Melanie Potock

🍦 She had no idea what that ice cream emoji meant to me.💔That morning, while I was in Canada teaching, I learned that my dad had passed away.
I grabbed the first flight I could get home, but the plane never took off because of mechanical problems. I was teary, frustrated, grieving, and desperate to get home to my family.

Eventually, I got a seat on another flight.
I pulled my baseball cap down over my eyes, hoping to disappear for a little while.

And then I heard:
“Excuse me… aren’t you Melanie Potock? You helped my son learn to eat.”
I’ll admit it. In that moment, I didn’t want to hear a feeding story.
But she didn’t know what had happened that morning.
So I listened.
And as she told me about her son and his feeding journey, something shifted in me.
It felt like my dad was saying:
💪🏻”Chin up. People are depending on you.”

By the time we landed, I felt different.
I asked this lovely mom if I could share our encounter. She graciously said yes, so I asked her one more question:
“What emoji should we use?”
“Ice cream. 🍦”
Goosebumps. We had not talked about ice cream at all.She had no idea.

My dad LOVED ice cream. His family owned an ice cream shop. To this day, our family still has the original sign from that shop, some of the old five-cent sticks used to make ice pops, and even the original ice cream molds.

Of all the emojis she could have chosen…
🍦That wasn’t just an emoji to me.
I knew that was my dad talking.

Sometimes the message you need finds you in the most unexpected place, from someone who has absolutely no idea how much you needed to hear it.
And to the mom who sat beside me that day, thank you.

Melanie ❤️

Melanie Potock, pediatric feeding therapist, feeding therapy, feeding journey, picky eating, family, grief, gratitude

Every year, August slips away…

And I’m still convinced @rorymcilroy waved at me 😉

✨Here’s to another summer with beautiful memories…

❤️Melanie

😳 I saw it over & over again at the zoo today.

🍿Huge bags of popcorn were displayed at practically every food stand, right
at little kids’ eye level.

But what really caught my attention?

🍿Parents & grandparents reaching into those bags and handing popcorn to
toddlers and young children as they walked around the zoo.

Again. And again. And again.

And I kept thinking: They probably have no idea.

❤️This isn’t about judging parents or grandparents. It’s about making sure
caregivers KNOW that popcorn is a choking hazard for children under age 4.

⚠️Popcorn can be especially tricky because of its shape, texture & those
little pieces and hulls. Young children are still developing the chewing
skills needed to safely manage foods like this BUT popcorn is also easily
inhaled – YIKES!

And remember, choking can be SILENT. A child who is truly choking may not
be able to cough, cry or make a sound.

🍿❌I’ve spent more than 25 years helping children learn to eat safely, and
today was such an important reminder:

💕We can’t follow safety recommendations we’ve never been told about.

🙏🏻So please SHARE this with a parent, grandparent, babysitter or anyone else
who feeds young children. It might be information they simply haven’t heard
before.

And I genuinely want to know…

👇🏼If you saw a stranger giving popcorn to a toddler, would you say
something? And if so, what would you say?

♥️Melanie

Melanie Potock - toddler choking safety, popcorn choking hazard, choking
prevention, child food safety, safe eating for toddlers, choking hazards for
kids, pediatric feeding safety, toddler food safety

👉🏻See those EMPTY spaces? They’re there on purpose. Picky eaters (and kids in general!) like having choices. And sometimes, leaving a little empty space can make exploring food feel more manageable.

⭐️Here’s one of my favorite feeding therapy tricks using a simple ice cube tray:
👉🏼 Put a favorite dip in 3 sections. Then add:
🥕 A familiar veggie to one dip section
🥦 A new or learning veggie to another
❤️ Leave the third as JUST dip
Now look at all the choices your child has, without you even saying a word:
An empty section-do with it whatever you want!
♥️New/learning veggie by itself
♥️New/learning veggie + dip
♥️Familiar veggie by itself
♥️Familiar veggie + dip
♥️Dip all by itself
✨ Same foods. SIX different choices.

And remember, exploring counts! Looking, touching, dipping, smelling & licking are all ways kids learn about food before they’re ready to eat it.
💕 Save this idea for your next snack or mealtime & tell me in the comments: What dip does your child LOVE?
🥰 Melanie

Melanie Potock - picky eaters • feeding therapy • food exploration • learning foods • toddler meals • responsive feeding • food exposure • mealtime tips

🥣 HIGH-PROTEIN BREAD with just 2 main ingredients & NO flour? Save this
one! 👇🏼Great for picky kids too!

These soft little cottage cheese breads are great for toddlers, kids who
are learning to like new foods & even grown-ups. And they’re an easy way to
add a little extra protein to the plate.

📌 SAVE this recipe for later!

🔥 Preheat oven to 400°F.

Whisk together:

✨ 3/4 cup cottage cheese
✨ 1 egg
🌿Seasoning of your choice. I love dill!

👉🏼 Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Spoon the mixture into
small, pancake-sized rounds & bake until set and lightly golden.

