Re: PLEASE HELP WITH EATING!!!

[Guest guest]

hi- my son 1s 5.5 and eats popcorn chicken., mac and cheese, vanilla ice

cream, mcflurrys and blizzard ice cream treats, any kind of cracker , cookie, or

cereal, he use to eat fries but will not eat them anymore, his school says he

actually took a bite of applesauce yesterday but i dont believe them, he is

going to start in a eating class at therapy tomorrow. the first half will be

focusing on what he can do with his body like swing, slides, etc and the last

half

hour on food approximations so first he needs to pick out a food, then touch

the food, then put it on a spoon, move it from the spoon to a bowl, then touch

the spoon to his lip, etc. his ot is working on it. ive tried it but havent

had much luck but i just keep trying-charlotte henry

[Guest guest]

Have you ever had him tested for food IgG and IgE reactions? I

associate this kind of behavior with food sensitivities. From the

things you have listed, I would guess it's probably not a food texture

issue. I have known children who would only eat foods that were

certain colors - is that it?

>

> My son is 8 and only eats cheese, pizza, poptarts, chicken nuggets,

fries,

> and such , looks fine now but worry of futre. Any advice or such to

get him

> to eat better? He's had Verbal Apraxia since 3 and such.

>

[Guest guest]

He does gag a lot if I try giving him meat or fruit or such.

Thanks for advice, anymore? hahhaa

[ ] Re: PLEASE HELP WITH EATING!!!

Have you ever had him tested for food IgG and IgE reactions? I

associate this kind of behavior with food sensitivities. From the

things you have listed, I would guess it's probably not a food texture

issue. I have known children who would only eat foods that were

certain colors - is that it?

>

> My son is 8 and only eats cheese, pizza, poptarts, chicken nuggets,

fries,

> and such , looks fine now but worry of futre. Any advice or such to

get him

> to eat better? He's had Verbal Apraxia since 3 and such.

>

[Guest guest]

Hi

I have a 6 year old non-apraxic child that is very picky. He has been

very picky since baby jar food. My first question What does the

Pediatrician say? How does his weight gain look on his charts? How

does the blood work look for your child? My pediatrician assured me

that as long as he doesn't go down on his chart and his blood work

looks fine not to be so concerned with it. There are those people in

the family or friends that will make comments, but you learn to ignore

them and go on. I have a system that works pretty well with him. He

can't stand the texture of some meats and the way some food looks. I

tell him one bite if he doesn't like it, he doesn't have to eat it.

He is more willing to try new foods now, and sometimes he is

pleasantly suprised that he actually likes them. The more you make a

fuss the more they will refuse to try things. Have you tried

rewards. One bite and after dinner you can have a treat or extra

activity time.

Tina

>

> My son is 8 and only eats cheese, pizza, poptarts, chicken nuggets,

fries,

> and such , looks fine now but worry of futre. Any advice or such to

get him

> to eat better? He's had Verbal Apraxia since 3 and such.

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks so much, not sure at age 8 how much of that I can implement, but

damn, we need help fast..I worry of future sugar diabetic and such.

Re: [ ] PLEASE HELP WITH EATING!!!

hi- my son 1s 5.5 and eats popcorn chicken., mac and cheese, vanilla ice

cream, mcflurrys and blizzard ice cream treats, any kind of cracker ,

cookie, or

cereal, he use to eat fries but will not eat them anymore, his school says

he

actually took a bite of applesauce yesterday but i dont believe them, he is

going to start in a eating class at therapy tomorrow. the first half will be

focusing on what he can do with his body like swing, slides, etc and the

last half

hour on food approximations so first he needs to pick out a food, then touch

the food, then put it on a spoon, move it from the spoon to a bowl, then

touch

the spoon to his lip, etc. his ot is working on it. ive tried it but havent

had much luck but i just keep trying-charlotte henry

[Guest guest]

" Thanks for advice, anymore? "

Here's a " bit " more from an archive on " picky eaters " ~

From: " kiddietalk " <kiddietalk@...>

Date: Tue Apr 19, 2005 7:51 pm

Subject: Re: Poor eating habits, what to do? kiddietalk

Some great tips Suzi!

