Responsive Feeding: The Essential Handbook A Flexible, Stress-Free Approach to Nourishing Babies and Toddlers

Description

Parents are tired of struggling with their child at mealtimes. It's a familiar scene: Parent offers a spoon, loaded with nutritious food; Baby turns their head away and starts crying. Enter responsive feeding. Recommended by the US Dept of Health and Human Services and UNICEF, responsive feeding is learning how to read your baby's communication cues and your toddler's often-very-strong preferences (hello two-year-olds!) rather than feeding them a predetermined amount. Think of responsive feeding as a dance. For parents, it's about engaging your baby, anticipating their moves, and taking turns to lead the choreography. The parent responds to baby's communication and baby responds to theirs. Because the parent is in-tune and present in the moment, they will connect and flow, making for a joyful experience! Using evidence-based strategies, feeding therapist Melanie Potock explains how to read your child's cues to ensure happy mealtimes with happy kids. This book is designed to answer the most common questions about feeding babies and toddlers up to age three. It also debunks myths while offering practical tips on making mealtimes joyful and less stressful. It teaches a no-nonsense, straight-forward approach to responsive feeding that's focused on nurturing trust and communication between parent and child.

Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, is an international speaker on the topic of feeding babies to teens. Melanie has coached over a thousand parents on how to raise healthy, happy eaters right from the start and has over twenty years of clinical experience helping children with pediatric feeding disorders. She is the co-author of the award-winning Raising a Healthy, Happy Eater and author of Adventures in Veggieland, plus three other books for both parents and children. Melanie s advice has been shared in a variety of television and print media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN.com, and Parents Magazine. She lives in Colorado.

"Every so often you come across a book that inspires a YES YES YES response. Responsive Feeding is one of those rare gems! From learning to respond to your baby's signals to dispelling feeding myths to proactively addressing feeding challenges, Responsive Feeding provides all the tools, techniques, and tenderness parents need to make mealtimes joyful instead of stressful."--Lindsey Biel, occupational therapist, coauthor of Raising a Sensory Smart Child "Responsive Feeding is a comforting, engaging must-read for all parents, caregivers, and professionals in the pediatric feeding space. Melanie Potock uses her decades of experience and expertise as a feeding therapist to unite the often conflicting camps of baby-led weaning and puree enthusiasts by educating readers about the beautiful simplicity of what is perhaps the most underappreciated concept in pediatric feeding."--Malina Malkani, MS, RDN, CDN, author of Simple & Safe Baby-Led Weaning "Melanie brings wonderful insights with her Responsive Feeding approach, which recognizes the relationship that underpins all interactions, especially feeding, from birth on. This book is a parent-friendly guide, balanced by essential information for therapists. As a feeding and swallowing specialist for infants in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit), I am confident that Melanie's guidance and strategies will provide a positive way forward for infants and children with feeding challenges, and those who care for them."--Catherine S. Shaker, MS, CCC-SLP, BCS-S, pediatric speech-language pathologist "As moms to five children combined, we can confidently say this book is a must for parents! Melanie brilliantly points out that you have thousands of opportunities to enrich your child's associations to a variety of foods, while simultaneously building lifelong language skills--and guides you in taking advantage of every mealtime. Responsive Feeding eases your stress and allows you to reclaim the joy of feeding. Melanie, thank you for this amazing resource for the parent community!"--Brooke Dwyer, CCC-SLP, and Bridget Hillsberg, CCC-SLP, Speech Sisters "Responsive Feeding is a practical road map to the daunting task that all parents must tackle: introducing a baby to the exciting, sometimes overwhelming, world of solids. Potock's expert guidance cuts through all the myths and anxiety, leaving parents with a true understanding of how to help their children build a healthy relationship with food."--Larissa O' Loughlin, RN, IBCLC, The Mama Coach "Responsive Feeding is an essential resource for all parents on their feeding journey. Melanie empowers parents to really understand their children's needs and cues, providing loving, expert guidance and instruction to help baby thrive."--Alex Caspero, MA, RD, and Whitney English, MA, RD, founders of Plant-Based Juniors "Melanie has masterfully dovetailed the developmental milestones of learning to eat with a parent's more powerful strategy: attaching and connecting through responsive feeding. This book is a must-have for parents who want to start feeding on the right foot and raise children who artfully regulate their own appetite and eating."--Jill Castle, MS, RDN, author, and founder of The Nourished Child "Responsive Feeding is an absolute gem that will help parents achieve successful mealtimes. As an early intervention provider, I always turn to Coach Mel for feeding-related questions. Now, thanks to this book, I have immediate access to all her expertise right on my bookshelf!"--Cari Ebert, MS, CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist and early intervention specialist "With her decades of experience, Melanie Potock has written the bible on how to safely introduce foods to infants with responsive or infant-led feeding. A practical and easy-to-follow book, Responsive Feeding outlines when, why, and how to introduce foods to your child while reading their cues and readiness."--Holly E. Knotowicz, MS, CCC-SLP, speech-language pathologist and feeding specialist "I'm beyond grateful to Melanie for providing a new perspective on feeding--being more responsive to your little one's cues. This book includes many feeding strategies that have been helpful in my own feeding sessions. If you're a parent, SLP, or OT, you'll definitely find this book useful for your child and clients!"--Grace Bernales, MS, CCC-SLP, pediatric speech-language pathologist "Melanie Potock has done it again! This is one of the best books on the market for Responsive Feeding: It guides you through each phase of development from 6 to 36 months, answers all your questions, and solves feeding challenges. This is a must-read, must-give book!"--Erin Geddes, MS, CCC-SLP, certified orofacial myologist "Guided by the evidence-based information in Responsive Feeding, caregivers can feed their children with confidence. The information for navigating feeding disorders and difficulties while providing a responsive approach is critical!"--Autumn R. Henning, MS, CCC-SLP, COM, IBCLC, founder of Chrysalis Orofacial "This book will help you create successful and stress-free experiences when feeding your child--especially in the first 3 years of life--and makes it easy to transition your baby to solid foods! As a mother and pediatric feeding specialist, I wish I had this book when my children were infants."--Hallie Bulkin, MA, CCC-SLP, certified orofacial myologist "Feeding your family is an art form. It's complex. It's stressful. And often times, it's confusing. What we serve, and how and when we serve it, has deep familial and emotional roots. Responsive Feeding is an insightful, clever, and authoritative guide to support every family in their feeding journey. It builds confidence and healthy habits from first bite. After reading this book parents will feel empowered to nourish their families through the guided cues and actionable tools. It's a must have for new parents."--Dani Lebovitz, MS, RDN, CSSD, CDCES "This fabulous book clears away the noise that has become all too deafening as a result of online fear-mongering and spreading of misinformation via social media. Melanie addresses the modern parent with a scientific, evidence-based platform, teaching them all they need to know to feed their infant."--Caroline Weeks, RDN, LD, pediatric Registered Dietitian Nutritionist