🧀 OPTIONAL: Sprinkle with a little grated cheese while they’re still warm.

Let cool for a few minutes & serve!

💕 Seriously, these are SO yummy. Try them plain, cut into strips, or
topped with something your child already

📌 Save this one & send it to a parent who is always looking for easy,
high-protein ideas!

🥰Melanie

Melanie Potock - high protein toddler foods, cottage cheese bread,
flourless bread, toddler recipes, picky eaters, starting solids, feeding
kids, pediatric feeding

❤️ Working with an anxious eater? Instead of asking, “How do I get them to EAT it?” Try this….

This is #10 in my ARFID, PFD, Autism & Anxiety series, and I want to give parents & feeding therapists a different question:
“What can this child say YES to today?”🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔

Maybe tasting the food is several steps away.That doesn’t mean there isn’t a next step.
👉🏻Can they tolerate it nearby?
👉🏻Can they help prepare it?
👉🏻Can they put it on someone else’s plate?
👉🏻Can they interact with it in a way that feels achievable TODAY?

❤️ Find that small YES & build from there. With ARFID, progress doesn’t have to mean taking a bite today.
We’re not looking for one giant leap. We’re looking for opportunities to move the child toward the goal…instead of away.
♥️Gentle nudges.
♥️Small steps.
♥️Less avoidance.
♥️More confidence.
That’s progress.

Want to learn more about ARFID, PFD, anxiety & avoidance?
👉🏼 Comment ARFID and I’ll send you a discount code for my most popular on-demand ARFID course.

Melanie♥️
Melanie Potock - ARFID | Autism | Anxiety | Food Avoidance | Anxious Eater | Feeding Therapy | Feeding Progress | Pediatric Feeding

😰 “If I stay in my food safe zone, I don’t feel anxious.”This is #9 in my ARFID, PFD, Autism & Anxiety series.

👉🏻Think about that statement from the child’s perspective.Inside their familiar food zone, things feel predictable.

😳But stepping OUT of that zone can bring uncertainty, uncomfortable feelings & anticipatory anxiety, sometimes before the child even sees, smells or tastes the food.

And what have we been talking about throughout this series?
Avoidance works in the short term.
Avoid → feel less anxious → stay in the safe zone.

That’s why the goal isn’t to yank a child out of their food safe zone or suddenly remove the foods that help them feel secure.
❤️ The right therapy helps a child expand that safe zone, one carefully supported step at a time. They can learn to experience the anxious feeling, take the next achievable step anyway & discover that they CAN do hard things.

⭐️Want to learn more about helping children with ARFID move from avoidance toward progress?
👉🏼 Comment ARFID and I’ll send you a discount code for my most popular on-demand ARFID course.
♥️Melanie

Melanie Potock - ARFID | Autism | Anxiety | Food Avoidance | Food Safe Zone | Anxious Eater | Feeding Therapy | Pediatric Feeding

♥️This is #8 in my ARFID, PFD, Autism & Anxiety series, and one of the most important messages I teach is the value of getting the RIGHT professionals around the child.

👉🏻Start with a thorough feeding evaluation.An experienced feeding team and/or an OT or SLP specializing in Pediatric Feeding Disorder can help determine whether sensory, motor or medical factors are contributing to the child’s feeding challenges. That evaluation may include other health professionals.

⭐️But if anxiety appears to be a major driver, we also want a psychologist or social worker experienced in pediatric anxiety and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT).

And this part is so important:
👉🏼 Every professional treating children with ARFID has an ethical responsibility to understand the relationship between anxiety and avoidance, and how that relationship can impact feeding development throughout childhood and into adulthood.

⭐️That doesn’t mean feeding therapists become psychotherapists. And…it doesn’t mean mental health professionals become feeding therapists.

🔗It means we understand how our areas of expertise intersect, stay within our respective scopes of practice & work together for the child.

👉🏻Because avoidance can reduce anxiety in the moment. And when that pattern is reinforced again and again, it can become increasingly difficult for a child to move forward with food.
❤️ Feeding professionals address feeding. Mental health professionals address anxiety. But we have to understand each other’s piece of the puzzle.

❓Want to learn more about ARFID, anxiety & avoidance?
👉🏼 Comment ARFID and I’ll send you a discount code for my most popular on-demand ARFID course.

💕Melanie

Melanie Potock - ARFID | Autism | Anxiety | Pediatric Feeding Disorder | PFD | Feeding Therapy | CBT | Avoidance

😰 Sometimes a child isn’t afraid of the food. They’re afraid of what might happen AFTER they eat it.
👉🏻This is #7 in @mymunchbug_melaniepotock ‘s ARFID, PFD Autism & Anxiety series and subtype #3: Concern about aversive consequences of eating. (🙏🏻Thank you @drmichaelmilobsky for collaborating with Melanie today!)

For some children, there may have been a frightening food-related experience:
Choking.
Vomiting.
An allergic reaction.

Some children may also have an anxious temperament or be particularly sensitive to sensations happening inside their bodies.

