Boundaries part 4: Setting Boundaries with Well-meaning Family Members
Raising an anxious eater often invites well-meaning but unhelpful comments from others, like the suggestion that a weekend away will solve the problem. These remarks, though intended to help, can harm parents' mental and emotional well-being. Many parents feel trapped under a constant barrage of criticism, feeling unable to push back because they understand the comments come from a place of care. However, it's crucial for caregivers to set boundaries, not to change others' behavior but to protect their own well-being. After all, the only behavior you can control is your own.
Three Accidental Ways We Foster Picky Eating
There’s nothing more frustrating than doing the work to create an amazing meal, only to set it in front of your darling child and receive an immediate, “NO! I don’t want it!” And while there are lots of good reasons for kids to develop an anxious response to food (such as being a new eater, surprising textures, pressure from caregivers during meals, a history of aspiration, etc.), there are ways that loving and amazing parents accidentally foster picky eating.
November Healthy Highlights #2: Sweet Potato Nachos
Nachos are an essential part of any game day gathering. Sweet potato nachos offer a unique twist to this classic fan favorite appetizer. Replacing the tortilla chips with sweet potatoes adds a boost of fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to your football feast.
This deliciously easy recipe is sure to keep your guests cheering.
November Healthy Highlights #1: Veggie Ranch Dip
Whether enjoying an action-packed football game under the stadium lights surrounded by the crisp chill of fall or cozied up inside at a watch party with friends and family, snacks are an essential part of any game day. Finding the perfect snacks to satisfy everyone can be a challenge, so this month we present some favorite football food ideas that are sure to please any crowd.
October Healthy Highlights #3- Pumpkin Chili
Our last featured chili for this month’s cookoff comes from registered dietitian, Aubrey. This festive fall recipe is perfect for dinner on Halloween and all winter long.
Boundaries, pt 3: But My Boundaries Aren’t Working!
One of the most exhausting realities of parenthood is that the job is relatively nonstop! And while none of us wants to miss even one magical moment of childhood, the magic is always accompanied by challenges. Top of that list includes helping kids to learn how to respond to their worlds in proportional and appropriate ways – but that’s hard to do! Because kids learn how to behave, not based on what they are told to do, but based on the way that their grown-ups respond to them.
Why Did My Weaned Kid Stop Eating?
Getting off of the tube is one thing, but staying off the tube feels like a completely different minefield. A lot of parents worry about whether they’ll have to re-tube the child they just weaned, and that fear is never more present than the times when your child stops eating the way you hope or expect for them to do after a wean.
We believe that when a child stops eating (or begins to eat less), there is always a reason. Our job is to figure out what that is so that we can address the situation mindfully and responsively.
October Healthy Highlights #2- Dave’s White Bean Chicken Chili
Next-up in our October chili cookoff, registered dietitian, Kirstin, shares her husband, Dave’s, award winning chili recipe. Yep, that’s right, Dave won an actual blue ribbon for his White Bean Chicken Chili. When asked for the history behind this winning recipe, Dave was rather tight-lipped, simply stating that he took first place during a chili cookoff hosted at his work.
October Healthy Highlights #1- The Chili that My Kids Will Grow to Love
One of the foundational concepts at GIE for diversifying your child’s diet is to offer your child the family foods, even if they aren’t preferred or favorite foods. Repeated exposure builds repertoire over time, and this message is commonly discussed during our GIE Q&A Facebook events. Parent coach, Elisabeth, has proclaimed many times that she makes the “world’s best” chili and even though her children are less of a fan, the warm bowl of hearty chili is routinely offered.
Finding Your “Nonchalance” When the Wean isn’t Working
There are some weans that just “click,” and your kiddo connects with eating and drinking as if some magic light switch flipped on all of a sudden! But that is not the reality for the vast majority of us, and even though most of us go in knowing that it’s not weaning isn’t a light-switch-flip, we all secretly (or not-so-secretly) hope for one. And then, when things just aren’t clicking in the way or at the pace we hoped for, and the fear of “what if this doesn’t work?” and “what if we have to reset?” kicks in, anxiety grows louder and desperation can really start to take over.