No adult picky eaters you say?...I know one -my husband! Will only

eat raw veggies -says he " can't " eat them cooked for just one

example. (yes we have fun at dinner at our house) And he was like

this from childhood and was a " normal " child. And even better just

thought of another " normal " child to adult picky eater -I went to

school with this girl Jane T. who's mom was a nurse and who

wouldn't eat anything every day but hamburgers, french fries, and

Twinkies. She told us back then that " everything else smells gross "

and " if it smells gross I won't eat it "

Skinny as anything -almost made it into the Olympics she was that

talented as a gymnist, and was after HS and college a show girl in

the Islands till she got married. Ran into Jane T. at a HS

reunion and she told a table of us that she keeps cartons of

Twinkies in her house she is so afraid they will stop making them.

Strange but true -can't make that stuff up! Anyway...

Below is an archive collection of some tips posted for picky

eaters. Not all from the archives of course -but a selection some of

you may

find

tidbits of advice from!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~start of archives

Hi Traci,

I know it sounds horrible, but it is comforting to know I'm not the

only mom

out there facing these types of problems. I am sorry to hear that

you too

have a difficult eater. I have three children (12yo, 4yo, and

2.10yo) that

are problem eaters, ranging from being a VERY picky eater to not

being able

to eat, and it can be overwhelming at times...oh who am I kidding, I

mean

all of the time LOL.

GERD stands for gastoesophageal reflux disease. Chase was dx'd with

GERD at

3mo of age following pneumonia caused by aspiration from reflux. He

had a

nissen fundoplication (a surgery to create a one-way valve to prevent

stomach contents from re-entering the esophagus) and hiatal hernia

repair at

14mo for severe GERD. As a result of severe reflux he developed oral

aversions, causing him to gag, retch, and vomit at every meal. The

oral

aversions continued after surgery, which made it very difficult for

Chase to

grow and gain weight, and he could not advance from thinned pureed

baby

foods. Chase was then dx'd with FTT (failure to thrive) and had a g-

tube

surgically placed at the age of two.

Here are some strategies I've gained from the feeding group Chase

attended,

and which helped Chase overcome his oral avertions (he's willing to

try any

type of food and textures now, the problem is he does know what to

do with

the food once it's in his mouth) that might help with increasing you

daughter's tolerance and exploration of foods and widen the variety

of foods

she we eat.

STEPS TO EATING The Hierarchy to Eating

Step 1: TOLERATE

*being in the same room

*being at the table with food on the other side of the table

*being at the table with food 1/2 way across the table

*being at the table with the food approximately in front of the child

*looks at food when directly in front of child

Step 2: INTERACTS WITH

*assists in preparation/set up with food

*uses utensils or a container to stir or pour food/drink

*uses utensils or container to serve self

Step 3: SMELLS

*odor in room

*odor at table

*odor directly in front of child

*leans down or picks up to smell

Step 4: TOUCH

*fingertips, fingerpads

*whole hand

*chest, shoulder

*top of head

*chin, cheek

*nose, underneath nose

*lips

*teeth

*tip of tongue, full tongue

Step 4: TASTE

*licks lips, togue licks food

*bites off piece & spits out immediately

*bites piece, holds in mouth for " X " seconds & spits out

*bites, chews " X " times & spits out

*chews, partially swallows

*chews, swallows with drink

*chews and swallows independantly

Finally: EATING

HIERARCHY STRATEGIES

TOLERATES:

1. describe the properties of the food while it is in front of you

2. you manipulate food in a creative/educational way near/in front

of child

3. child watches food preparation because it is interesting

4. food is passed in front of child; directly in front of face

5. place food on a napkin or table next to child and move closer to

child as

tolerates

(without drawing attention to this, over the course of the meal)

6. place food on edge of plate and move closer as tolerates

INTERACTION:

1. have child pass food container to another

2. have child serve self or another family member with a utensil

3.child helps with food preparation using utensils

4. child stirs with a utensil or other food (e.g. pretzel rod)

5. child manipulates outer wrapper

6. child pushes one food with another food (making a train)

7. child puts one food into another (making faces, making b-day

cakes with

candles)

