How Kids Can Socialize and Eat Lunch at School

Challenges at School, Parenting a Picky Eater, Sensory Concerns

How Kids Can Socialize and Eat Lunch at School

BY NIMALI FERNANDO, M.D., MPH, AND MELANIE POTOCK, M.A., CCC-SLP

How Kids Can Socialize & Eat Lunch at School Some children forgo eating at lunchtime to be social. Here’s how to get your kids to eat a healthy lunch while chatting with their friends. Chances are it’s been a while since you’ve ordered “hot lunch” in the school cafeteria. Whether you send a home-packed lunch with your child or they order lunch, eating in the cafeteria can be overwhelming at first. Coach Mel [Melanie Potock, M.A., CCC-SLP ] had a client who called it the “café-FEAR-ia” because the whole experience was a bit scary for him.

Read More on NYMetro Parents >>

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

View

Apr 24

Open

✨When @usnews asked me to comment on BEST SIPPY CUPS, my first response was…”Let’s be sure to define the term ‘SIPPY’” 😉

👉🏼DM me for the direct link to the article and for my Amazon shop with with all my tried and true best cups for Littles!

🥰Thank you to Dahlia Rimmon, MS, RDN and Megan Wood for this piece that supports parents’ individual circumstances, yet also provides education and up-to-date information for their readers.

💕👋🏼💕Thanks for sharing this with your friends! I hope it’s helpful!

Melanie 🙂
#melaniepotock #sippycups #cupsforbabies #cupsfortoddlers #ashaigers ...

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

View

Apr 22

Open

💦🥑💦Storing avocados in water – have you tried that hack? WELL, I did too and here’s why I want you to STOP IT.

🛑The U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) wants you to know that you’re family is at risk for FOOD POISONING using this avocado storage hack. 🦠That’s because Salmonella (EW!) and Listeria monocytogenes (double EW!) hang out on that dark outer skin of the avocado. When we store it in water in the fridge, YES, the avocado does last longer, but you know what else lives, thrives and MULTIPLIES? Listeria moncytogenes and they ooze into the yummy, fleshy parts you intend to eat.🤢

⚠️NOPE. You can’t wash it at that point…it’s now INSIDE your avocado.

👉🏼🥑👉🏼According to the Cleveland Clinic, who highlighted this info on their website, the best way to store avocados is to leave them on your kitchen counter and..

🥑Check them daily for changes in skin color and softening – both indicators that they are ready to eat.

🥑Also – do you know how to check the “stem cap” or that little brown button on the top of the fruit? It should pop off easily and wah-lah! Your avocado is ready to be washed, sliced and enjoyed!

✋🏼💦✋🏼That’s right, don’t wash it till your ready to eat it. Washing before that only softens the skin and allows bacteria to seep inside.

🥑They also recommend storing sliced avocado by adding a little lemon or lime juice, or try olive oil. Wrap it tightly! Then, keep it cold to “combat oxidation” – you can even freeze it!

❓Tell me, did you know this? Cause I didn’t…learning new things every day!
🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock
#avocadohack
#foodpoisoning
#babyledweaningideas

Source: https://health.clevelandclinic.org/how-to-store-avocados-safely ...

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

View

Apr 19

Open

❓Wait - Babies can have raw celery and raw carrots even before starting solids? BE SURE TO KEEP READING so you know how to do this safely.

🥕Teethers for 5-month-old babies can include hard, resistive food such as a fat carrot stick, or a wide stalk of celery. Here’s what you need to know:

1. Always supervise baby with food teethers.
2. Make sure their back/trunk is well supported so that their little hands can easily bring the food teether to their mouth ( just like a non-food teether).
3. Wash food teethers thoroughly before offering to baby.
4. Safety Test: Can you snap it in half with your thumb and forefinger on the same hand? Yes – don’t offer it. No – offer with supervision!

🥰Benefits?
Even before baby is ready for solids (closer to 6 months of age) they can get small tastes as they mouth these resistive foods, just like you can taste carrot if you lick a carrot! Babies are open to trying new tastes and programmed to explore with their littles hands to mouth, so this is the perfect time to introduce veggies in this manner.
👉🏼Like any teether, the munching (up and down repeated chomps) will strengthen their jaw and facial muscles. It will also offer sensory input in terms of different textures, cooler temperatures and because it’s food – flavor!
👉🏼All teethers help babies learn to manage their gag reflex, but in my professional experience, I notice that babies like to suck on food teethers as well as try to chew them. 👉🏼Both are great experiences for the mouth, and both “work” areas of the tongue that play a part in developing tongue lateralization skills, tongue protrusion skills (for spitting out food) and learning to manage the sensation of a gentle gag with no other food in the mouth.

🪥Think of it this way – if you experience a gagging sensation, do you find it easier to manage if you accidently did that with you toothbrush or if you accidently start gagging while eating? The toothbrush of course! Neither is comfortable at first, but the toothbrush is quickly removed and we can swallow to relieve the sensation.

❓Questions? Drop them in the comments!
❤️Melanie
#melaniepotock #foodteethers #ashaigers #babyfood #feedingtherapy ...

Follow Melanie on Instagram