Expert Feeding Advice for Parents & Professionals

Raise a Healthy, Happy Eater

feeding advice for parents and professionals

3 Reasons to Avoid the Kid’s Menu and What to Do Instead

By Melanie Potock What if the common restaurant kid’s menu was never invented? What if parents ordered right off the adult menu, asking for a side plate to share “grown-up...

5 Tips to Make the Kitchen Connection for Kids with Autism

By Melanie Potock As a speech-language pathologist specializing in pediatric feeding treatment, I work mostly with kids, food and creating happier mealtimes for families. I often find the kitchen is...

The Cooking Connection

By Melanie Potock I once had a client with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), age 10, who had a history of picky eating and feeding difficulties. He also had an affinity...

Understanding Autism: Restaurant Meltdowns

By Melanie Potock I sat in a popular restaurant chain and watched an 8 year old boy have a major meltdown at his table. His mother cringed as lunch time...

Baby’s First Solids: How to Make the Transition to ‘Finger Foods’

By Melanie Potock ASK THE EXPERT Q: “What finger foods should I first try my baby on, when should I introduce them, and what’s the best way to keep the...

Seven Surprising Things You Can Do at Home to Help Your Child Eat New Foods

By Melanie Potock 1. Explore Food away from Meals: Use food for other purposes than eating to increase the child’s exposure to the food in fun, interactive ways.  For example,...

Better therapy sessions for kids with special needs: therapists share!

By Ellen Seidman I recently asked a bunch of pediatric therapists how kids can get the maximum benefits from therapies: speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, ABA therapy, whatever therapy!...

The Great Pouch Debate: Pros, Cons and Compromising

By Melanie Potock Brace yourself. We are about to talk about pouches. You know, those little packets of convenience, filled with all sorts of fruits and vegetables, sometimes with a...

12 Ways Real Parents Won Over Their Picky Eaters

If you’ve ever tried serving a meal from a cookbook with a name like Dinners Picky Eaters Will Devour! and your child wouldn’t take a bite, well … welcome to...

Three Reasons Why Kids Get Hooked on “Kids’ Meals”… and How to Change That

By Melanie Potock Let me say this up front: I’m not condemning the American Kids’ Meal that is so common in fast food chains and family restaurants, but clearly I’m...