8. child blows on food to tip it over or move along the plate/surface

SMELL:

1.have child in kitchen while food is being cooked

2. helps prepare foods with utensils or hands

3. peeling, cutting, stirring

4. waving food in front of face ( mimicing fans, airplanes, wiggle

worms,

" teaching physics of food " )

5. bringing the food near the nose (make mustaches, whiskers, beards,

lipstick, clown noses)

6. model leaning down and exaggerating smelling ( " Hmmm...Ahhh " )

TOUCH:

1. building with food (making trains, steps, bridges, rainbows,

letters,

shapes)

2. painting with foods (shapes, letters, pictures, faces, etc)

3. driving foods and driving foods under other foods (peanuts make

great

boats and cars)

4. inch worm up the hand, arm, shoulder, cheeks, etc

5. driving to the cave (mouth)

6. kissing foods, foods kissing you

7. pretending the food is lipstick, rubbing food on lips

8. flicking onto plate, into bowl

9. serving yourself with your hands

10. scraping with ahnds into trash; throwing away foods on the table

11. making food into objects you can wear (earings, glasses,

necklace, bows

in hair, rings, etc)

12. smashing, crunching, breaking, ripping, tearing with hands

13. cookie cutters

14. give food hugs

15. tapping the food on the teeth

16. balancing the food on your nose

17. hanging the food from lower lip

18. holding food on/above your upper lip with no hands

19. sliding down the slide/ski slope (= your nose)

20. sticking the food to parts of the body (forehead, cheek, hand,

nose,

chin)

TASTE:

1. being a puppy with a bone

2. holding food in teeth, no hands

3. kissing food

4. driving into mouth

5 blowing out of mouth

6. hold in teeth then push out with tongue

7. licking ( " make it wet, like a puppy does " , lick it like an

icecream cone)

8. listen to the noises it makes when biting/crunching

9. imitate brushing teeth with food

10. making a popping noice pulling foods out of mouth

11. exaggerated chewing with noise and head movement

12. licking food from fingers

13. hold bite of food in back teeth, spit out

14. bite off small peices, then spit out quickly

15. touch to tip of tongue fast

16. playing peek-a-boo on tongue

17. counting chews

18. " 1, 2, 3 " everyone licks, bites etc

*Prior to meals, warm up the mouth with blowing bubbles, blow toys,

whistles. Never allow the child to eat alone. Remove distractive

sources

(turn of TV). If child still uses highchair, move it as close to the

table

as you can so the child feels included during the meal time. Have

all family

members take part and follow along. Take turns trying things with

your food

(e.g. " look I can hold this pea on my tongue " and everyone follows

and shows

each other. Remember, once your child is chewing and eating, then

you can

teach manors. Choose atleast one meal a day and a snack time to do

feeding

therapy.

Thanks so much for your support,

Kris

Hi Pam and Tammy and all!

If you guys are looking for more food tips -Here is a great resource

article -and not just for picky eaters (clip from file and the rest

on a link) And Tammy I agree -I didn't know liked feta cheese

either! I don't recall that at our " tailgate party " at Disney's

Typhoon

Lagoon! (We have got to do that again soon!)

" Kids Can Cook - And Learning Is the Secret Ingredient!

Most children learn quickly that eating is fun. They also enjoy

helping adults cook. Put the two together and you have the perfect

recipe for learning. Children learn best when they're busy and

interested in what they are doing. When children are busy scrubbing,

mixing, stirring, kneading, spreading, tossing, squeezing, and

pouring, they don't realize there's a special ingredient that you're

adding: It's called learning!

.. Cooking involves reading and talking. There is much to talk about

as a recipe is read, followed, and prepared.

.. Children learn math skills through counting, measuring, and

following step-by-step directions.

.. Science is learned as children see how food changes during

cooking. They learn about hot and cold, floating and sinking,

dissolving, melting, and freezing.

.. Good nutrition is encouraged through cooking. Seeing exactly what

goes into a recipe helps children learn to make better decisions

about the food they eat.

.. Children can learn about and connect with other cultures as they

prepare foods from various cultural groups.