Then come the predictions:
💭 “What if I choke?”
💭 “What if I throw up?”
💭 “What if I have another reaction?”

The child may begin avoiding the original food, similar foods, or situations they associate with that frightening experience.
They stay in their familiar food zone and avoid new food experiences whenever possible.

And once again, we see the same powerful cycle:
Avoidance → temporary relief from anxiety → more avoidance.

Or, in the words you’ll hear throughout this series:
“The more I avoid, the less anxiety I will feel.”

❤️ That’s why we have to look beyond WHAT a child refuses and become curious about WHY they’re avoiding it. What FEELING are they trying to avoid, which then causes them to avoid the food?

We’ve now covered all three ARFID subtypes. Next, we’re going to keep digging into avoidance and what it means for helping anxious eaters move forward. Have you been following along?

Melanie Potock – Dr. Michael Miblosky – Pediatrician - ARFID | Autism | Anxiety | Food Avoidance | Fear of Choking | Anxious Eater | Feeding Therapy | Pediatric Feeding

“But they can tell there’s ONE tiny speck of difference in their food!”🤦🏼‍♀️
Yep. For some children with ARFID, the sensory characteristics of food can be incredibly powerful.

👉🏻This is #6 in my ARFID, Autism & Anxiety series and subtype #2: Avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food.

Texture.
Smell.
Taste.
Appearance.
Temperature.

A child may be particularly sensitive to food characteristics, and unfamiliar sensory experiences may trigger disgust, fear or anxiety.

So they stay with familiar foods.
They avoid unfamiliar foods.
And they avoid new food EXPERIENCES whenever possible.

🤔Why?
Because avoidance can make that uncomfortable feeling decrease, at least temporarily.

And once again, the brain learns:
“The more I avoid, the less anxiety I will feel.”

❤️ This is why understanding the WHY behind food avoidance matters. We aren’t simply looking at a child who “won’t try it.” We’re trying to understand what that food experience feels like to that child.

👉🏻Stay tuned for #7: fear of aversive consequences of eating with @drmichaelmilobsky . Be sure to send this to a friend who may like to follow along! 🗣️Comment ARFID if you’d like to learn more!

💕Melanie

Melanie Potock - ARFID | Autism | Anxiety | Sensory Processing | Food Avoidance | Anxious Eater | Feeding Therapy | Pediatric Feeding

What if your child truly doesn’t seem interested in eating?

This is #5 in my ARFID, PFD, Autism & Anxiety series, and we’re starting a closer look at the three hallmarks or subtypes of ARFID.

👉🏻First up: Apparent lack of interest in eating or food.

For some children with ARFID, hunger may not be a particularly strong motivator, and eating itself may not feel especially pleasurable. Sure they still eat some, but not much, and not with much interest.

Then something important can happen.

They begin making negative predictions about eating:
💭 “It probably won’t taste good.”
💭 “The bites will start to taste yucky”
💭 “I don’t want to get too full.”

They may skip meals, eat very small amounts or have increasingly limited experiences with food. And…those patterns can affect the signals they receive from their own bodies. As I discuss in my courses, repeatedly ignoring hunger cues can make those cues less noticeable, while feelings of fullness may become increasingly intense or uncomfortable.

Then comes the cycle I want parents & therapists to understand:
👉🏻Avoidance reduces anxiety IN THE MOMENT.

And the brain learns:
“The more I avoid, the less anxiety I will feel.”

❤️ That’s why simply telling a child with ARFID, “You need to eat” misses so much of what may be happening underneath the behavior.

Next up in #6: ARFID & avoidance based on the sensory characteristics of food.

♥️Melanie
Melanie Potock - ARFID | Autism | Anxiety | Food Avoidance | Lack of Interest | Anxious Eater | Feeding Therapy | Pediatric Feeding

😰 Anxiety doesn’t always LOOK anxious.👉🏻This is #4 in my ARFID, PFD, Autism & Anxiety series, and this is something I really want both parents AND feeding therapists to recognize.

😢When we think about an anxious child, we may picture crying, hiding their face, becoming dysregulated or desperately trying to get away.
Sometimes anxiety looks exactly like that.

😶But sometimes it’s much quieter.
A child may freeze. Become unusually quiet. Get silly or distracted. Negotiate. Ask question after question. Say they aren’t hungry. Only eat in front of a screen. Or simply find ways to avoid the food or eating experience altogether.
Of course, any one of these behaviors does not automatically mean a child is anxious.

But it’s worth getting curious.
Instead of only asking:
“Is this child upset?”
Try asking:
“What might this behavior be communicating?”
Because a child doesn’t have to be crying for an eating experience to feel incredibly difficult.

❤️ Keep following along for #5 in my ARFID, PFD, Autism & Anxiety series. Send this to a friend who might be wondering about anxiety and extreme picky eating…

♥️Melanie

ARFID | Autism | Anxiety | Anxious Eater | Food Avoidance | Feeding Therapy | Pediatric Feeding | Picky Eating