Holly Tickner, Next Bite SP

Home
Australia
Perth, WA
Holly Tickner, Next Bite SP

Holly is a Perth-based Speech Pathologist who specialises in feeding & swallowing problems.

10/08/2026

Nothing aesthetic about this particular dinner photo. Tbh I don’t think any of my family’s dinners would be picked for an influencer campaign or product promo 😂 But I want to know - what do you call this type of dinner in your house? You know those dinners where you have a rummage through the fridge and the freezer, use what you’ve got, nothing quite goes together, no plates match and it’s not even cohesive enough to call it a ‘grazing board’. 😅 Is it a ‘picky tea’? ‘Fend for yourself’ dinner? ‘Buffet style’ or ‘pick a plate’? I’d love to know!

This particular smash-up of a dinner included everything from hummus to BBQ pork buns, and even a whole Roma tomato in there to boot.

Does your family love this style of eating? What’s it called at your place? 💕 🍽️

31/07/2026

What is going on this week?! Can all the feeding therapists out there PLEASE stop and have a moment of reflection about the kind of therapy you are doing?! I know your intentions are good but the impact is harmful. Teaching compliance is NOT the same as learning to comfortably eat. Feels obvious to say… but I need to say it 💔

28/07/2026

I am SO OVER the pathologising of normal baby behaviours. I expect better from my health professional peers!!

22/07/2026

Quick fire off the top of my head top five things I’d recommend to a Speechie starting out in paediatric feeding! 🩺🍎✨

These are the things I use everyday in clinic and couldn’t do my job without! None of it sponsored, just genuinely use these things all day every day.

I should have said “Kid friendly cooking equipment” for number 5 - that would then include my food chopper, cookie cutters, kid safe knives, fun utensils, mini airfyer… whoops! But I do love my food chopper very much 😂

10/06/2026

Celebrating the little wins EVERY SINGLE TIME.

Recent SMALL BUT IMPORTANT wins have included:
🍕 sitting with friends at school for lunch
🍕 cracking an egg for the first time (and messy fingers didn’t overwhelm them)
🍕touching cucumber without gagging
🍕eating a new type of cracker
🍕 asking their parents for something to eat
🍕 trying to suckle at a bottle after months of aversion
🍕 letting their teeth be quickly brushed
🍕 asking to try something from a bakery

Of course we LOVE the big wins too (New foods! Putting on weight! Taking their supplements & vitamins! Great blood test results! Swallowing safely! Weaning off thickeners!) but honestly sometimes it’s the little things that really just keep me smiling each day 💖

20/05/2026

There is so much noise online about the BEST way to feed your baby solids. It’s so overwhelming to navigate all the different advice, especially when there are big opinions and not much nuance. It’s a lot. Do you do baby led weaning? Traditional weaning? Combined? What did your own mum do? Your grandma? What’s your best friend doing? And don’t forget about allergies! And iron rich food! And self feeding skills! And milk, they still need their milk!

Just here to say - if it’s feeling all too much, just focus on what’s working. Often it’s the baby that decides whether they’ll have finger foods or spoon foods anyway, despite our best planned intentions. If your baby likes self feeding - do more of that. If they love spoon foods - lean into it. Keep them fed and keep mealtimes joyful and relaxed for both of you. You’ve got this 💫 💖 ✨ 🥣 🥦

08/05/2026

It has to be 2 & 9 for me 🍽️🍫🍷 How about you?

Happy Mother’s Day for this weekend! 🌞 💖 💫

01/05/2026

Some basics on how to more comfortably swallow tablets ✨ There are LOTS of different ways to approach learning to swallow medications like pills and capsules, in fact so many that we made a whole e-book about it! 💊 But here are some basics to get you started, whether you have a reverse swallow or not 💖

My main advice is to start small, and be kind to yourself. Try to finish with a successful swallow - don’t move up to a bigger piece of food until you feel ready. Practice with ice chips if food feels too challenging to start with. You’ve got this!

I think that’s a wrap on this series! Have I missed a t of your questions? 😊

Link to our e-book is in my bio, available on our website 📖

01/05/2026

Part four! You have a reverse swallow but you want to swallow differently? Here’s where to begin in under two minutes!

01/05/2026

Well that was unexpected! This is part 3 in an unplanned series about reverse swallowing! Here to answer:
💫 Does this affect anything serious?
💫 Is it why my swallowing is so loud?
💫 Is this why my dentist complains about me?
💫 Am I faulty somehow?

And a chance for me to apologise for making anyone dribble on themselves or choke 😬🫣

Address

Myaree
Perth, WA
6154

Website

http://www.nextbitefeeding.com.au/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Holly Tickner, Next Bite SP posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.