.. Thinking skills are developed as children learn to compare and

make relationships in food preparation. If we use too much flour in

our

cookie recipe, the result is a dry, hard cookie. Proportions are

easily mastered when children learn that if you double the

ingredients in the

cookie recipe, you get double the cookies.

.. Social skills are practiced in cooking when children work

together, take turns, and solve problems. Most importantly, self-

esteem abounds

when children prepare foods for themselves and others.

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

.. Good cooks of all ages always wash their hands before cooking.

.. Tell children to wait until the dish is done before sampling it.

This will help prevent illness.

.. Expect spills and messes.

.. Children have short attention spans. Give them quick, simple jobs,

and give instructions one at a time.

.. Children get excited and forget. Repeat directions as often as

needed.

.. Young cooks need constant supervision.

.. Give children jobs to help with cleanup. "

Full article with lots of tips at the link below!

http://betterkidcare.psu.edu/CaringForKids/CaringForKids3-5.pdf

" The Finicky Eater

Help! My child is very picky! The list of foods he will accept is

very short.

The Poor Eater

My child won't eat anything. I have done everything I know to do,

but she just won't eat a thing. What should I do?

The Obese Child

My child eats too much. He is quite chubby and I really worry that he

will grow up to be fat.

(a direct link to this page for helpful advise)

http://www.ellynsatter.com/Pages/Parents.htm

=====

[Guest guest]

I am no expert, but I have many friends with children who do not have

apraxia - they are typically devloping children & have the same

issues.

My daughter, with apraxia was the pickest eater ( only white & beige

colored mushy foods for over a year ) slowly, she has expanded & now

eats foods of color & with some texture. It had been a slow process.

Her ped. said that some children need to have a food presented ( never

forced ) over 50 times befreo they will even consider eating it. When

she started school & having more play dates, she became more open to

trying other foods too. You know what they say about peer pressure.

We were recently at a friends house & her son was eating salad,

fish...my daughter on the other hand ate only rice & then said she was

so hungry when we got home.

>

> My son is 8 and only eats cheese, pizza, poptarts, chicken nuggets,

fries,

> and such , looks fine now but worry of futre. Any advice or such to

get him

> to eat better? He's had Verbal Apraxia since 3 and such.

>

[Guest guest]

I'm of the school that says there's nothing wrong with pizza if you put some

healthy stuff on it - how about lots of veggies and, making your own with your

son's help, some healthier cheese? As for chicken nuggets, how about making

your own with a healthier breading (use some toasted and crushed whole

multi-grain bread or something like that) and baking it (325 deg for about 20

minutes on each side). Some mac 'n' cheese with whole grain pasta and some good

cheeses - not too much wrong with that. You might even be able to slip in some

pureed carrots or other veggies in the sauce for the mac n cheese. I could do

without the poptarts (although I loved them as a kid, too!). Fries - how about

making your own with sweet potatoes (or white on occasion) and bake them instead

of fry them. You can even do a cheesy potato thing - using some healthier

cheeses, sweet potatoes, and slip in some other veggies - nothing wrong with

that! Sounds like he could use a bit more fruits, though.

Good luck!

Sherry

" E. Salatino " <salatina@...> wrote:

My son is 8 and only eats cheese, pizza, poptarts, chicken nuggets, fries,

and such , looks fine now but worry of futre. Any advice or such to get him

to eat better? He's had Verbal Apraxia since 3 and such.

[Guest guest]

Forgot to add these links from Tanner's one awesome preschool SLP

A. Ortega, M.S., CCC-SLP

(now she's someone who knows how to work with preschool children!)

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/feeding.html

http://www.cherab.org/information/speechlanguage/mealtimetips.html

=====

[Guest guest]

>

> My son is 8 and only eats cheese, pizza, poptarts, chicken nuggets,

fries,

> and such , looks fine now but worry of futre. Any advice or such to

get him

> to eat better? He's had Verbal Apraxia since 3 and such.

>

My son was the same way. Kirkmans makes a liquid zinc that has helped.

Zinc affects the taste buds. It takes a while 3-6 months, but he is

eating a much larger variety of foods now. I hope this is helpful.

God bless you & your little one,

judyblondlue