Picky Eating in the Preschool Classroom
MD & SLP Team Up to Solve the Problem
Instructors
Dr. Nimali Fernando, MPH and Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP
Session Description
Pediatrician Dr. Nimali Fernando and SLP Melanie Potock collaborated to problem-solve the common concern among parents and teachers: picky eating in preschoolers. They created a unique school-based approach to a growing public health problem, and show how an inclusive family-centered preschool curriculum demonstrates significant changes in parental attitudes and behaviors around healthy eating. These changes were reflected in the parent and tech data collected before and after the school year. Fernando and Potock’s goal was to create a research-backed program that was family-focused and inclusive of children with a variety of backgrounds. The curriculum then caught the eye of Dr. Nancy Zucker, Founder and Director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Duke University, who studied the effect of the program in the home. This seminar will present the results of parent data analyzed by Zucker showing significant changes in attitudes and behaviors around healthy eating in the home because of this unique curriculum. In addition, teacher survey data collected in the 2017-2018 assessing eating habits of students will be presented. Recent collaboration with Head Start classrooms nationwide will be discussed as one component of the authors’ efforts to address picky eating in the preschool population.
Learning Outcomes
As a result of this presentation, the viewer will
- Discuss the prevalence of feeding disorders in preschool-aged children
- Describe 3 family-centered strategies to help improve the parent/child feeding relationship
- Discuss Zucker’s research showing significant improvement in parental attitudes and behaviors around healthy eating practices in the hom
Time-ordered Agenda – 90 minutes total
- 15 minutes: Defining the problem
- 20 minutes: Proposing & creating the solution
- 15 minutes: Research & results
- 15 minutes: Future applications
- 25 minutes: Final comments & Questions/Answers
Purchase Options
- Picky Eating in the Preschool Classroom
- Viewing period – 30 days from day of registration
- Single registration for one viewer
Refunds, Extensions, and Cancellation Policy
Paid registration is valid for the specified period. No refunds are provided once the consumer has registered for the course.
Access to this course is subscription based and extensions are only possible for an additional fee.
The rights to this course are owned by My Munch Bug, LLC.
Faculty Information and Disclosures
Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, is an international speaker on the topic of feeding babies, toddlers and school age kids. She is the co-author of the award-winning Raising a Healthy Happy Eater: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating (2015) and the upcoming Responsive Feeding: The Baby-First Guide to Stress-Free Weaning, Healthy Eating, and Mealtime Bonding (Jan 2022). The tips in her activity cookbook for parents & kids, Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Kids Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes (2018) are based on the latest research and Melanie’s 20 years of success as a pediatric feeding therapist. Melanie’s children’s book You are Not an Otter takes preschoolers on a food adventure, exploring all the ways that various animals eat! Melanie’s advice has been shared in a variety of television and print media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN.com and Parents Magazine. Contact her at www.MelaniePotock.com and follow Mel on Instagram and Facebook too!
Financial: Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP is the author of Responsive Feeding, Adventures in Veggieland and the co-author of Raising a Healthy Happy Eater: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating, for which she receives royalty payments. She is the co-author of Baby Self-Feeding: Solid Food Solutions to Create Lifelong Healthy Eating Habits and was paid to write the book but does not receive royalties.. Melanie is the executive producer of the children’s music CD titled Dancing in the Kitchen and receives royalties. Ms. Potock owns My Munch Bug, LLC and the online educational courses and profits from registrations online. Ms. Potock is an international speaker who presents a variety of courses and is paid to present these courses at various virtual and live events. She owns a therapy practice for the assessment and treatment of feeding challenges in children and is paid for that service. She may receive a stipend for some articles that may appear online or in magazines.
Non-financial: Melanie Potock is a past-contributor to the American Speech Language Hearing Association’s blog, The ASHA Leader, and she was not compensated. She may not receive a stipend for some articles that appear online or in magazines and this varies month to month, depending on media needs. She is the co-author of Dr. Yum’s Preschool Food Adventure, a preschool food education curriculum and does not receive compensation for her role in the creation or support of that program.
Dr. Nimali Fernando, MPH is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics who has gained national attention for her focus on healthy eating in children. Her practice, Yum Pediatrics in Virginia, features a teaching kitchen and garden, and has gained national attention as a hotspot for nutrition education. Her website is www.DoctorYum.org.
Financial: Dr. Fernando is the co-author of Raising a Healthy Happy Eater: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating, for which she receives royalty payments. She is a full time pediatrician and founder of Yum Pediatrics in Virginia. Dr. Fernando’s non-profit, The Doctor Yum Project benefits financially from the registration of some of the courses on her co-author’s website, www.melaniepotock.com. Dr. Fernando may receive a stipend for some articles that may appear online or in magazines.
Non-financial: Dr. Fernando is the founder of the non-profit The Doctor Yum Project and does not receive compensation for her role.
