How we can help you

Dietitian offering fussy eating resource pack to parents

Mealtimes are meant to be positive, NOT one that causes distress for the child and family

As a paediatric dietitian and feeding therapist, I have supported clients as young as 8 months upwards. We provide support across the following areas:

  • Fussy eating

  • Food allergies and intolerance

  • Unexplained diarrhoea/constipation

  • Poor growth/underweight

  • Weight management

  • Tube feeding/tube weaning

  • Oro-motor delays and solid introduction

Sessions incorporate the following

STEP 1

Review your child’s development around growth and eating

STEP 2

Assist with the development of positive feeding/eating patterns

STEP 3

Strategies to reduce stress, anxiety and power struggles

STEP 4

Learn to navigate around challenges at the dinner table

STEP 5

Establish a mealtime and snack routine

STEP 6

Create positive mealtimes for the child to look forward to

STEP 7

Practice the division of responsibility at home and allow for autonomy in the child

STEP 8

Strengthen and support the development of oral motor and sensory skills

Changes you can expect

  • Child looking forward to mealtimes

  • Child feeling less anxious about new and unfamiliar foods

  • Child being able to describe their food preferences and avoid using descriptives like “yuck”

  • Child tracking along their growth percentiles for height and weight

  • Reduced mealtime stress for the family and no longer needing to prepare separate meals

Most common questions parents ask

  • “What do I do if she doesn’t eat dinner but wants a snack as soon as dinner is kept away?”

  • “How do I wean him off the iPad we’ve had the table for months?”

  • “How do I take my child out to a restaurant when he wouldn’t eat anything else?”

  • “How do I get my child to stay seated at the dining table?”

Parents discussing about their children

©2018 ASPEN, the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition. All Rights Reserved.

Feeding concerns are most effectively addressed between the ages of 2 and 10

This is the age at taste buds are still developing and children are more open to trying new foods; both of which are important to establish healthy eating patterns. Once children develop a sense of independence, uncorrected preferences can easily change into habits for a lifetime.