Kids Feeding Wellness

Kids Feeding Wellness Feeding & Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy

08/03/2026

Have you ever wondered if you caused your child’s picky eating?

It’s one of the most common questions I hear from parents, and it’s often accompanied by guilt.

A recent twin study followed more than 4,800 children from 16 months to 13 years to better understand why some children become picky eaters. By comparing identical and fraternal twins, researchers were able to estimate the influence of genetics and the environment on picky eating.

The research found that by age 3, genetics explained about 83% of the differences in picky eating between children.

That doesn’t mean your child’s picky eating is “83% genetic.”

It means that when researchers compared thousands of children, biology explained much of why some children were pickier than others—even when they grew up in the same family.

So, does this mean there’s nothing we can do to support our cautious eater?

No way!

The study ALSO found that the environment plays a HUGE role, especially during the toddler years. Every positive, low-pressure experience with food helps shape a child’s relationship with eating.

So while genetics may influence your child’s starting point, it’s your support that influences their journey along the way.

A simple mindset shift from “What did I do wrong?” Oto How can I best support the child that’s in front of me?” Can make all the difference!

Nas, Z., Herle, M., Kininmonth, A. R., Smith, A. D., Bryant‐Waugh, R., Fildes, A., & Llewellyn, C. H. (2025). Nature and nurture in fussy eating from toddlerhood to early adolescence: findings from the Gemini twin cohort. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 66(2), 241-252.

07/30/2026

Chewing isn’t something children automatically know how to do—it’s a skill they build through hundreds of opportunities to explore, practice, and gain confidence.

This little girl receives most of her nutrition through a G-tube (a small tube that delivers nutrition directly into her stomach), allowing her body to get the nutrition it needs while she learns to eat by mouth at her own pace.

Watch closely, and you’ll see the progression of chewing development unfold.

First comes exploration. Then licking. Tiny nibbles with the front teeth. Learning to manage small crumbs. Munching with the jaw. Moving food side to side with the tongue (tongue lateralization). Beginning the circular jaw movements needed for mature chewing (rotary chewing). Over time, those tiny bites become bigger bites, and bigger pieces become manageable.

Every stage builds on the one before it. There are no shortcuts.

Children don’t learn to chew by avoiding challenging foods—they learn by practicing with them in a safe, supportive environment, one small success at a time.

She’s building the skills she needs today so that one day she can enjoy a wide variety of foods with confidence. And we’ll keep celebrating every tiny step along the way!

The difference isn’t the banana... it’s the social experience. 🍌Take a look at Photo A and Photo B.In Photo A, the child...
07/29/2026

The difference isn’t the banana... it’s the social experience. 🍌

Take a look at Photo A and Photo B.

In Photo A, the child is sitting alone. He’s simply being offered a banana alongside his familiar foods. There is no one modeling what to do with it, and he’s left to decide on his own whether this unfamiliar food is safe or worth exploring.

Now look at Photo B.

The banana is still there—but everything else has changed.

Instead of eating alone, the child is sharing a meal with the people he loves. His parents and sibling are all eating the same banana, laughing, talking, and enjoying their meal together. Without anyone telling him to take a bite, he’s gathering important information simply by watching.

This is called social learning.

Children are naturally wired to learn by observing the people they trust. When they repeatedly see their family eating and enjoying a food, their brain begins to recognize that food as familiar, safe, and part of “what we do.”

Family meals also provide something else that’s incredibly important: connection.

Feeling connected with trusted caregivers helps regulate a child’s nervous system, and a regulated child is much more likely to be curious, explore, and eventually try something new.

Will they eat the banana today? Maybe. Maybe not.

But every positive family meal is another opportunity to build familiarity, reduce uncertainty, and increase the likelihood that one day they’ll decide to take that first bite on their own.

07/29/2026

Chewing is a skill—and like any skill, it develops through practice.

Chewy tubes and oral-motor tools can be helpful for introducing jaw movements, building awareness, and supporting oral-motor development.

But they can’t replace the experience of chewing real food.

To learn how to chew, children need opportunities to practice with foods that provide natural resistance.

Before that can happen, they first need to feel safe and comfortable having those foods in their mouth.

That’s why food exposure matters so much.

For many children, the journey starts with tiny front-teeth bites. They take a small nibble, realize they can manage it, and build confidence.

As that confidence grows, those bites gradually become bigger.

Over time, they begin moving the food to their molars, where true chewing develops.

With repeated practice, jaw strength, coordination, and endurance naturally improve.

07/27/2026

I recently took a course called Gather to Eat by child psychologist Dr. Deborah MacNamara.

She is also the author of one of the best feeding development/psychology books I have ever read titled “Nourished: Connection, Food, and Caring for Our Kids (And Everyone Else We Love).”

If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend reading it or listening to the audiobook version! Or even better - taking her course!!

In both her course and book, she stresses the importance of connection and relationship as the foundational base for food learning to occur.

In one simple sentence - The more connected a child feels to their caregiver, the more likely they will be to eat the foods they eat because of the biological drive for belonging.

