeding therapist, medically fragile children, pediatric SLP, occupational therapy, ARFID, picky eating, food safety, fruits and vegetables, smoothies for kids, frozen fruit, pediatric feeding disorder, child nutrition
🚨 With all the recent news about the parasite Cyclospora (cyclosporiasis), I completely understand why some parents are feeling nervous about fresh fruits and vegetables right now. While fresh produce is still an important part of a healthy diet, many families are looking for other ways to boost fiber and nutrition while staying informed.
One of my favorite options? Chia seed pudding. 💜
If you’re looking for more fiber, chia seeds are an incredible option. Just 1 ounce (about 2½ tablespoons) of dried chia seeds contains approximately 10 grams of dietary fiber!
✔️ Packed with soluble fiber with a bit of insoluble too!
✔️ Healthy fats for growing brains
✔️ Easy to flavor with fruit, cinnamon, or vanilla
✔️ A fun make-ahead breakfast or snack that many kids enjoy
⚠️ But here’s the feeding therapist tip...
Chia pudding thickens every day it sits in the refrigerator. That thick, sticky texture can become more difficult for young children to manage safely.
Before serving:
🥄 Stir it well.
🥛 Add a splash of milk (or your favorite milk alternative) until it’s smooth and easy to scoop.
👀 Always supervise young children while eating.
A few seconds of thinning can make a big difference - see the video for my microwave tip!
💜 If this tip could help another parent, please SHARE this post. You never know who needs a simple feeding safety reminder today.
🥰Melanie
Melanie Potock, chia seed pudding, chia seeds, fiber for kids, toddler nutrition, healthy toddler snacks, picky eaters, feeding therapy, choking prevention, toddler feeding, child nutrition, cyclosporiasis,
Hope is one of the most important tools in feeding therapy.
✨I’m talking REAL hope.✨
The kind that’s built one tiny success at a time.
If meals feel hard right now, know this:
💕 Your child’s story is still being written.
Although my caseload is booked – be sure to reach out to these top-notch hospitals and clinics – I was honored to train their staff:
@clevelandclinicchildrens
@monkeymouths
@montclairspeechtherapy_
@jenn_otapkids
These are just a sampling of the thousands of remarkable feeding specialists I have had the privilege to get to know, and to train.
👉🏻👉🏻👉🏻Drop a comment if you are a feeding therapists who has taken my courses, and let parents know how to find you!
🥰Melanie
Melanie Potock, feeding therapy, picky eating, family meals, responsive feeding, feeding specialist, food confidence
🤔What if the goal wasn’t to eliminate anxiety...but to help children discover they can handle it? ❤️Children with ARFID and severe feeding challenges don’t need us to make their anxiety disappear. They need us to help them take tiny, manageable steps that build confidence over time so they can manage the FEELINGS - instead i’ve always trying to manage the food.
👉🏻In feeding therapy, we aren’t looking for the biggest step.
👉🏻We’re looking for the just-right challenge.
👣One tiny step today becomes a bigger step tomorrow.
⬇️ Comment ARFID and I’ll send you information about my 4-hour ARFID: The Anxious Eater Masterclass, where I teach parents and professionals how to use these confidence-building strategies to help children find more joy in food. 6 Seats Left!
🥰Melanie
Melanie Potock, ARFID, pediatric feeding therapy, feeding therapist, extreme picky eating, food anxiety, pediatric anxiety, exposure therapy, responsive feeding, feeding disorder, PFD, child anxiety, feeding development, family meals.
How do you feel when another feeding professional publicly criticizes your work? Well @netflix just interviewed me…and I brought the receipts. 😉
Seriously tho…It’s the end of this reel that means the most to me❤️
🥰If you’ve ever been criticized for trying to help others, This one’s for you.
💗Melanie
Melanie Potock, pediatric feeding therapy, Responsive, feeding, picky, eating, SLP, Ethics
For the past two years, I’ve heard the same sentence from feeding therapists all over the country...
“But I don’t want to shame the parents.”
Seems like it comes up every time I speak at conferences…and…
I understand exactly why.
❤️You care deeply about families.
❤️You want parents to feel seen, supported, and respected.
❤️So do I.
But here’s the question I’ve been asking myself...
What happens if we’re so afraid of causing shame that we stop sharing evidence-based recommendations that could help a child?
Parents deserve to know what current evidence tells us.
✔️ That bottles are best weaned by about 12 to 14 months.
✔️ That, whenever possible, straw cups and open cups support mature drinking skills and spouted sippy cups may hinder that.
✔️ That grazing throughout the day can affect appetite.
✔️ That family meals matter.
