FUSSY EATERS
I hear so many times in life and in my clinic that their child won’t eat THAT kind of food.
Yes I did have children (they survived to be adults) and I was a day care mum for over 9 years when my kids were little. So I’ve have a fair amount of motherly experience as well as my 25 years of kinesiology experience.
Here’s the tip
?Not even you like every flavour, so ease up on your kids developing taste buds.
?it’s ok for children to express a dislike (after) they have given a flavour or texture a go.
Here’s where it becomes a problem.
When your child refuses to try new foods or experiences.
If it’s fear of failure or being made fun of, or a lack of confidence this is serious and needs to be address sooner rather than later.
If your child has a dislike of texture then:
Allow your child to use their hands to feed themselves, they will feel the texture on their hands first allowing them adjust & accept food. Some food psychologist don’t even get the child to eat first time. It’s just simply about squishing the ‘strawberry’ between their fingers or drawing squiggly marks on a plate. This is the point of suggesting to a child that food is not their enemy.
Children who grow their own food or help prepare food become more inquisitive naturally.
Don’t be in a hurry to make them eat, give them time without pressure.
In my clinic I’ve treated children who don’t have the tongue dexterity to move their food from the front of the mouth to the back, then swallow. This can be totally undiagnosed by other professionals and parents had not picked up on it either. A reason why breast feeding can seem harder for some babies.
While kinesiology can’t correct a physical tongue-tied issue, it is able to correct muscle integrity and other psychological behaviours.
If a client come to my clinic as I fussy eater I would begin by muscle monitoring questions like:
PHYSICAL: is it - jaw strength or pain, teeth positioning, tongue or throat muscles, lack of saliva, inability to move tongue in all positions around the mouth....
MENTAL: is there a belief system, power play, a way of getting attention from one or both parents, left / right brain integration....
EMOTIONAL: yep kids can have emotions about food, weight (probably surrogating for mum or dad) are they manipulation for attention or simply just to tired to eat?
SPIRITUAL: for sure some kids have built in radars for animal cruelty or spiritual or religious wisdom on what to eat and what not to eat.
Ok I’m going to digress here... I had a 5 day old child once still telling me he was going to be topped and tailed. I had no idea what on earth he was talking about until I ‘tuned in’ better and he said he couldn’t wait to be circumcised.. OMG when I asked the mum if that was true she said yes he’s booked in for surgery tomorrow. This baby boy actually wanted to be circumcised. Did he have his own inbuilt spiritual beliefs? You bet ya he did.
NUTRITION: we all have favourite taste sensations and not so favourite. I would be checking if there is a particular flavour the child is resisting then clearing the stress around those tastes.
Astringent (back of tongue)
Bitter (back centre of tongue)
Salty (the front side edges of tongue)
Sour (the back-side edges of tongue)
Pungent or savoury (middle of tongue)
Sweet (tip of tongue)
Clinical books I would use from the HOW TO: Kinesiology? Range
Fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, meats, dairy, colourings, additives, chemicals, drugs, immunisations
Had a comprehensive section on speech and sensory information. Here is a short snippet from book 4:
Mouth & tongue exercises
Lateralisation and co-ordination of tongue movements: Roll little round sweets around the mouth, back and forth from one cheek to inside the other using only their tongue. Should be able to see the sucker pushing against the cheek if they did it successfully.
Lick lips with tongue by putting honey or peanut paste on the lips exercises the tongue muscles.
Lick with tongue extended: lick ice cream as it drips down the side of the cone on a hot day. Can't use lips - tongue only.
Oral Motor Tools can provide sensory input to the lips, gums, tongue, palette, and jaw.
Develops strength, coordination, movement, and endurance in the lips, cheeks, tongue and jaw necessary for proper speech and feeding development
Book 5: Nutrition & Weight Management
Vitamins, minerals, heavy metals, tastes, digestive enzymes, gut hormones, bacteria, parasites,
Book 7: Physical Pain & Fitness
Has information on muscles of the face & throat. Detailed information on teeth and what body part they effect
Auras, chakras, dreams, electromagnetic frequencies, universal laws, religion descriptions
You can purchase thes books from Amazon, Bayside Kinesiology or directly from me for a discount.
