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.
At Look Who’s Talking, we believe mealtimes are more than just food, they are opportunities for connection, communication and family bonding. When eating becomes stressful or challenging, it can affect the whole family. Our feeding therapy services are grounded in responsive feeding principles and guided by a strong family-centered philosophy.
We support children and families in a respectful, relationship based way that focuses on safety, trust and enjoyment, not pressure.
• Fussy, selective or restricted eating
• Food refusal or anxiety around eating
• Sensory sensitivities to textures, smells or tastes
• Difficulty progressing with feeding milestones
• Ongoing mealtime stress
Rather than focusing only on what a child eats, feeding therapy looks at how eating feels for the child and their family. Our goal is to help children feel comfortable and confident with food, while supporting families to enjoy calmer, more connected mealtimes.
Responsive feeding is a relationship based approach that recognise eating as a shared interaction between child and caregiver. It prioritises:
• Responding to a child’s hunger and fullness cues
• Respecting autonomy and individual pace
• Creating predictable, supportive mealtime routines
• Building trust and emotional safety around food
This approach moves away from pressure, rewards or force, and instead supports curiosity, confidence and long-term positive relationships with food.
At Look Who’s Talking, families are at the centre of everything we do. We recognise that caregivers know their child best and are essential partners in therapy.
Feeding therapy is not just about developing skills, it’s about strengthening relationships. Mealtimes are a powerful space for connection, communication and shared experiences. By supporting both the child and caregiver, we aim to restore mealtimes as a positive and meaningful part of family life.
When you access feeding therapy with us, you can expect:
Sessions are tailored to your child’s individual and family needs and progress at a pace that feels safe and achievable.
Responsive feeding principles can support children across a wide range of ages and developmental stages.
Feeding therapy isn’t just about food, it’s about connection, confidence and calm at the table. Our responsive, family-centred approach helps children build trust with food and supports families to enjoy mealtimes together again.
If you’d like to learn more or book a feeding therapy appointment, we’d love to support you.
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