Parents receive conflicting messages about feeding. We’re told that getting the right nutrients is incredibly important to our child’s health and wellbeing. Then, we’re told that we should simply offer our kids food and let them decide whether and how much to eat. So, how do we follow both sets of advice? The fact is, nutrition is the result of a trusting feeding relationship, and if you can learn to appreciate your kiddo’s presentation and respond to their cues, you can achieve a stress-free mealtime.
Grace Wong is a certified eating disorder registered dietitian with 15 years of clinical experience in mental health and pediatric nutrition. Grace works with a diverse presentation of feeding and eating disorders and supports children with co-existing conditions like ADHD, autism, sensory processing challenges, anxiety, depression, addiction and trauma. She is committed to helping clients uncover their family feeding history and establish a comfortable environment at mealtime. Grace’s practice is based in Calgary, and she does online coaching through her Facebook business page.
Today, Grace joins us to explain how she supports parents whose kids have complex feeding presentations. She discusses the concept of food acceptance, sharing her aim to get children to a place where variety is not disruptive and her approach to establishing a peaceful mealtime. Listen in for Grace’s insight on the challenges of parenting neuro-diverse kiddos and learn how to appreciate your child’s feeding presentation and build a trusting feeding relationship!
Key Takeaways
How Grace supports parents whose kids eat differently
Don’t treat child as ‘problem’ Learn story, family feeding history Identify cause of current challenges Move child closer to natural trajectory
The tenets of division of responsibility in feeding
Parents responsible for when, what and where Children responsible for whether, how much
The concept of responsive eating
Relationship rather than set of rules Read child’s cues, respond appropriately
Grace’s insight on the idea of food acceptance
Limited diet grows with experience Get to a place where variety not disruptive
The conflicting message parents receive re: feeding
Nutrition important, necessary for wellbeing Offer children food and let them decide
How Grace works to establish a peaceful mealtime
Collect story and identify stressors Give child autonomy to choose or remove Address concerns (e.g.: anxiety, appetite) Make meals safe + comfortable
The challenges of parenting neuro-diverse children
Shaming or judgment from friends, family Kids employ masking to appear normal Increases anxiety, creates more aversion
Grace’s advice on appreciating your child’s presentation
Develop trusting feeding relationship Outcome = nutrition, peace with food
Connect with Grace
Grace on Facebook
Connect with Lindsay
Intuitive Eating Moms
Embodied & Well Mom Show on Facebook
Lindsay on Instagram
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Lindsay on Twitter
Lindsay on LinkedIn
Resources
Ellen Satter’s Division of Responsibility
Dr. Katja Rowell
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