Hasta que me convertí en terapeuta de alimentación, comer era algo que siempre daba por sentado. Siempre me ha gustado comer. De hecho, me considero un poco entusiasta. Claro, tuve algunas de esas veces cuando era niño cuando tuve que sentarme en la mesa hasta que terminé lo que estaba en mi plato. Creo que el récord fue un enfrentamiento de cuatro horas porque odiaba el estofado de carne que hizo mi madre. A casi todos a mi alrededor también les gustaba comer, excepto mi primo, que básicamente solo comía hamburguesas hasta que tenía unos 18 años. Pero él era un jugador de fútbol próspero, así que a nadie le preocupaba.

As I began my work as a feeding therapist, I started to meet amazing infants and children who struggled with not just with eating, but with feeding disorders. They were given diagnoses such as ”failure to thrive” and “feeding tube dependent”.  I began to see that eating is not something that just comes naturally; it is a learned behavior. We learn to like or dislike eating based on our experiences with food. If eating is not enjoyable or is painful for an infant or small child, then food refusal is more likely to develop. For example, if an infant experiences significant vomiting or digestive discomfort after eating, he or she can soon learn that eating isn’t fun and develop a negative association with eating. The foods that a child learns to trust can be very limited. While there are several medical diagnoses associated with feeding struggles, some of the most common include prematurity, reflux, cerebral palsy, congenital heart disease, down syndrome, food allergies/intolerances, and autism spectrum disorder.

Entonces, ¿cómo podemos apoyar a nuestros hijos con trastornos selectivos de alimentación o alimentación? Podemos comenzar mirando cómo nos referimos a ellos.

Las etiquetas son poderosas.

The “picky eater” topic is prevalent these days. I just searched “picky eater books” on Amazon and almost 40 different books were available on the first three pages of the search alone. Earlier this month I facilitated a feeding therapy course taught by Melanie Potock, M.A., CCC-SLP, a pediatric feeding expert and author. She discussed how parents often describe children as “she’s our math whiz” or “he’s our athlete”, and children respond by developing in those directions. When a child hears that he or she is the “picky eater” or “won’t eat anything”, a child will tend to move further toward that label. Eating is a learned behavior.  In Melanie’s practice, she refers to children with feeding struggles as “learning eaters” and encourages children to enjoy foods again by exploring foods and offering positive reinforcement. Children with feeding struggles need to learn to enjoy eating again.

Escrito por: Marnie Madden, MS, CCC-SLP

Terapeuta Principal, Patología Clínica del Habla y Lenguaje