Often times as pediatric dietitian, parents request meal plans with specific portion sizes for their child. While I can understand why this seems like the correct approach to assure their child gets exactly what and how much they need - they are often surprised when instead I offer recommendations that combines not only WHAT we feed our children but HOW.  

In my experience, most parents have a good understanding of basic general nutrition guidelines. However, a most common block to nutrition is not WHAT, it's often HOW to feed their child.

Feeding littles can feel tricky and overwhelming- as they move along ages and stages expectations for feeding setting, frequency and foods changes. So that is why as part of my recommendations I always dive into the HOW of feeding. They way I can describe it is that I have recommended a tool - and now I am letting you know how to use it. And these recommendations, are always rooted in concepts supportive of responsive feeding. 

Parents are at times are surprised that there is not a more disciplinarian approach to feeding (this has not been shown to not actually be effective). So we take the time, and I present the information - I offer the idea of a new way, and highlight the positives of a gentle, structured approach rooted in science, and at follow ups we build upon and refine the approach.

And this matters because… parents and other caregivers shape the development of children’s eating behaviours by the foods they make available to children, their own eating styles, behaviour at mealtimes, and child feeding practices^(1,2). Parents’ child-feeding practices can help children develop healthy eating habits later in life ⁽²⁾. 

Responsive feeding is associated with ^(3-8):

✅ healthy eating habits 

✅ self-regulation of food intake

✅ lower emotional eating in child 

✅ lower rates of malnutrition

✅ more stable growth trajectory across the lifespan

I truly believe parents are doing their best when it comes to feeding their families, and decisions are rooted in love and care. And most often parents come to see me, when what worked at some point, is no longer working.  

It is a goal of mine to empower parents to understand that when they are ready, they have the power to transform the dynamic in their home using evidence based, developmentally appropriate feeding and nutrition concepts and guidelines that as you can see, not only have absolutely important short term benefits, but have amazing long term outcomes too. 

Cheering you on, 

~Brigitte 

References: 

1. BCCDC | Pediatric Nutrition Guidelines (Birth to Six Years) for Health Professionals 2022 

2. Leung AKC, Marchand V, Sauve RS. The ‘picky eater’: The toddler or preschooler who does not eat [Internet]. Cana- dian Paediatric Society. 2020 [cited 2022 Mar 10]. Available from: https://cps.ca/en/documents//position//toddler-pre- schooler-who-does-not-eat/ 

 3. Boswell N. Complementary feeding methods - A review of the benefits and risks. Int J Environ Res Public Health [In- ternet]. 2021 Jul 4 [cited 2022 Jul 4];18(13). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8297117/ 

4. Mallan K, Miller N. Effect of parental feeding practices (i.e., responsive feeding) on children’s eating behavior. Karger Publ [Internet]. 2019 [cited 2022 Jul 4];91:21–30. Available from: https://www.karger.com/Article/Ab- stract/493675  

5. Morandi A, Tommasi M, Soffiati F, Destro F, Fontana L, Grando F, et al. Correction: Prevention of obesity in tod- dlers (PROBIT): A randomised clinical trial of responsive feeding promotion from birth to 24 months. Int J Obes [Internet]. 2020 Oct [cited 2022 Jul 5];44(10):2177–2177. Available from: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41366- 020-00651-y 

6. Pang WW, McCrickerd K. The impact of feeding experiences during infancy on later child eating behaviours. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care [Internet]. 2021 May [cited 2022 Jul 5];24(3):246–51. Available from: https://journals. https://journals.lww.com/co-clinicalnutrition/Fulltext/2021/05000 The_impact_of_feeding_experiences_during_infancy.9.aspx

7. Pérez-Escamilla R, Segura-Pérez S. Can a pragmatic responsive feeding scale be developed and applied globally? Matern Child Nutr [Internet]. 2020 [cited 2022 Jul 5];16(3):e13004. Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley. com/doi/abs/10.1111/mcn.13004 

8. Elfzzani Z, Kwok TC, Ojha S, Dorling J. Education of family members to support weaning to solids and nutrition in infants born preterm. Cochrane Database Syst Rev [Inter- net]. 2019 Feb 21 [cited 2022 Jul 5];2019(2). Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6384051/