Mesh Feeder Giveaway

Want to win a pair of  mesh feeders?
Visit and like our Facebook page www.facebook.com/speakeatplay and comment below. Winner will be announced Sunday August 18th at 10pm eastern time. Good Luck!

(**UPDATE, this giveway has ended,  we are sorry you missed it, but you can purchase these mesh feeders, HERE. You can also read our post on why we love them so much, HERE.  Be sure to follow us for future giveaways).

Ice Cube Trays for Meal Time!

By Karina Gonzalez, MS CCC-SLP

I want to share a great motivational feeding tool that only costs a dollar! Ice cube trays! I started using them recently in my feeding sessions and they have been working out great! I use them with both picky eaters and with children that have issues with pacing and overstuff their mouths.

For picky eaters, I find that when you use an ice cube tray instead of a plate, they are more open to trying the new food. The spaces allow you to place the bites individually and to a child with food aversion, it is not as scary as having all the food bunched up on a plate. They also provide the child with a visual of when he is done with the meal. You can fill all the spaces or just a few, and your child will know that once he finishes all the pieces, he is done! This usually gets them more motivated to participate. Plus, it’s just more fun than a plate!

Whenever I introduce a new food, I always start small (think crumb size) and I start with only 5 ice cube spaces. At the following meal, I will increase it to 6 and so on. I will also increase the size of the crumb to the size of a pea, then dime, etc. If your child is not doing well with the smallest size and quantity then you will need to stay at this level for a few more meals.

On the other hand, if your child overstuffs his mouth, you can use the tray to remind him to take “one bite” at a time. You can cover the holes with your hand or a paper showing him only one at a time. Tell him to chew and swallow before opening the next hole.

If your child needs more motivation, purchase these robot ice cube trays for boys HERE and princess trays for girls HERE.

I hope this simple tool can make meal times more manageable. Please comment below, we love to hear your thoughts.

Have you read my post on making meal time fun, HERE? and Food Play for Picky Eaters, HERE 
Also take a look at these fun face plates,HERE. 

As always, we are here to help you may contact us with any questions or concerns speakeatplay@gmail.com

Food Play for Problem Feeders

Play with your food!

Karina Gonzalez, M.S., CCC-SLP

Do you remember your parents telling you to not play with your food? Well, I'm here to tell you that for a picky eater or a child that is aversive to textures, playing with food is a must. All children need to explore textures with their hands. Exploring the textures of food, helps to develop a good eating habit. It is important to start early, yes as soon as he's old enough to sit on a high chair, and don't be afraid to get messy! Playing with food has many benefits, here are a few:

• Allows the child to become comfortable with the colors, textures, and smells of food with out having to eat it.
• Makes meal time fun.
• Helps get rid of any sensory issues on the hands and fingers (Some of these kids don't like to touch sand, grass, or even soap).
• Builds confidence, especially if you reward them.
• Develops good eating habits (as mentioned above).
• Develops good hand-eye coordination.
• Develops find motor skills, especially if they have to pick up small foods like Cheerios or slippery ones like spaghetti.
• Develops hand to mouth coordination that will also help with overall self feeding skills.
• Helps to develop play skills. 

Giveaway!!!

We have a prize for a loyal reader!

As our way of thanking our readers, we are giving away a $10.00 Starbucks gift card (You deserve a coffee break!). It's simple to qualify, all you have to do is sign up to receive our posts via email (scroll down and find the "follow by email" link on the right side of this page). That's it! We will announce the winner on our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/speakeatplay on Sunday May 26.
Signing up for our email feeds is a great way to stay up to date with all of our post and to make sure you don't miss out on good information.
Thank you and Good Luck!