Podcast Transcript: What I Wish Every Parent Knew Before Starting Feeding Therapy
Host: Christine Miroddi Yoder
Date: June 16, 2025
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Christine:
Hi, and welcome to another episode! I’m Christine, your host—and today we’re diving into something really important: what I wish every parent knew before starting feeding therapy.
So many parents come into this process without a clear understanding of what feeding therapy is supposed to look like. And honestly, how would you know until you’ve lived it? Just like you probably didn’t fully grasp what parenting would be like until you became a parent.
But I often think… if only a pediatrician or someone else had sat down with parents beforehand to explain what feeding therapy really involves, we’d be setting families up for so much more success. So, consider this episode the conversation I wish every parent had before getting started.
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Not All Therapists Are Feeding Therapists
A lot of parents assume that any therapist—especially an SLP or OT—will automatically be equipped to help with feeding. But here’s the truth: not every therapist specializes in feeding. In fact, most don’t.
There’s no standard training for feeding therapy. Most graduate programs offer a class on dysphagia, which is about swallowing difficulties—not picky eating, food refusal, or oral motor delays. So most therapists graduate without any experience in treating kids who are extremely selective or fearful about food. That was me too, once—so I know firsthand how limited the training can be.
That’s why it's so important to find someone who truly specializes in pediatric feeding—someone who has the tools, experience, and passion to work with your child’s specific challenges.
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Feeding Isn’t Just About Trying New Foods
The next thing I wish parents knew is that feeding therapy isn’t just about getting your child to try new foods.
Eating is a whole-body experience. It involves coordination between the sensory system, motor system, emotional regulation, and even psychological readiness. We’re talking posture, oral motor skills, sensory processing, and sometimes medical factors like tongue ties or reflux.
So when we only focus on the surface-level behavior—like getting a bite in—we miss the deeper skills that need support. If you’ve been in therapy for a year or two and still aren’t seeing progress, it might be because only one piece of the puzzle is being addressed.
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There’s No Quick Fix—Trust Takes Time
Feeding therapy isn’t about bribing a child into taking a bite. And it definitely isn’t a quick fix.
True progress requires emotional safety and trust. And if that trust has been broken—because of pressure, tricking, or repeated negative experiences—it takes time to rebuild.
This is one reason I don’t believe ABA therapists should be involved in feeding. When the approach is behavior-based—“take a bite, get a reward”—we’re not helping the child become internally motivated to eat. We’re just pushing for compliance. That’s not the goal.
What we want is for the child to think, “That food looks good. I think I’m ready to try it.” Not “Mom said I have to eat three bites again.” One approach builds lifelong skills. The other builds resentment.
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Your Child’s Behavior Isn’t Just Opposition
Another thing I wish parents knew: your child probably isn’t being difficult on purpose. In almost all the families I’ve worked with, behaviors like resistance, avoidance, or outbursts are actually signs of nervous system dysregulation, sensory overload, or fear.
And when we address the root causes—like calming their nervous system or building oral motor confidence—those challenging behaviors often decrease on their own. We don’t have to scare kids into eating. We need to help them feel supported.
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The Parent Mindset Matters—A Lot
This might be the biggest one: feeding therapy needs you.
It’s not a drop-off service where your child goes in for 20 minutes, earns a sticker, and comes out magically “fixed.” You are a key part of the process. Your mindset, your language, your routines at home—those all shape your child’s progress.
And yes, sometimes parents are surprised when they join our program and realize: “Wait, you want me to do stuff too?” But the truth is, when parents are involved—especially in our coaching model—they often see faster, more lasting progress than traditional therapy alone.
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Feeding Therapy Should Be Holistic
I wish more parents (and therapists!) understood that feeding isn’t just about the mouth.
We take a holistic approach at Foodology Feeding—because eating involves the whole body. That’s why we focus on the four pillars of feeding:
* Gut health
* Sensory processing
* Oral motor skills
* Mindset
If one of these areas is off, progress will stall. And unfortunately, most insurance-based therapy models don’t support a full-body, root-cause approach. They often limit session time, restrict how many sessions you can have, and tie therapists’ hands with red tape.
And that’s why we don’t work with insurance. We want to work for YOU—not for them.
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Red Flags to Watch For
Let me leave you with some red flags to look out for in feeding therapy:
* Drop-off sessions with no parent involvement
* No questions asked about gut health, sensory history, or early feeding
* Advice like “Just expose them—they’ll grow out of it”
* A narrow focus only on behaviors, without addressing skills or emotional readiness
* Your child seems more anxious or shut down after sessions
If you’ve experienced any of those, you haven’t failed—it just means the support may not be the right fit.
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So What Can You Do?
If you’re wondering where your child is stuck, take our free quiz at thepickyeaterquiz.com. It’ll give you your child’s eating level—Fearful, Stuck, or Curious—and help guide you toward the next best step.
Because what works for a Curious eater absolutely will not work for a Fearful one. Order matters. Safety matters. And the more we understand that, the better the outcome for your child.
If you’re ready to take the guesswork out of it, I invite you to join our transformational program, Unlocking Mealtimes. I’m so proud of the progress our families make—and it’s because of the work they put in. The dedication of our parents inspires me every day.
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Thanks so much for being here. I hope this gave you clarity and confidence. And as always, we’ll see you next week.
