2014 – Melanie Potock

2014

Articles published in 2014

Parenting a Picky Eater

Preventing Food Jags: What’s a Parent to Do?

By Melanie Potock As a pediatric feeding therapist, many kids are on my caseload because they are stuck in the chicken nugget and french fry rut…or will only eat one...

Feeding Therapy, Feeding Toddlers to School Age

You Want My Kid to Play in Food? Seriously?

By Melanie Potock Yep, seriously. For many kids, food exploration begins with just learning to tolerate messy hands and faces. Many parents who bring their kids to feeding therapy have...

Autism, Parenting a Picky Eater

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...

Feeding Toddlers to School Age, Parenting a Picky Eater

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...

Feeding Therapy, Parenting a Picky Eater

Ten Tips for Making Progress in Feeding Therapy

By Melanie Potock The end of a year is a reflective time for many parents, especially those who have children in any type of therapy. As a pediatric SLP who...

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

Step Away From the Sippy Cup!

By Melanie Potock Sippy Cups became all the rage in the 1980s, along with oversized shoulder pads, MC Hammer parachute pants and bangs that stood up like a water spout...

Parenting a Picky Eater, Sensory Concerns

She Didn’t Eat a Thing at School Today!

By Melanie Potock MA It’s that time of year again and little kids are climbing onto big yellow buses, tiny hands clutching lunch boxes that are packed full with a...

Feeding Toddlers to School Age, Parenting a Picky Eater

If You Give My Picky Eater Some Turkey…

By Melanie Potock MA An open letter to any relative who plans to invite my family to Thanksgiving dinner: In the spirit of the season, I want to thank you and...

Feeding Therapy

Pediatric Feeding Tops the Charts in 2014

ASHA Leader Pediatric Feeding Tops the Charts in 2014 From stuttering to aphasia, hearing loss to hearing aids, early intervention to telepractice and more, ASHA’s blog posts are written by...

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

Apr 19

❓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

❓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 ...

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

Apr 12

🥰ARFID:The Anxious Eater is my most popular Masterclass and I rarely offer a discount code for it! I don’t have any seats available for my virtual courses (they are booked solid) and it’s so fun to see all of you in-person!

✨Join me for this 4-hour intensive training on how to help kids with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Come to Atlanta to learn how to help them find joy in food!
❤️Melanie

👉🏼DM if you prefer a direct link for more info.

✨👉🏼✨ discount codes are not retroactive and must be entered at time of registration.
#melaniepotock #arfidawareness #arfidlife #extremepickyeater

🥰ARFID:The Anxious Eater is my most popular Masterclass and I rarely offer a discount code for it! I don’t have any seats available for my virtual courses (they are booked solid) and it’s so fun to see all of you in-person!

✨Join me for this 4-hour intensive training on how to help kids with Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID). Come to Atlanta to learn how to help them find joy in food!
❤️Melanie

👉🏼DM if you prefer a direct link for more info.

✨👉🏼✨ discount codes are not retroactive and must be entered at time of registration.
#melaniepotock #arfidawareness #arfidlife #extremepickyeater ...

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

Apr 10

👶🏼Although babies can begin to have teethers as they begin to bring their hands to their mouth, a 5-month-old needs specific features to help with oral development:

🤍Very young babies need “nubby projections” but at 5-month-old can typically manage a bit more of a protrusion, ideally made of soft silicone, to gnaw on. I still shy away from a very long protrusion till closer to 5 ½ months, when baby has good trunk stability for controlling hand movement near the face. Those longer protrusions are excellent for helping baby get ready for solid foods and learning to tolerate a bit of gentle gagging, but they need that fine motor control to make it the most comfortable exploration experience possible.

❤️Varied texture on the silicone projection will help their tongue move to the left and right, an important skill for starting solids at 6 months of age!

✨Sensory experiences like squeaking (soft, smooth silicone parts are the squeakiest on gums!) and light-up rattles are always fun too! It’s a also a great time to introduce teethers that gently vibrate just for another fun tactile experience.

🛍️You’ll find my best teethers with these qualities and more (and for various ages) on my Amazon Shop: Amazon.com/shop/mymunchbug with notes on which are best for each age.

❤️DM me if you have questions!
🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #5montholdbaby #babyteethers #slpfeeding #ashaigers

👶🏼Although babies can begin to have teethers as they begin to bring their hands to their mouth, a 5-month-old needs specific features to help with oral development:

🤍Very young babies need “nubby projections” but at 5-month-old can typically manage a bit more of a protrusion, ideally made of soft silicone, to gnaw on. I still shy away from a very long protrusion till closer to 5 ½ months, when baby has good trunk stability for controlling hand movement near the face. Those longer protrusions are excellent for helping baby get ready for solid foods and learning to tolerate a bit of gentle gagging, but they need that fine motor control to make it the most comfortable exploration experience possible.

❤️Varied texture on the silicone projection will help their tongue move to the left and right, an important skill for starting solids at 6 months of age!

✨Sensory experiences like squeaking (soft, smooth silicone parts are the squeakiest on gums!) and light-up rattles are always fun too! It’s a also a great time to introduce teethers that gently vibrate just for another fun tactile experience.

🛍️You’ll find my best teethers with these qualities and more (and for various ages) on my Amazon Shop: Amazon.com/shop/mymunchbug with notes on which are best for each age.

❤️DM me if you have questions!
🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #5montholdbaby #babyteethers #slpfeeding #ashaigers ...

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