Do you feel as though you are forcing your child to eat? Chasing them around all.day.long. just to get them to take ONE or TWO bites of food? Are you coaxing, convincing, and/or bribing your child to eat… at your wits end trying to ensure they get enough nutrition each day? Does your child graze/snack throughout the day but refuse to sit down and eat at meal times? When your child finally says they are hungry, do you find yourself jumping hurdles to make sure they take a bite of something before they change their mind? Your child may have a pediatric feeding disorder and the good news is, there is help!
Your life doesn’t have to revolve around coming up with new ideas and motivational tactics to convince your child to eat. Working with a pediatric feeding therapist will help to identify what areas should be targeted first in order to work on feeding skills and come up with a plan that is manageable and will make life easier for you and your child.
Pediatric feeding disorder, or PFD, is when a child is not eating enough, or a large enough variety of textures, to support nutritional needs for growth and development. This can be hard on the entire family -but there is hope. Working with a pediatric feeding therapist can change your child’s life and ability to consume adequate nutrition.
Other signs and symptoms of pediatric feeding disorders include:
- Picky eating/lack of variety of foods
- Slow eater
- Difficulty chewing, choking during meals
- Avoiding textures of food/only eating certain textures
- Gagging and/or vomiting while eating
- Not taking in an appropriate volume of food during a reasonable amount of time
- Practicing avoidance behaviors during meal times
- Refusing foods
- Consuming less than 20 foods regularly
- Difficulty weaning from a bottle
- Difficulty managing a variety of textures
If you have concerns and have noticed one or more of these symptoms, please contact a feeding therapist who will be able to assess your child and determine the best course of action to help take the stress out of mealtime.
You can find a pediatric feeding therapist near you by visiting our directory: www.pediatricfeedingtherapist.com
