Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater: A Parent's Handbook

290 Pages·2016·20.685 MB·English

by  Nimali Fernando, Melanie Potock

Praise for
RAISING A HEALTHY, HAPPY EATER
“Whether you are an exasperated or apprehensive parent of a picky
eater or you just want to be a better parent, you need this resource.
With wisdom, wit, and candor, Dr. Nimali Fernando and Melanie
Potock take you on a fascinating journey into the mind and sensory
system of your fickle eaters.”
—Daniel Feiten, MD, clinical professor of pediatrics,
University of Colorado School of Medicine founder and CEO,
Pediatric Web Inc. and RemedyConnect Inc.
“Dr. Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock offer exceptional, time-
less advice on how to create an eating environment that is healthy,
happy, and stress-free for child and parent. A very difficult task,
but they have hit a home run with this book.”
—theoDore StathoS, MD, professor of pediatrics, Rocky Vista
University College of Osteopathic Medicine, director of
pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition, The Rocky Mountain
Hospital for Children, president, Rocky Mountain Pediatric
Gastroenterology
“Dr. Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock provide innovative,
fun, healthy, and, most importantly, doable solutions to just about
every challenge around kids and food. This book would make a
great gift for new parents and is a must-read for parents of older
children as well.”
—Stephanie S. Smith, PSyD, psychologist, writer at
www.drstephaniesmith.com, and advisory board member for
www.produceforkids.com
TTHHEEEEXXPPEERRIIMMEENNTT
BECAUSEEVERY BOOKISATESTOFNEWIDEAS
“The unique perspectives of both authors—a physician dedicated
to pediatric eating habits and a speech-language pathologist spe-
cializing in safe feeding and swallowing—fill this book with multi-
dimensional, helpful information for getting children to eat more
healthily and safely. After reading this book you will sharpen
your skills in parenting mindfully, feeding confidently, and avoid-
ing picky eating! This book is also ideal for speech-language pa-
thology and occupational therapy students hoping to one day
become feeding specialists.”
—Dawn winkelmann, mS, CCC-Slp, speech-language
pathologist and feeding specialist
“This is hands-down the best book available on how to help kids
become courageous eaters. Melanie Potock and Dr. Nimali Fernando
provide a clear, practical, easy-to-follow road map to guide parents
through this often bumpy developmental journey, including the best
ways to position an infant for feeding, transition to solid foods, get
rid of the pacifier and thumb sucking, and get kids to try new foods,
even those with extremely limited food repertoires.”
—linDSey Biel, ma, otr/l, pediatric occupational therapist,
author of Sensory Processing Challenges: Effective Clinical Work
with Kids & Teens, and coauthor of Raising a Sensory Smart
Child: The Definitive Guide to Helping Your Child with Sensory
Processing Issues
“Finally, a book that takes on the real root causes of picky eating.
Best not to wait for picky eating to begin and read this book now,
but if you already have terror at the table help is on its way.”
—kelly DorFman, mS, lnD,
author of Cure Your Child with Food
“Dr. Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock help parents to under-
stand the physical and developmental aspects of learning to eat,
including gross motor and fine motor milestones, and how these
set the foundation for optimal eating. With a myriad of strategies
to help kids explore and learn about food, parents now have an
arsenal of healthy interventions from which to draw upon as their
child grows.”
—Jill CaStle, mS, rDn, childhood nutrition expert and
author of Fearless Feeding
“Dr. Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock explain development
using real-life examples and provide parents with loads of practi-
cal advice for every childhood age and stage. The book is parent-
and reader-friendly, while providing a balance of developmental
and behavioral information. It also considers the whole child as
well as the parent-child partnership needed for healthy feeding,
eating, drinking, and nutrition.”
—Diane Bahr, CCC-Slp, Cimi, author of Nobody Ever Told
Me (or My Mother) That! Everything from Bottles and Breathing to
Healthy Speech Development
“Rare is the book that both informs and delightfully entertains
and Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater does just that. After just a few
sentences, I felt like I was sitting at a table with the smartest and
most insightful girlfriends—as coauthors Dr. Nimali Fernando and
Melanie Potock guided me through each stage of eating through-
out a child’s life.”
—amanDa maSCia, founder of The Good Food Factory
“I love the way Dr. Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock have
approached feeding—it’s a perfect combination of education and
encouragement, which is exactly what parents need to create
positive feeding experiences. Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater will
give parents the tools to approach feeding with confidence—
because what could be better than getting feeding advice from a
pediatrician and a feeding expert!”
—kia roBertSon, founder of the Eat A Rainbow Project
“Parents want easy solutions, fun strategies, and creative guid-
ance, backed by professional knowledge and mixed with a dose
of reality. You’ll find the perfect mix with Dr. Nimali Fernando
and Melanie Potock—and become well on your way to raising
healthy, happy eaters.”
—kelly leSter, CEO, EasyLunchboxes

