Our five most common clients

So who are the kids we actually help at Mealtime Building Blocks? What are the most common issues we see?

Well, Lauren, Liz and I have come up with a list of our 5 most typical clients. If your child sounds like one (or a combination) of these kids, then please get in touch (and they don’t have to be exactly like these kids, just one issue can be enough to cause difficulties at mealtimes)!

Child number one- the ‘not keen on solid food’ bub

Frequent comments from parents:

• had a difficult time with breast or bottle feeding from birth

• never really put toys into their mouth

• gags on new flavours or textures

• clamps their mouth shut and pushes the spoon away

• cries in the highchair

• drops any finger foods onto the floor

• spits food out or holds in their cheeks

• only wants packaged purees

Child number two- the ‘I don’t want it’ toddler

Frequent comments from parents:

• happily ate everything as a baby

• has started to graze rather than eating meals

• has stopped eating vegetables and meat

• asks for the same food all the time

• wants to drink rather than eat (usually milk)

• won’t sit still

• has to have a TV or iPad on to eat

• parents have resorted to entertaining their children during a meal

Child number three- the ‘white food only’ child

Frequent comments from parents:

• likes white/beige foods (e.g. bread, nuggets, biscuits, chips, yoghurt)

• refuses anything mixed or with sauce

• wants snack foods only (e.g. crackers)

• whines for food but never really eats much

• eats different food to the rest of the family at family mealtimes

• cries at dinner time

• gags on vegetables (if they put it to the mouth at all!)

Child number four- the ‘scared of new foods’ older child

Frequent comments from parents:

• Has a small number of foods they will happily eat

• takes their own food to play dates

• worries about eating at other people’s houses

• has to have their own special food at school camp

• shuts down if someone talks about new foods

• has a limited number of dinner options that you rotate through

Child number five- the ‘is this normal?’ child

This child can be any age, but the parent feels stressed about some aspect of feeding. The parent might:

• be worried about limited variety

• find mealtimes stressful

• be worried about the amount the child eats

• constantly have to encourage, coax or bribe the child to eat

• be concerned about the child’s growth

• resort to offering many different types of food in a meal in hope the child will eat something

• have been told not to worry, but that hasn’t helped!

These are our five most common kiddies and we love working with all of them! If your child sounds like one of our common clients, and you'd like some help- please head to our bookings page us to book an appointment.

**Please also be assured that if you are worried about your child’s eating, but have been told that ‘all kids are fussy’ and ‘not to worry’; we will take you seriously. You don’t have to have the world’s worst eater to benefit from a consult. We believe that all kids can learn to enjoy food and participate happily in family meals. We also believe that parents can enjoy family mealtimes without having to cook four different meals for everyone! Check out our contact details here.

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About Mealtime Building Blocks

About Mealtime Building Blocks

Dr Kyla Smith and Liz Beaton are paediatric dietitians specialising in fussy eating, feeding difficulties and childhood nutrition. Lauren Pike is an occupational therapist working in fussy eating and feeding difficulties. They have a private practice called Mealtime Building Blocks in Perth, Western Australia. You can connect with Kyla, Liz and Lauren here.