Debra Alvarez Feeding Kids Sydney

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Debra Alvarez Feeding Kids Sydney

A speech pathology practice working with babies and children who have feeding difficulties.

Debra has worked as a speech pathologist for twenty four years and has worked in paediatric feeding for eighteen years. She worked at both Sydney Children's and St George Hospital before starting in private practice. Debra sees babies from birth, infants, toddlers and children to age sixteen years with a range of feeding difficulties including:

Breast and bottle feeding difficulties
Difficulties chewing and swallowing
Gagging or choking on lumps or finger foods
Fussy Eaters
Drooling and Saliva Control
Transition from tube to oral feeding (NGT and PEG)
Tongue thrust swallow and tongue tie
Feeding difficulties in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy

If you would like to make an appointment, please call 0432 995 457.

05/10/2025

Toddler Eating

Toddler eating is variable and unpredictable. It can often cause stress at mealtimes. BUT it is okay, in fact quite expected for toddlers to eat different amounts of food each time it is served.

Alyssa took photos of five nights of dinner meals she served to her (at the time) 2 year old and this is what she decided she wanted to eat. Some of the nights she clearly ate more than others. On the nights there wasn’t much eaten it could have been easy to ask her to try one more bite or even make something else she might eat more of, but Alyssa chose to let her listen to her body and respected her choice to finish the meal when she did. This is the start of teaching her toddler to eat when she is hungry and stop when she is full.

One way that helped Alyssa with letting go of this stress was thinking about the intake across the whole day instead of that individual meal. On reflection she had eaten significantly more at other times during the day.
Some of the reasons why there is such variability in toddler’s intake from meal to meal include:
- Periods of rapid growth and development where at times they may seem ravenous and at other times it feels like they are surviving off air.
- Development of sensory food preferences.
- Increasing sense of independence and seeking more control in their day.
- Food Neophobia - a common developmental phase where there is a perceived fear of trying new foods, and a want to stick with what they know.
- Desire for consistency and routine.
- Familial modelling- what the toddler sees, and how they perceive their safe people’s relationship with food.

It is important to approach toddler eating with patience and flexibility, however if you are finding your toddlers intake is consistently low, the number of foods they eat is very small, there are consistent stressors every mealtime or you are struggling with mealtimes altogether a medical review by a GP or paediatrician; or a consult with an allied health feeding professional may be warranted.

25/09/2025

We're Bringing Back our Book Corner!

Our book corner is a space where we share some of our favourite books that may bring some joy on a feeding journey.
🍕🥦🌭🍓🍪

Reading and looking through books about foods can help build exposure and conversation about different foods without the pressure to eat them.

We can't share stories about eating without starting with 'But I’m NOT hungry for my dinner' by our wonderful colleague Valerie Gent.
Val is very talented and has written a story where children can relate to the character, and parents can see mealtime struggles from the perspective of the child. This book combines common challenges families have at mealtimes with feeding support strategies, into a beautiful picture book.

The opportunities and discussions that can come from this book in supporting parents in facilitating pressure free mealtimes are countless.

What is your go to food book?

16/09/2025

Eating out at parties or events can feel overwhelming for kids who find food challenging. It can make families dread seasonal gatherings, birthday parties or any eating activity outside of their typical routine.

New foods, busy environments, and potentially unwanted pressure to join in, can make it hard to feel comfortable at the table.

Sometimes preparation and communication can help make the event feel more enjoyable for all.
What's do you do to feel more comfortable to eat outside of the home?

11/09/2025

Eating out at parties or events can feel overwhelming for kids who find food challenging. It can make families dread seasonal gatherings, birthday parties or any eating activity outside of their typical routine.

There are a number of reasons why events or eating away from home can feel extra tricky.

In this series of posts we're going to look at the why, and then later next week we are going to look at how we can support kiddos enjoyment at events in their own way.

01/09/2025

Have you ever asked your child “What do you want for dinner?” only to be met by a blank stare, an immediate “I don’t know” or a request for the same dinner every night?

Often when faced with open-ended food options, children can be overwhelmed by the uncertainty which may trigger worry. Am I going to make the wrong decision? What if I choose something I don’t like? Will mum get angry if I choose the same thing again? Decision fatigue can be exhausting!

Offering closed choices around foods is an effective strategy to reduce the overwhelm due to its structure and predictability. This means offering choice within a set of options. This can be comforting to kids as you are identifying and honouring their sensory preferences and reducing the potential to get something ‘wrong.’

Closed choices provide a sense of control and familiarity and allow kids to feel confident in their decision making.
Reducing the complexity of choices can be a strategy that helps to pave the way for more positive and relaxed mealtime experiences.

26/08/2025

Feeding IS Communication.

This Speech Pathology Week, we’re celebrating the impact speech pathologists have in helping people thrive across the life span, in particular supporting babies and children with feeding and swallowing challenges.

Feeding is our passion, it is about so much more than food; it’s about connection, safety, trust, and communication at mealtimes. In fact, feeding (however that looks) is one of the very first ways babies and children communicate.

This week, we’re grateful for our colleagues who are working with families to build calm, positive and responsive feeding opportunities.

