Four And Not Growing: Part One
Mom is an ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) therapist for children with autism. “I once worked 2 hours a day, 5 times a week for 4 months to get a girl to drink water. She was petrified of water in her mouth. Parents used to use a syringe to get water in. Eventually, I discovered that if I slathered her sippy cup with peanut butter, as she sucked it off, out came the water. I broke that goal down into a million steps! But I’m lost with my own kid.”

Four And Not Growing: Follow Up
We were always told his pocketing food was a behavioural issue or trouble with chewing and swallowing. After reading Amari’s story in Love Me Feed Me, now we understand it’s not a chewing issue, more a don’t-put-any-more-food-in-my-mouth issue.

Mealtime Zen: Ignoring the Experts
Her eating delays became quite apparent at 9 months, as she would punch you if you approached her with a spoon. Attempt, after attempt, her defensive reaction heightened and was delivered with swiftness. We went for an evaluation with the Speech Department/Rehab at the Children’s hospital, a floor of the hospital that recognized us with familiarity already. She went stiff and rigid in the high chair when the therapist put a bib on her, and it went very sour, very quickly.

Feeding With Trust: B’s Story
I was just reading about “pressure” and I am definitely guilty of the ‘one more bite’ and also of ‘praise’. She tried Kellogg’s Berry Fruit Crisps (and liked them) and I definitely showed my delight (not necessarily fireworks and hand clapping but “I’m so happy!”) I didn’t realize this was pressure, too, but it definitely makes sense. We’ll drop the pressure & promote more trust and take this journey with all of you.

Meals: It’s Not About The Food
You’ve prepared a delicious meal. Great care and expense went into the finest ingredients, and you’ve successfully fielded dozens of questions from the kitchen without losing your composure, or forgetting to glaze, flip, add and stir on time. You proudly lay it all out on the table, and for reasons only the small people in attendance understand, chaos in the name of all that is holy breaks loose.

Can a 3-Year-Old Be Trusted With Eating?
“Do not expect a toddler to sit down and eat a full meal three times a day. Instead, keep out a plate of finger foods (healthy ones) on his table. Let him graze on and off throughout the day.” These are children, not house pets.

Wasting Less Food with a Resistant Eater
Wasting food is a pet peeve of many parents, not to mention expensive. There is no way to predict what new edible item will be a winner and which tried and tested favourite will fall off the short list of choices.

No-Pressure Restaurant Meals
Eating away from home with a selective eating child can be very stressful for the whole family. There are so many opportunities for pressure to invade the meal that are beyond the parents’ control.

What’s On Your Plate?
The Internet is full of ideas and suggestions, some fact and some not, on the topic of eating normally. The majority of healthy eating web sites are often of the opinion that “normal eating” is defined as being able to eat a variety of foods.

The Illusion of Knowledge
Have you ever met someone, perhaps in the grocery store, and realized their face is familiar but you can’t place how you know them? For most people, that’s a mental puzzle that begs to be solved. This person seems to know you, but how? Seeing familiar people (your kid’s teacher, your dentist, your usual bus driver) out of context can be mildly disturbing to most people. Do you politely admit to this person you have no clue who they are or do you fumble along hoping they offer clues to their identity?

Mealtime Musings: Needs Matter
Anxiety is a typical response to any situation perceived as uncontrollable or unavoidable. Taking a test, giving a presentation, or any situation (including eating) where the outcome is unknown will create a sense of nervousness and apprehension.