There are times where traditional sensory feeding therapy is ineffective and it is in these cases where a more holistic, environmental approach might be taken. Here at Spot, we firmly believe that preventative or environmental measures are the most important step in making a difference to your child's oral development journey.

We are so grateful to welcome Melanie Potock back onto the show to continue the conversation about how the environment impacts development that we began in Episode 16!

In today’s conversation, we chat about what to do and what to avoid at certain ages and stages in your child's development, starting right from birth. We get into the subjects of dummies, bottles, teether toys, and utensils, hearing Melanie’s recommendations on the right shapes and sizes, appropriate phases for their use, benefits for development, and a whole lot more!

Melanie also covers the subject of solid foods, how and when to introduce these to your child, and which foods to avoid. On top of all this, Melanie has also created a ton of resources for parents who would like to learn more about the topics covered today, so be sure to tune in to catch them all!

 

In this episode, we cover:

• The best dummy to use for children to develop the correct facial muscles and tongue position
• When to wean a baby off a dummy from day and nighttime use
• Benefits of a cylindrical pacifier and how to help a baby get used to sucking one
• Practicing responsive feeding and which types of solids to introduce into a baby’s diet first
• Different baby-led weaning methods
• Soft foods that are dangerous to consume and how to chop them to make them safer
• When to wean a child off a bottle so that they develop a mature swallowing pattern
• Which kinds of utensils to use and why Melanie recommends a ‘dipper’ at first
• And so much more!

Links mentioned in today’s episode:

Melanie Potock

Melanie Potock on Twitter

Responsive Feeding

‘Step Away from the Sippy Cup!’

Melanie Potock’s Free Toolbox

‘The Great Pouch Debate’

Spot Family