✔️ That responsive feeding supports long-term eating success.
Sharing those recommendations isn’t shaming.
It’s educating.
The difference isn’t whether we share the information.
The difference is HOW we share it.
Example:
❌ “You should have stopped the bottle months ago.”
While perhaps that’s true, rephasing with empathy looks like this:
💕 “We now know that gradually weaning from the bottle by 12 to 14 months supports oral development, appetite, and dental health. Let’s make a plan that feels realistic for your family.”
Same evidence.
A completely different experience for the parent.
Parents don’t need us to soften the science, but how we deliver the information matters!
As feeding therapists, our responsibility is to help children thrive while helping parents feel capable, hopeful, and supported.
We can’t let the fear of causing shame prevent us from sharing information that could help a child.
Because evidence and empathy don’t compete.
They belong together.
💜 Comment SIPPY and I’ll send you my FREE parent handout on transitioning from bottles to straw cups and open cups, along with practical tips you can share with families tomorrow.
SHARE this with a colleague… let’s chat more about it in the caption!
🥰Melanie
One of the biggest mindset shifts in feeding therapy is learning to ask:
❤️ “What’s making this hard?”
instead of
❤️ “Why won’t they just eat?”
Maybe they’re overwhelmed.
Maybe they’re unsure.
Maybe they’re still learning.
Maybe the fear is real, but the danger is not.
❤️When we respond with curiosity instead of frustration, children feel safer exploring food.
❌That doesn’t mean lowering expectations.
❤️It means supporting them while they build the skills to meet them.
📚Comment BOOKS if you’d like to learn more about raising confident, adventurous eaters – I wrote 6 books on the topic, and I’ll send you the latest links!
Thanks for following me @mymunchbug_melaniepotock for daily tips!
Melanie Potock, picky eating, feeding therapy, responsive feeding, toddler eating, sensory feeding, family meals
Pediatric Feeding Expert and Author
Melanie's Advice Shared In...
Courses for Parents & Professionals
Melanie offers both on-demand courses and live-streaming Masterclasses. CEUs are optional for both OTs and SLPs, yet audience members include parents, RDs, pediatricians & other health care professionals.
Need help with a picky eater, or just want to prevent kids from falling into the chicken-nugget rut? As a parent, SLP or OT, what do you need to know about child nutrition? What about the anxious eater – Could this be more than just picky eating? Melanie’s on-demand course subscriptions provide the answers!
Want more in-depth instruction in a small group, virtual setting? Register for one of Melanie’s Masterclass!
Explore course options here.
Parenting Advice
Melanie’s advice has been shared in The New York Times, Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Parents Magazine and more. Over 150 articles for both parents and professionals are found here or contact Melanie for a personal one-hour coaching session via video chat.
Masterclass participants get a 25% discount on coaching.
Learn more about professional and parent coaching here.
Keynote Speaking
An international speaker, award-winning author and pediatric feeding specialist, audiences find Melanie’s advice to be practical and possible, even in the most challenging cases. That’s because Melanie is in the trenches, working closely with the most extreme picky eaters and supporting families and health professionals around the world. Melanie has been invited to speak at over 100 different events, including the American Speech Language Hearing Association’s National Conference and the Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo.
Audiences say it best: If you are looking for a professional speaker who can “provide practical solutions” for parents, caregivers and therapists and your company needs a “highly knowledgeable, organized presenter” with “energy and enthusiasm” who can deliver a “dynamic course”, then your best choice is Melanie Potock. Contact Melanie here.
Product Consulting
Need expert input on your new parenting product? Melanie has provided expert advice for Orgain, Inc., Holland Health Care, Inc., Healthy Height, Inc., NumNum, LLC and numerous health care and parent product companies.
Looking for an expert to educate your team on how children learn to become adventurous eaters, baby-self feeding or the importance of purees? Feeding is developmental, just like learning to crawl, walk, run. At least 1 in 4 typically developing children have trouble learning to eat! Raising a healthy, happy eater requires the right tools and the right advice. Melanie provides company education and collaboration via webinars, social media and creating educational videos for your audience.
Contact Melanie here.
Blog
feeding advice for parents and professionals
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A Special Needs Guide for Learning to Eat with Your SEVEN Senses – Part One
Most of us think of five senses and the human body: Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. But, when it comes...Read More
3 Ways to Explain Baby-Led Feeding to Your Extended Family
By Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP Whether it’s a holiday dinner, a virtual family brunch or an outdoor family picnic, well-meaning relatives may...Read More
Planting for Kids
By The Lettuce Grow Team Melanie Potock has a knack for taking eaters of all ages from picky to passionate. Here are a...Read More