So what can we, as parents, do when the wean just isn’t working the way we hoped it would? And every offer is just feeling more and more hopeless?
Saying “No” to Screens, and “Yes” to Music
Have you ever sat down to watch a movie with a bag of chips or popcorn, but by the time you made it through the previews, your snack is suddenly gone?
Watching a screen, whether it be tv, a movie or even scrolling online allows you to ‘check out’ of the eating process and we often do not realize we are eating. The same holds true with kids, and we do often see increased eating volumes while they are distracted in this manner. For weaning parents? The instant gratification that this brings makes distracted eating a really appealing option!
September Healthy Highlights #3: Farro with Spinach and Mushrooms
Farro is a nutrient-packed ancient grain with a nutty flavor and chewy texture. Like other whole grains, farro is a satisfying source of energy and fiber. The versatility of farro makes it an excellent addition to soups, stews, salad, pilafs, risotto, casseroles, and grain bowls or breakfast bowls. The farro recipe featured this week is a flavorful side dish your little ones are sure to enjoy.
September Healthy Highlights #2: Blueberry Buckwheat Pancakes
If you’re looking for a way to venture out and vary the grains in your diet, this buckwheat recipe is perfect for you! Not only is it super simple to make, but these pancakes offer a great taste and texture while bursting with juicy blueberries in every bite.
Why is my Older Child doing full blown messy play again?
Having an older child that weans from a tube can present a whole different set of challenges, some of which are tied directly to ‘eating age’ vs chronological age. Eating age starts ticking once you are 100% orally fed: for non-tube fed children, this aligns with their chronological age (or the birth age) because we still expect eating skills to develop along their typical age progression. But when there is a big gap between a child’s “eating age” and “chronological age,” behaviors around food can revert down to match eating age more than actual age – including the reversion back to the stage of full-blown messy play with foods.
September Healthy Highlights #1: Whole Grain: Barley
September has been promoted as National Whole Grains Month since 2006. The barley recipe featured below is one of my favorites. When my kids were little, we would call these brain bowls because they are full of healthy nutrients that feed the brain. As my kids got older, we shifted to just calling them “B” bowls, which reflects the primary ingredients of beef, barley, broccoli, and Brussel sprouts.
Why tiny pieces in the mouth cause gagging
When kids are starting to eat, one of the biggest fears that parents have is gagging and choking on food pieces. And while gagging can be a very normal part of feeding development, it is also a protective reflex for the body. Gagging is how we expel foods from the mouth or airway if it is needed…
August Healthy Highlights #3 - Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Tortilla Chips
When kids come home hungry after school, they want a yummy snack that fills their tummy. Snacks provide fuel for growing bodies and are therefore an important part of a child’s diet. It is best to choose snacks that offer protein, fiber, and/or healthy fat. Read the full blog for some easy no-fuss snack ideas!
How to talk to my older child about weaning
Weaning an older child (toddlers and beyond) can be a tricky game, because children with the cognitive understanding of being tube-fed need to “buy in” to the process of learning how to eat. That means that parents have the responsibility of including their older child in the weaning process so that they understand what’s happening – and why! Because weaning is a big change to their world!
August Healthy Highlights #2 - Packing Lunch for Back to School
As the excitement of a new school year draws near, shopping for school supplies, backpacks, and lunch boxes moves to the top of our to do list. In order to start the school year off on the right foot, it is important to have a plan for packing school lunches.
How to Teach Straw Cup Drinking
Progression to straw cup drinking can be very handy, especially because it places kids in a better position for safe swallowing (it facilitates a chin tuck position, which is airway protective), and is a readily available way for kids to drink while they are out and about. But how in the world do you teach a child to drink from a straw? Here are a couple of ideas!