Speech pathologists and occupational therapists work closely with children that have feeding difficulties or a feeding disorder. 

It is estimated that 1 in 4 typically developing children will develop a feeding disorder. Feeding difficulties can be due to a physiological condition, motor skills, sensory, or learned behaviours.  

How do we encourage our child to try new foods? We always recommend that you speak to a speech pathologist to further investigate any concerns regarding feeding or fussy eating. However, these are some ideas to get you started!

  1. Let the child look at the food. They don’t have to eat it on their first try! This is a foreign object to them so it is important that you give them time to explore it by looking and smelling!
  2. The next step is touching the food! This will happen in their own time, but you can always model how to do this. Sit with your child and roll, squeeze, poke your food and provide your child with the opportunity to do the same if you like!
  3. After the child is happy touching the foods, we want to encourage them to put the food to their lips. They don’t have to eat it, but just put it on their lips and feel it.
  4. Next step is getting your child comfortable with licking or putting the food in their mouth! Again, we are not expecting them to eat it (however they might which is fantastic). This step is all about building up that final layer of confidence before getting them to swallow the food. At this stage, they may even spit it out!
  5. The last step is encouraging your child to eat and swallow their food!

These are broad steps and every child’s progress will be different. But instead of trying to force them to eat food, let them become comfortable with this foreign item first. The best thing you can do at each of these stages is model the step with your child, showing them that the food is okay!

If you have concerns about your child’s feeding skills, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Hanrahan Health via email on admin@hanrahanhealth.com.au or via phone on 02 4862 5063.