2021

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

50 Easy Ways to Get Your Kid to Eat New Foods

By Salma Abdelnour Gilman It may seem like an impossible dream right now, but your kid has the potential to love all kinds of food. Here’s how to prime their taste...

Medical Concerns, Parenting a Picky Eater, Sensory Concerns

A Special Needs Guide for Learning to Eat with Your SEVEN Senses – Part One

Most of us think of five senses and the human body: Sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. But, when it comes to learning to eat a wide variety of...

mymunchbug_melaniepotock

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Apr 23

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My kid likes to look at a book while they’re eating…
🤔Is that ok?

✨COMMENT TABLE✨ for 3 links to the best mealtime books, but first, 👉🏼let’s breakdown the YES and NO:

👉🏼Here are 3 reasons I’d say YES and 3 reasons I’d say NO:
1)✨YES, because it’s “while they’re eating.” If they are enjoying a book and enjoying their meal at the same time, that’s wonderful!
❌AND NO, if it’s interfering with them eating. If it’s too distracting and gets in the way of focusing on the food, then no, it’s not ok.

2)✨YES, it it helps them pace themselves. Toddlers are especially notorious for grabbing large handfuls of food and overstuffing, rather than picking up one piece at a time and chewing, then swallowing and taking another piece. A book is often a wonderful solution for this!
❌AND NO, if it appears that they are not eating mindfully. In other words, the book is the main focus, and the food is somehow just finding their way to their mouth. Like eating in front of a screen, occasionally a book can make kids zone out, especially if it’s an interactive book with buttons and sound effects.

3)✨Yes, if it’s only on occasion, and they aren’t dependent on it. Mealtimes are an important time for connection and to build cognitive and language skills.
❌AND NO, if they cannot be flexible and come to the table without a book. That dependency on an object at the table signals to me that they need something to keep their mind off their anxiety at the table, or around some foods.

🤍TIP: The more you can sit with your child, engaged and connecting, the better! Reading a book to them while they eat, pausing several times on each page to comment, point out the pictures and pause, waiting for their response, is a lovely way to get that mealtime conversation going!

🥰Tell me, do you have favorite books to bring to the table? I have an entire list of favorite books about food on my Amazon Shop. ✨COMMENT TABLE✨for 3 links to the best books to bring to the table and more!
🩷Melanie

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

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mymunchbug_melaniepotock

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Apr 22

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Solving picky eating starts with fun! Think about it…

🤔 The best teachers make the lesson fun! Go from fun to YUM with 100 activities and recipes in Adventures in Veggieland!

✨And don’t forget…

✨Smile✨Research shows that when YOU smile when presenting a new food, kids are more likely to try it. 🙂

👉🏼🔗COMMENT VEGGIES for 3 links that will help you with the tools to raise more adventurous eaters.

🥰Melanie
#melaniepotock #slpfeeding #feedingtherapy #ashaigers #feedinglittles #pickyeaters #responsivefeeding #adventuresinveggieland ...

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mymunchbug_melaniepotock

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Apr 21

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Preventing picky eating is best done by focusing on …

✨VARIETY✨

✨VARIETY - even if they don’t eat it.
✨VARIETY - tiny portions of a variety of flavors, about a tablespoon each… then more if they want it.
✨VARIETY - include texture variety too- smashed, meltable, safe crunchies, etc.

👉🏼✨👉🏼Let’s jump back to flavor for a minute… even if you are serving only mac & cheese (because that’s all you have time for), take one minute to divide out some of the portions and add some dried herbs (dill is a great one) or a bit of pepper, or quickly stirring in some canned pumpkin...well done! 🥰

😎Save this post to help you remember that one word: VARIETY.

I’d love to know what questions you have…please ask away, I’m here to help!

🤍Melanie

Oh, and can we prevent picky eating in every child? No. But even if you`re kiddo is in feeding therapy for hesitant eating, our goal is variety, one step at a time!

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

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Posts tagged with: 2021

2021

50 Easy Ways to Get Your Kid to Eat New Foods

A Special Needs Guide for Learning to Eat with Your SEVEN Senses – Part One