September 21, 2018 – New York City Young Child Expo – Parenting in the Kitchen: Home Strategies for Families in Feeding Therapy

Seminars & Events

September 21, 2018 – New York City Young Child Expo – Parenting in the Kitchen: Home Strategies for Families in Feeding Therapy

Who Should Attend: Parents and Health Professionals

Session Time: 8:45 am – 4:15 pm

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

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Apr 15

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🐇Marshmallow candies are a THING in Easter baskets, and many adults have no idea how easy it is for a child to choke on even a piece of a marshmallow.

✂️You can’t cut them smaller than a child’s airway and they are so lightweight and fluffy, they are easily inhaled. The stickiness and squishy texture acts as an ideal plug – making them extremely difficult to dislodge.

👋🏼🤍👋🏼Hi, I’m Melanie, as speech language pathologist and swallowing specialist devoted to helping you with your child’s feeding development…and that includes food safety. SAVE THIS POST under “holidays” on your phone and now is the time to share with friends and family.

✨Most major health organizations recommend waiting to serve a child marshmallows (yes, even in hot chocolate) until age 4. Why not age 3 you ask?

👉🏼The size of a 3 vs a 4-year-olds airway isn’t that different and can vary depending on the overall size of the child…BUT, the attention span of a 4- year-old is typically better than a 3-year-old. It’s simply too easy to laugh or inhale before starting a sentence and that sticky little pillow of a marshmallow is now a plug in your child’s airway.

❓Tell me, did you know this about marshmallows? Also, anybody ever play that marshmallow game where you stuff as many marshmallows in your mouth and try to talk? Stop it. Don’t play that. Don’t model that for kids. I’m serious. 🤍

🥰Thanks…good talk. Have a lovely holiday!
🤍🐇🤍Melanie
#melaniepotock #eastersunday #eastercandy #easterbunny #chokinghazards
#feedinglittles #feedingtherapy #pickyeaters ...

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mymunchbug_melaniepotock

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Apr 12

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I had so much fun creating this safe play space to boost gross motor, language, cognitive skills and so much more!

Comment SPACE & I’ll send you a link to all my favorites, including those in the video at many more! Don’t forget to create their own “gated community” to keep everyone safe – I’ll send you that link too!

Melanie
#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #ashaigers #feedinglittles #pickyeaters #toddlerplay #toddlerskills ...

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mymunchbug_melaniepotock

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Apr 11

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💗The Coach Mel Barbie comes with 4 books to Help You Raise Healthy, Happy Eaters!

😳But wait, It might seem crazy what I’m about to say, but TRUE STORY and I can’t even believe I am telling you this because it’s the weirdest coincidence.

✨When I was a brand new speech therapist working at a hospital, I learned my supervisor had never had a Barbie as a kid! So I surprised her and made her one for her birthday, and clearly I had too much time on my hands because it included:

💁🏻‍♀️A brunette Barbie that looked like her (of course) AND
🥜A teeny tiny jar of peanut butter and goldfish crackers.
🧣An itsy bitsy fancy scarf around her neck.
🪥A miniature “nuk” brush.

😂Back then, SLPS were considered a bit posh (not like those fun and oh-so-cool OTs), and a lot of us wore silk scarves, don’t ask me why. What the heck were we thinking? We also used PEANUT BUTTER a lot in therapy, usually to put goldfish crackers on the corner of kid’s mouth to work on tongue lateralization. Geez…I am praying I considered food allergies! And finally, we used little bristled brushes ALL THE TIME to elicit tongue movements called a Nuk brush.

✨The trend took off in our hospital setting, and many more Barbies were made for staff, in their likeness or with little quirks that only we could laugh about, because we were a very, very quirky bunch!

🩷🤦🏼‍♀️🩷Little did I know social media would be making Barbies too one day, and so, here’s me, Barbie Coach Mel, wishing you a fun weekend in your dreamhouse.

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

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