Eating is a learned skill that can become interrupted for a variety of reasons during development impacting a child’s nutritional intake, growth and weight gain. Often the picky or problem eaters are blamed for having a behavioral issue or parents are blamed for poor parenting. There are many components to feeding including organ systems, muscles, motor coordination, sensory processing, cognition, development, nutrition, and the environment.
When a child is struggling with eating it is necessary to look at the whole child to determine what interventions and professionals can help to improve the child’s food intake. Beacon Pediatric Therapy addressed the underlying causes of feeding difficulties through assessment. Treatment sessions include purposeful play and sensory exploration, based on developmental stages to increase a child’s comfort level with exploring smells, tastes and textures of food. Parent participation in sessions and providing education to families is necessary to create positive mealtime experiences.
Click the link to visit the SOS website for parent resources and support for feeding. https://sosapproachtofeeding.com/free-resources-parent/
How can feeding therapy help a child who is having difficulty with mealtime?
- Support the transition from puree to solid foods
- Support a child who is having difficulty managing solid foods
- Help a picky or problem eater increase their food preferences
- Decrease mealtime stress and increase positive mealtime experiences