Prajna Neelgund and Rohan Abhijith Ramanuja from Deenabandhu Trust will speak to us about the food of their childhood in South India. This interview brings back wonderful memories of my visits to Deenabandhu and the simple but delicious vegetarian meals cooked in the ashram from fresh vegetables flavored with many newly chopped spices.

Lily, a Boston College student who grew up in China, starts us out in this new series of Kids and Food. Lily discusses her experiences with family mealtimes as a child—menus, nutrition, cooking, and family conversations—including her mother’s response to having a child who was a picky eater. The international perspective,  of this podcast series will offer us an opportunity to reflect on our own attitudes towards food, mealtime, and nutrition.

References:

Wright CM, Parkinson KN, Shipton D, Drewett RF (2007). How do toddlers’ eating problems relate to their eating behavior, food preferences, and growth, Pediatrics, 120(4):e1069-e1075, doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2961

Caruth B, Ziegler P, Gordon A, Barr S (2004). Prevalence of picky eaters among infants and toddlers and their caregivers’ decisions about offering a new food, J Amer Dietetic Assoc, 104 Supplement:57-64.

Putnik D, Bell E, Ghassabian A, Polinski K, Robinson S, Sundaram R, Yeung E (2022). Associations of toddler mechanical/distress feeding problems with psychopathology five years later, The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13567.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ayurvedic-diet

https://mapi.com/blogs/articles/ten-ayurvedic-dietary-must-dos?gclid=Cj0KCQjw8_qRBhCXARIsAE2AtRbdmDRkozZpdWWO_VEJ2RTW6QgIh9tg1c2aOf9NHOwXJ9hGju84QnEaAhMKEALw_wcB

We are fitting in another “ Ask Me Anything” before beginning a series on Kids and Food. Today Alex responds to questions about how to teach our kids empathy, and how to explain adoption to a biological sibling.  

Adoption:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2804559/

Community Paediatrics Committee (2001). Paediatr Child Health, 6(5):281-283.

https://www.hopespromise.com/2020/10/21/the-effects-of-adoption-on-biological-siblings/

Hunsley Jana (2020). The effects of adoption on biological siblings, National Council for Adoption, Hope’s Promise blog.

Empathy:

Warneken F, Tomasello M (2006). Altruistic helping in human infants and young chimpanzees, Science, 311(5765). 1301-1303. DOI: 10.1126/science.11211448.

Svetlove M, Nichols S, Brownell C (2010). Toddlers’ prosocial behavior: From instrumental to empathic to altruistic helping, Child Dev, 81(6):1814-1827, doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01512.x (open access)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfGAen6QiUE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHY3m4c8aWE

Talking To Kids about Difficult Subjects: 

https://supportingchildcaregivers.org/videos--May 20, 2020, “Talking to Kids about COVID-19 and Other Difficult Subjects"

In this Ask Me Anything episode, Alexandra Harrison responds to questions about when babies start to sleep through the night, whether you should let your baby put her hands in her mouth, whether you should continue breastfeeding even after starting solid food, how to stimulate your 6 month old baby, and what to do about an 18-month old biting his big sister. 

Sleep:

Douglas P, Hill P (2013), J Dev Behav Ped, Behavioral sleep interventions in the first six months of life do not improve outcomes for mothers or infants: A systematic review,  34(7). 497-507. Doi: 10.1097/DBP.0b013e31829cafa6.

Hall W, Hutton E, Brant R et al (2015). A randomized control trial of an intervention for infant sleep problems, BMC Pediatr 15, 181, doi.org/10.1186/s12887-015-0492-7.

Sadeh , Tikotzky L, Scher A (2009). Parenting and infant sleep, Sleep Medicine Reviews, doi:10.1016/jsmrv.2009.05.003

Combining Solid Foods with Breastfeeding:

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/breastfeeding/Pages/Working-Together-Breastfeeding-and-Solid-Foods.aspx

https://www.medela.us/breastfeeding/articles/balancing-breastfeeding-and-solid-foods-for-baby

Ashley Smith-Wallace began to study Irish dance with her parents, owners of an Irish Dance Academy, when she was 3-yo. After years of training and competitions, including honors such as being crowned the World Irish Step Dancing Champion in Belfast, in 2004, Ashley has become a choreographer and teacher herself. Ashley and I talk about her childhood with dance, how she thinks dance supports healthy physical and socio-emotional development in children, and how traditional dance can connect us with our roots.

Suzi Tortora, an accomplished dance and movement therapist and author talks to us about how dance can help children heal and grow stronger and come to know and love their bodies and their selves.

Nicole Berger De Francesco will talk to us about her life as a dancer, from her childhood studying Indian traditional dance, to her extraordinary career as a dancer and choreographer. Nicole will also offer some thoughts about how introducing a young child to dance can help guide an active little one into finding beauty and creativity in movement.

An accomplished dance therapist as well as infant parent mental health clinician, Aditi Subramaniam will talk to us about her personal and professional relationship with dance from childhood until the present, and how she has used dance to bring joy and healing to her life and to the lives of the children she has treated.

Dicki Johnson Macy, Director of the Boston Children’s Foundation and creator of Rainbow Dance will begin our series on Kids and Dance by telling us the fascinating story of Rainbow Dance, an activity of movement and music that captures the imagination of  children and their caregivers while also bringing calm and comfort.

Dr. Alexandra Harrison will respond to questions from parents about when to pick up a crying baby, what to do about a 4-year-old lying, how to respond to a child cheating in a game, and how to take a child’s learning difficulties into consideration when the child does not do “what he is supposed to do”.