Medical Concerns

Blogs on Medical Concerns

Feeding Therapy, Medical Concerns

A Creative Approach to Food Allergies and Trick-or-Treating

By Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP Ever notice how many kids who are in feeding therapy also have food allergies? With Halloween just around the corner, I’m encountering parents in my...

Medical Concerns, Parenting a Picky Eater

5 Signs Your Picky Child Isn’t Getting Enough Nutrients & You Need To See A Doc

By Jacqueline Burt Cote There’s a reason why foods like buttered noodles and chicken fingers are clichéd children’s menu staples: Lots of kids aren’t particularly open-minded when it comes to...

Feeding Toddlers to School Age, Medical Concerns

7 Red Flags Your Child Is More Than Just A Picky Eater & Trying To Tell You Something’s Up

By Jacqueline Burt Cote At some point or another, nearly every kid will exhibit behavior that falls into the “picky eating” category — and if you’ve ever had a toddler...

Feeding Babies, Feeding Therapy, Feeding Toddlers to School Age, Medical Concerns

Tongue Tie: Why I Can’t Wait for the Research

By Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP I’m in the trenches. I’m the one holding a mom’s hands while she tears up and asks me why her baby can’t eat solid foods...

Feeding Babies, Feeding Toddlers to School Age, Medical Concerns, Parenting a Picky Eater

Why Is My Baby Pulling At Their Ears? They’re Trying To Tell You Something

By Shannon Evans When it comes to infants, parents can drive themselves crazy reading into every nonverbal cue they give. You’re constantly on the lookout for common ailments like ear...

Feeding Therapy, Medical Concerns

Iron Chef, Dysphagia Style

By Melanie Potock What do a coconut-milk-infused shake, spicy risotto, and macaroni and cheese have in common? They are just a few examples of the winning recipes from a cooking...

Feeding Therapy, Medical Concerns

Five Things to Know if Your Client Has Food Allergies

By Melanie Potock For pediatric feeding therapists, whether working in the home, school/community or hospital/clinic setting, understanding safety precautions for kids with food allergies is essential. Here are five things...

Feeding Babies, Feeding Toddlers to School Age, Medical Concerns

Sippy Cups: 3 Reasons to Skip Them and What to Offer Instead

By Melanie Potock In the article Step Away from the Sippy Cup, I discussed how the sippy cup was invented for parents, not for kids. An engineer got fed up with his...

Feeding Babies, Medical Concerns

21 Tips for Navigating the NICU

By Michelle Crouch The odds are on your side that your child will be born full-term and perfectly healthy. Still, about one in 13 babies in the United States spends...

Medical Concerns, Parenting a Picky Eater

12 Foods & Drinks That Will Help Your Kids Poop

By Liz Alterman Here’s an unpleasant truth: Kids get constipated. For a variety of reasons that range from diet to just not wanting to stop playing and take the time to...

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Apr 24

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✨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 ...

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Apr 22

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💦🥑💦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 ...

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Apr 19

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❓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 ...

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Posts filed under: Medical Concerns

Medical Concerns