As a Feeding Therapist, I find myself having a good deal of food-related conversations with my friends or acquaintances that I meet. After all, feeding kids can be one of the most frustrating tasks that a parent faces, and sometimes a good commiseration sesh is in order! I’ve seen pretty much every imaginable mealtime challenge, so when my friends vent to me about their various feeding grievances, I can usually provide a suggestion in addition to a sympathetic ear. Most of th

“You will sit right there until your meatloaf is gone, young lady!” (3 hours later, the meatloaf, and the child, are still sitting at the table). “Ok, corn dog for Lucas, PB&J for Emily, and cobb salad for the rest of us!” (By the time Mom or Dad is done with food prep and sits down to eat, the rest of the family members are already finishing up their meals). It seems like when it comes to dinner time, parents fall into two camps: The Iron Fists and The Short Order Cooks (or

**This entry is a re-post from feedingtherapyhelp.com. My daughter is now almost three years old, and she continues to enjoy a wide variety of foods :-) This post was inspired by the work that I have done with my own daughter, Adair, who is 16 months old. Even before Adair was born, I felt that I owed it to myself and the families that I work for to make sure that Adair accepts (and enjoys) a wide variety of foods. Feeding therapy is not easy, and I expect a lot from the fam

I have some serious pet peeves about a few feeding “milestones” that all of our little ones pass through (although I’ll tell you right now that I skipped them!*) These are milestones in more of a marketing sense than in actual physical development...products that seem to have become so ubiquitous, every parent just hops right on board because that’s how it’s done, of course! If you use these products, STOP RIGHT THIS MINUTE! Too much?? I’m only kidding...kind of. It’s highly

Over the past couple of years, I have seen a good handful of infant clients. Generally, these babies mostly need help getting on an effective feeding schedule, increasing the volume of milk or formula per feeding, or structuring feedings to minimize reflux symptoms. In addition, some of these babies have been just at the cusp where some solids can be introduced. In these cases, I typically recommend some of the standard first purees. I help parents phase them in gradually to

Now, before you throw your kale and brownie mix-covered whisk at me, hear me out! I understand why hiding veggies seems like a good idea, and I have even recommended it to families in rare circumstances and with specific guidelines. Of course, for a child who is severely nutrient deficient, you are going to get whatever you can into their tummies to keep them healthy and growing. But...we all know it’s a band-aid. It fixes the issue without addressing the underlying problem.

As I have developed my own approach to feeding therapy as a behavior analyst, and later as I have worked to build Sprouts Feeding Therapy as a business, I have often gotten to thinking about what “behavioral feeding therapy” may mean to the average person, perhaps a parent trying to find an appropriate service provider for their child. The behavioral approach to feeding therapy is not the go-to method that most doctors and other professionals recommend to families (typically