For this to occur 3 things need to happen at the table:
1. Children need to feel more important than the foods they eat or don’t eat during mealtime
2. Caregivers need to model eating the foods we want them to learn to eat
3. Children need to be met where they are in their food learning journey - meaning expose them to new foods without pressure and teach them to explore in ways they feel safe doing (e.g., smell, touch, lick, nibble, etc.)

This is easier said than done when you have a cautious eater who is hesitant around new foods but do know if all you can do during a meal is make sure your child feels connected to you and safe, you are more than half way there

Here’s something I wish every family knew about picky eating.Picky eating is rarely about “bad behavior.”Many children a...
07/26/2026

Here’s something I wish every family knew about picky eating.

Picky eating is rarely about “bad behavior.”

Many children are naturally more cautious with food because of their genetics, sensory processing, temperament, and development. You didn’t cause it but certain responses can unintentionally keep the cycle going.

The good news? Small changes can make a big difference.
✨ Follow your child’s pace.
✨ Reduce pressure.
✨ Start with foods that feel familiar.
✨ Celebrate every step of exploration to build their confidence.

Looking, touching, smelling, licking, and tasting are all progress. Food learning is a journey, and trust always comes before eating.

07/24/2026

Picky eating isn’t just about what’s on the plate—it’s also about what happens around it.

In one study, researchers observed 75 families with children between 2 and 4 years old during everyday meals in their homes to better understand what was associated with less food fussiness.

They found four mealtime habits that were linked to fewer food refusals:
🍽️ Parents ate with their child.
🥗 Parents ate the same foods their child was eating.
🙋 Children were given appropriate choices, like deciding between two parent-approved foods or how much to serve themselves.
📵 Meals had fewer distractions, such as TVs, tablets, toys, or books.

These habits didn’t “cure” picky eating overnight—but they helped create a mealtime environment where children were more willing to engage with food.

It’s a helpful reminder that food learning happens through repeated experiences.

Small changes to the mealtime environment can support curiosity, confidence, and connection over time.

Powell, F., Farrow, C., Meyer, C., & Haycraft, E. (2017). The importance of mealtime structure for reducing child food fussiness. Maternal & child nutrition, 13(2), e12296.

Sometimes we answer our child’s words before we understand what they’re trying to communicate.“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t...
07/23/2026

Sometimes we answer our child’s words before we understand what they’re trying to communicate.

“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t want that for dinner.”

What if we zoomed in instead?

Instead of reacting to the statement, get curious about the message behind it.
✨ “I’m not hungry.” may be your child honoring their body’s hunger and fullness cues.
✨ “I don’t like it.” doesn’t mean “I will never like it.” Food preferences are learned and constantly changing.
✨ “I don’t want that for dinner.” doesn’t mean you should stop offering it. It simply means they’re choosing not to eat it today.

As parents, it’s easy to feel like we need to change our child’s answer.
But often, the better question isn’t:

“How do I get my child to eat?”

It’s:

“What is my child communicating, and how can I respond in a way that supports food learning?”

When children feel heard, respected, and free from pressure, they have more opportunities to build trust with both food and the people around them.

Sometimes we answer our child’s words before we understand what they’re trying to communicate.“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t...
07/23/2026

Sometimes we answer our child’s words before we understand what they’re trying to communicate.

“I’m not hungry.”
“I don’t like it.”
“I don’t want that for dinner.”

What if we zoomed in instead?

Instead of reacting to the statement, get curious about the message behind it.
✨ “I’m not hungry.” may be your child honoring their body’s hunger and fullness cues.
✨ “I don’t like it.” doesn’t mean “I will never like it.” Food preferences are learned and constantly changing.
✨ “I don’t want that for dinner.” doesn’t mean you should stop offering it. It simply means they’re choosing not to eat it today.

As parents, it’s easy to feel like we need to change our child’s answer.
But often, the better question isn’t:

“How do I get my child to eat?”

It’s:

“What is my child communicating, and how can I respond in a way that supports food learning?”

When children feel heard, respected, and free from pressure, they have more opportunities to build trust with both food and the people around them.

07/22/2026

We can’t make a child like a food—but we can help their brain build a positive association with it.

One question I encourage parents to ask is:
Instead of, “How can I get my child to eat this food?” ask, “How can I help my child create a positive association with this food?”

In this video, I share a simple story using the ABC model from behavioral psychology.

🥬 A – Antecedent: A child is given a piece of lettuce.
🐐 B – Behavior: They feed it to a goat.
😊 C – Consequence: The goat eagerly eats it, the child laughs, and the experience is fun and rewarding.

Now the brain has learned something important: green lettuce is associated with a positive experience.

The next time the child sees lettuce, they don’t just see a vegetable—they remember how it made them feel.

When foods are paired with safety, curiosity, play, and enjoyable experiences instead of pressure, the brain begins to expect positive experiences around those foods.

Over time, those positive associations can become intrinsic motivation—the child wants to engage with the food because of the positive experiences they’ve had, not because someone asked, bribed, or pressured them to.

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