R A I S I N G A
H E A LT H Y,

H A P P Y E AT E R
A PARENT’S HANDBOOK
A Stage-by-Stage Guide to
Setting Your Child on the Path
to Adventurous Eating
NIMALI FERNANDO, MD, MPH
MELANIE POTOCK, MA, CCC-SLP
Foreword by Roshini Raj, MD
THEEXPERIMENT
NEW YORK
Raising a HealtHy, Happy eateR: a paRent’s Handbook—A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting
Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating
Copyright © 2015 Nimali Fernando and Melanie Potock
Foreword © 2015 Roshini Raj
The photograph credits on page 265 are a continuation of this copyright page.
All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio, television,
or online reviews, no portion of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or informa-
tion storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. All names
have been changed except for Raina, Little Miss, and Ben.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are
claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and The Experiment was
aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been capitalized.
The Experiment, LLC
220 East 23rd Street, Suite 301
New York, NY 10010-4674
www.theexperimentpublishing.com
This book contains the opinions and ideas of its author. It is intended to provide helpful and
informative material on the subjects addressed in the book. It is sold with the understanding
that the author and publisher are not engaged in rendering medical, health, or any other kind
of personal professional services in the book. The author and publisher specifically disclaim all
responsibility for any liability, loss, or risk—personal or otherwise—that is incurred as a conse-
quence, directly or indirectly, of the use and application of any of the contents of this book.
The Experiment’s books are available at special discounts when purchased in bulk for premiums
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fernando, Nimali.
Raising a healthy, happy eater : a parent’s handbook-- a stage-by-stage guide to setting your
child on the path to adventurous eating / Nimali Fernando, MD, Melanie Potock, CCC-SLP.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Children--Nutrition. 2. Children--Health and hygiene. 3. Parent and child. I. Potock,
Melanie. II. Title.
RJ206.F47 2015
618.92--dc23
2015003945
ISBN 978-1-61519-268-7
Ebook ISBN 978-1-61519-269-4
Cover design by Laywan Kwan
Cover photograph by Sarah Smith
Author photograph by Daryle Darden
Text design by Pauline Neuwirth, Neuwirth & Associates, Inc.
Manufactured in the United States of America
Distributed by Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
Distributed simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Allen & Son Ltd.
First printing October 2015
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my devoted husband Daryle and my beautiful, adventur-
ous sons Zane and Asa, who always stand by me and inspire
me to live out my dreams. And to my parents who have always
been the most kindhearted and enthusiastic supporters of
Doctor Yum's mission.
—DR. YUM
There are three people in this world who love me to the
moon and back and inspire, support, and guide me every
single step of the way: my husband Bob and my two daugh-
ters, Mallory and Carly. They make every day a joy—and
every family dinner one filled with gratitude. This book is
dedicated to them for encouraging me to listen to my heart
above all other voices.
—COACH MEL

Contents
Foreword by Roshini Raj, MD xi
Introduction: Our Chicken Nugget World: Reality Bites 1
How to Use This Book 3
1 THE START OF YOUR CHILD’S FOOD JOURNEY
Parenting the Whole Child 5
2 SIGHTS, SOUNDS, AND EXPLORATION
Understanding the Sensory System 13
3 PACK YOUR BAGS AND HERE WE GO!
Birth to Six Months 25
4 FIRST STEPS
Six to Eight Months and on “Solid” Ground 49
5 NOW THE JOURNEY GETS INTERESTING
Nine to Fifteen Months 70
6 A BUMP IN THE ROAD
Sixteen to Twenty-four Months 106
7 THE TERRIBLY TERRIFIC TWOS 128
8 ARE WE THERE YET?
The Winding Road Through the Threes 157
9 UNEXPECTED GUESTS, AKA THE INFLUENCE OF THE OUTSIDE WORLD
Ages Four to Six 181
ix