Paediatric Feeding Therapy
Mealtimes should be about connection and nourishment, but for many families, they are a source of daily anxiety. If you're worried about your child's eating habits, you're not alone.
Mealtimes should be about connection and nourishment, but for many families, they are a source of daily anxiety. If you're worried about your child's eating habits, you're not alone.
It can be difficult to tell the difference between a phase of ‘picky eating’ and a more significant ‘problem feeding’ issue. While most toddlers go through a fussy stage, feeding therapy may be needed if you notice consistent behaviours like:
If this sounds familiar, we’re here to help you understand the next steps.
At Look Who’s Talking, we recognise that food is about both nutrition and connection. A varied diet nourishes a growing body while enjoyable mealtimes are a great way to bond with family and friends.
We understand how tough it is when your child won’t join the family meal or will only eat a very limited number of foods.
Having a picky eater in the family affects everyone. You worry about your child’s health and nutrition. And you may feel immensely frustrated at the impact their food refusal has on the rest of the family’s eating options.
Feeding therapy is an evidence-based approach to extending your child’s food repertoire so that mealtimes become manageable or – dare we suggest it? – even enjoyable.
Feeding therapy (or paediatric dietetics) aims to help your child enjoy a varied, nutritious diet.
That won’t happen overnight. Often, it’s a series of small gains over time as your child overcomes the various obstacles they experience when trying a new food.
We offer a great deal of praise and encouragement along the way.
It’s easy to feel frustrated when your child refuses to eat, but it’s rarely a simple case of behaviour. Eating is one of the most complex sensory tasks we do. For some children, the smell of a cooked carrot, the texture of yoghurt, or the sight of a mixed meal can be completely overwhelming. This is often described as a sensory-based feeding difficulty.
Beyond sensory challenges, feeding concerns can also be linked to:
Our therapists look at the whole child to understand the root cause of their struggles, creating a plan that addresses their unique needs with patience and care.
To help children overcome these challenges, we use evidence-based techniques like the SOS (Sequential-Oral-Sensory) Approach to Feeding. This is a play-based approach that respects the child’s comfort level and empowers them to explore food in a fun, non-stressful way. The SOS approach recognises that learning to eat happens in stages, starting long before the food ever reaches the mouth.
We gently guide your child through the 32 steps to eating, which can be simplified into six main goals: from simply tolerating a food in the room, to touching it, smelling it, and eventually, tasting and chewing it. It’s a gentle journey, not a race.
Tolerating the sight or presence of the food – even being in the same room is a start
With utensils only at this stage
Getting used to the scent of different foods and flavours
Touching the food with fingers, hands, body and mouth – this is how toddlers learn to eat
Could be just the tip of the tongue or putting it in the mouth then spitting it out
The final step – imagine how many times this has to happen in a whole meal
The SOS approach to feeding considers the whole child. It’s not just about food.
We need to examine their whole self for information about their feeding difficulties. That includes looking into:
Ashley would never attend the family meal ever. Being in the same room as a loaded dinner table created an intolerable sensory overload for her. Feeding therapy helped her to be in the room. She wouldn’t sit at the table but she was now at least present and able to join in the conversation with her family. That made a big difference.
Billy would only eat noodles or rice with ketchup. And not just any noodles – they had to be a specific brand. Feeding therapy helped him learn to eat one or two additional foods. That made a big difference.
Cooper would only eat a particular brand of oven chips. His family desperately wanted a bit more freedom. Feeding therapy helped Cooper become comfortable with other chips – and meant he and his family were able to enjoy the simple pleasure of getting fish and chips together from time to time. That made a big difference.
You should consider feeding therapy if your child shows signs of “problem feeding” beyond typical picky eating. This includes having a very restricted diet (fewer than 20 foods), refusing entire food groups, losing weight, gagging or vomiting at mealtimes, or experiencing extreme distress when presented with new foods.
First, try to stay calm and remove pressure. Forcing or bribing a child to eat may increase anxiety. Instead, maintain a routine of offering regular meals and snacks, always include at least one “common” food your child will eat, and model positive eating habits yourself.
Feeding therapy is designed to help children who have difficulty eating. Its goals are to expand the variety of foods a child will eat, designed to improve nutritional intake for healthy growth, make mealtimes less stressful for the family, and develop the oral-motor and sensory skills needed to eat safely and comfortably.
Sensory-based feeding issues occur when a child’s sensory system over- or under-reacts to the properties of food. The smell, texture, appearance, or even the sound of certain foods can cause distress, leading to food refusal. It’s not about being “naughty,” but about being genuinely overwhelmed.
While every child’s plan is unique, therapy often follows a structured, step-by-step process like the SOS Approach. It starts with non-threatening interactions, like just looking at or touching food, before progressing to smelling, licking, tasting, and finally, chewing and swallowing. The process is gradual, play-based, and always respects the child’s pace.
A paediatric dietitian who focuses on nutrition with children’s health. They analyse your child’s diet to identify any nutritional gaps, help manage medical conditions related to food, and provide practical advice on meal planning and supplementation to help ensure your child is getting what they need to support healthy growth and development.
You can start by creating a low-pressure food environment. Involve your child in food preparation (like washing vegetables or stirring), try “food play” activities away from the dinner table using things like play-doh or textured foods, and serve meals family-style so they can choose what goes on their plate. For a structured plan tailored to your child, it’s best to consult with a trained feeding therapist.
At Look Who’s Talking, you have two options for feeding therapy: a 1:1 appointment or a group program