Eating Without Battles
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Page 6
Do not hide a new ingredient in an accepted food as a way around the child’s refusal. Transparent preparation preserves accurate information about taste, ingredients, and allergies. A clinician can help plan necessary dietary changes when the available range is very limited. A Family Example A family stopped secretly changing a familiar sauce. They served the accepted version and kept a different food separate, with no tasting requirement. Their first goal was to restore a predictable meal, not to claim an immediate increase in the child’s diet. A Practical Step Choose one meal and check whether its promises are accurate: what food is available, what is optional, and what happens if the child declines. Can our child trust that an invitation to look really means looking is enough? A New Food Is Near Me A familiar food can be part of my meal. A different food can stay on a separate plate. I can choose whether I want to explore it. I can keep eating my familiar food without a tasting test. Explore together: what changes between the pictures, and what help does the adult offer? Looking without answering is welcome too. Follow the child’s response rather than expecting the illustrated ending. 1. 2. 3. 4. 6
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7. School, Restaurants, and Events Away from home, waiting, smells, unfamiliar food, and social attention can arrive together. Preparation should protect access to nourishment and participation without making the child perform eating for an audience. Prepare suitable familiar food Check the actual food arrangements in advance. Ask about ingredients, relevant allergy procedures, storage, heating, and whether a suitable backup can be brought. Follow the child’s care plan and the setting’s safety requirements. Pack accepted food without apologizing for the child. Label information caregivers genuinely need, while keeping private details private. Ensure the child knows which adult can help if the expected option is not available. Plan for waiting and surroundings Look beyond the menu. Where will the family wait? Is there a less crowded seat? How will the child ask for a break? A familiar dish does not make a noisy room comfortable by itself. Give accurate information about uncertainty. If the order may take time, do not promise immediate food. Arrange a realistic backup consistent with dietary needs. At school, agree how staff will report a pattern of missed meals or difficulty, rather than discovering it only after several days. Respond to comments Prepare a brief response for other adults: “We have a plan for his food; please let him enjoy the visit.” You need not explain the chi
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Main concern The change or difficulty and when it began. Current intake Dependable foods and fluids, approximate amounts if known, and recent changes. Health observations Pain, coughing, chewing difficulty, fatigue, or other signs to describe. Existing care Allergies, medicines, supplements, and current written instructions. Practical constraints Cost, school arrangements, preparation time, and caregiver needs. Agreed follow-up Advice, responsible person, next contact, and signs requiring earlier help. A Plan for One Meal Away Make the plan consistent with the child’s care instructions. Participation does not require eating the same dish as everyone else. Event and setting Where, when, likely duration, and the adult responsible. Suitable food Confirmed option, storage or heating, and an appropriate backup. Communication How the child can ask for help, more, a pause, or to finish. Surroundings Waiting, seating, noise, and a quieter or shorter alternative. Other adults The practical information they need and how comments will be handled. Change of plan What happens if food is unavailable, intake falls, or a health concern appears? 20
Eating Without Battles is a respectful and practical guide to selective eating, food-related anxiety, and expanding food options without pressure.
Parents and caregivers will learn how sensory needs, discomfort, predictability, and previous experiences can affect eating. The book explains how to create safer and calmer mealtimes, introduce unfamiliar foods gradually, connect new foods to familiar ones, support nutrition when the accepted food range is limited, and handle school, restaurants, holidays, and family opinions.
Includes practical tools and illustrated social stories.
Digital PDF edition. Written by Moses Ovadia.