Welcome to Love, Eat, Thrive: The podcast about Responsive Feeding. We are Heidi and Jennifer, feeding therapists who’ve been in the field for a few decades. We’ve seen it ALL and we’re here to help you make sense of it. Today, we’re talking about the pillars that make up Responsive Feeding: relationships, trust, and helping kids build a lifelong connection with food. It’s easy to feel like feeding your child is a high-stake balancing act. But what if, instead of focusing so much on what our kids eat, we paid closer attention to how we feed them and why they eat?
Responsive feeding is a well-studied, relationship-based approach that supports a child’s health across the lifespan. It centers on connection by helping children learn to listen to their bodies, feel safe at mealtimes, and build trust with their caregivers. Kids are naturally great at self-regulating what they need, especially when they’re offered consistent opportunities to eat and explore foods in ways that feel safe and supportive. Over time, this skill becomes stronger when parents respond to their child’s cues whether it’s hunger, fullness, or readiness to try something new without pressure or force.
Trust is at the heart of it all. When parents allow mealtimes to be something with their child, rather than to them, children gain agency, competence, and confidence. They learn that food isn’t a battle or a test, rather, an experience they can guide and be part of. Research even shows that force feeding or requiring children to “earn” food through rewards can backfire, leading to rejection of those same foods later in life.
Ultimately, the why behind eating matters more than the what. When children eat because they’re hungry, curious, or want to join in with family or peers, they’re more likely to develop a healthy, positive relationship with food. So, rather than striving for perfect nutrition, parents can focus on creating safe, trusting, and responsive mealtime environments. If you get stuck, you might ask yourself: Is what I’m doing helping my child understand their body and food or undermining it? That reflection alone can take some pressure off and open the door to more peaceful, connected, and meaningful mealtimes.
** Please remember this podcast is NOT meant to replace the support and guidance of your child's medical team.**
Don’t forget to follow us on social media for more helpful information @Thrivewithspectrum on Instagram and Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics on Facebook. You can also find out more information about the programs we offer at www.thrivewithspectrum.com
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