Dr Merryn Netting – Advanced Accredited Pracitising Dietitian – talks about ways to help babies and children learn to eat well.
Merryn covers:
- feeding issues
- tantrum free family mealtimes
- hints and tips for getting your kids to eat well
- managing family mealtimes with food allergies
Webinar recorded: 15 October 2020
Questions
- How do you get a child to eat different foods?
- When do you think a parent should seek help for their child?
- How early should we start setting in those habits of feeding?
- Any tips on overcoming neophobia (fear of trying new foods) given we tell our kids to be careful what you eat, always check with an adult if it’s safe etc. How do we encourage them to try a variety of foods and be adventurous and enjoy food?
- How do you teach two-year olds to stay at the dinner table without wandering off during a meal?
- How would you approach the following situation? A child eats really well and a wide variety of food at day care, but dinner time at home is really hard. They will refuse food on site, despite the fact their parent knows they eat it at day care.
- How do I manage going to a café and ordering food for a young toddler?
- Would you encourage activities at the dinner table such as reading them a book or colouring in while eating?
- How can I set the same rules when my three-year-old and my one-and-a-half-year-old, who has FPIES and is tube fed at the dinner table? He doesn’t understand why she doesn’t have the same rules as he does.
- How can you time drinking and eating so that the child is not filling up on a drink as they’re about to eat dinner? What advice do you give people about drinks at dinner time so that children, don’t fill up on a big cup of water or a cup of milk and eat their food.
- What are some tips for managing close relatives who are both toddlers who regularly eat together one has food allergies and one doesn’t. How do you manage the multiple diets and then little ones not being able to eat the same foods when they desperately want to share food.
- What are your thoughts about introducing salt and sugar into a child’s diet? Is there a time when we should start thinking about allowing a child to have a lolly, or have a food that is yummy, that we might eat ourselves, but we don’t share with our children? What’s the right balance of allowing that and making sure that the child does have a health nutritious diet?
- How early should we be starting solids with our babies?
- When do you start thinking whether you should be giving a child a supplement if you don’t think they’re getting enough iron or enough calcium?
- How much water or fluid should a child have each day?
- Should there be concern around a child that’ll only drink water or an elemental formula?
- How do you manage eating out when a toddler with multiple food allergy comes to dinner, but sits their and watching mum and dad eat their food, but they don’t have their special food?
- Is there a particular order when introducing common allergens into a baby’s diet?
- Do you know of any books that can help children understand food allergy and why they need to do things a little differently?
- How can I encourage more balanced eating?
About the presenters
Dr Merryn Netting
Merryn is an Advanced Accredited Practising Dietitian and NHMRC Early Career Fellow based at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute.
Merryn is an experienced paediatric dietitian with over 30 years of clinical experience. Her research is focused on the long-term effects of early life dietary patterns, specifically related to prevention of food allergy.
Merryn works closely with A&AA through her work on the National Allergy Strategy steering committee.