Happy !

21/08/2025

“He only eats chips from McDonalds, we have them almost every day for lunch and then for some reason on Monday he stopped eating them altogether, and now he won’t even look at them!”

Food jagging is often a response from an overwhelmed sensory system- it is much easier and requires far less energy to process the same sensory information (look, touch, smell, sound and taste of food) every day then it is trying to make sense of new foods to determine if they are fit your needs or not.

Even though it’s easier eating the same thing the same way frequently, it also increases the likelihood of burning out on that food.

I like to use the ‘cup’ analogy when thinking about food jags. Each time we eat a food we add a drop to our cup designated for that food. Some cups are the size of infinite swimming pools so it takes lots and lots of exposure and experiences eating that food to fill that cup (or it may never be filled!), other cups are the size of a bucket, coffee mug, shot glass or a cup used in a dollhouse where it takes a smaller number of experiences to overflow so we can’t use it again for a long time. Some cups are actually sieves and filling it is too much of a challenge so we don't try. That is why there is no predictability about when or what foods may be jagged on.

Some ways to navigate a food jag include:
- Consciously alternate between preferred food options to offer variety in the day
- Pair preferred foods in new combinations
- Offer foods typically served at one meal at a different time in the day

Small steps are important, and a little bit of variety can go a long way for children learning to feel safe, confident and curious around food.

If you are really struggling with mealtimes, seek help from a feeding therapist.

Alyssa

06/08/2025

These are some things we hear in the clinic quite a lot, with families feeling frustrated, upset or confused about why their child seems to eat well in one place and not another, or eat certain foods with certain people or at certain places.

This may happen because children develop associations between eating particular foods with these people and places.

They can often identify the different dynamics, behaviours, and routines in each environment and develop learnt behaviour in these settings.

The routine, dynamic and expectations become engrained with that person and that environment. If something changes within that association, or you try to replicate the same scenario in a different environment it changes the entire experience.
This is why when you make exactly the same meatballs that preschool makes (following the recipe exactly) and they are served at home, your child may not eat them like they do at preschool.

Two tips for expanding variety if you have an eater who eats foods in one setting and not another:

- slowly start to make small changes to the routines before you try introducing these foods. This could include changing the dynamic at mealtimes by having each child take a turn to help serve the meal.

- try and connect the two environments for example, having grandma over and including the child in a fruit cutting and serving activity with no pressure to eat it. This links the dynamic of grandma and fruit eating to the home.

What has worked for you?

____________________________

01/08/2025

We love Marsha Dunn Klein for her gentle wisdom and unwavering respect for children. 💛 Her vision of responsive feeding shines through in every word she shares.

"Food should be an adventure, not a source of stress. Let your child explore at their own pace." –

This quote reminds us that mealtimes aren’t about pressure or perfection—they’re about connection, curiosity, and trust. When we slow down and follow our child’s lead, we open the door to more joyful eating (and less mealtime worry). 🍽️✨

28/07/2025

For some families this looks like an absolute nightmare.

You’ve prepared a meal, put the food down and five minutes later your child looks like this- which means another bath or change, cleaning the table, floor, chair and every nook and cranny that food has found its way into.
It may feel like a whole day exercise just dealing with the aftermath of a meal- and as you’re cleaning you’re thinking: did they even eat any of it?!

“Embrace the mess” is a phrase we use often because we know the importance and long term impact being confident in exploring at meal times can be. Allowing a child to touch, smell and play with their food builds exposure and tolerance to different textures and flavours.

BUT we also know the reality and this can be hard for some families. Mess doesn’t come easy. Some ways that may help to embrace the mess could be:

🍽 Stripping down to just a nappy or un**es, or using old clothes that can get messy.
🍽 Choosing a time where you aren’t feeling overwhelmed or stressed to introduce messy foods.
🍽 Eating outside to hose the area down or using a wipeable mat or picnic rug for under their chair.
🍽 One spoon for them one spoon for you.
🍽 Keep a damp cloth or wipes nearby.

The messy stage doesn’t last forever. With practice, babies progress – the benefits of messy eating last a lifetime. How do you embrace the mess?

__________________________________

21/07/2025

"They normally eat two minute noodles so why won’t they won’t eat those ones, they’re exactly the same?”

Why do children, especially those with a limited number of foods, find trying new foods so difficult? Many of the children we see eat the same food everyday. These foods are their preferred foods..

Every time a child eats a familiar food their senses go through a process of checking off that the food looks, feels, smells and tastes like that food and this can make them feel calm and anxiety free.

When they are offered a new food, their senses start the checklist process and most commonly their eyes go "that is NOT your familiar noodles." "That food is a danger!"

This triggers stress and anxiety and can result in a fight, flight, freeze response; for example, becoming upset or defensive (fight), constantly getting down from the table (flight) or sitting at the table but refusing to eat (freeze).

That is often why children eat one type of noodle, one brand of nugget, one restaurants chips. This is their preferred food, and it can take a lot of work from their sensory system to feel safe and comfortable with small changes to those foods.

Although subtle, the changes between these foods may require lots of sensory processing which is why it is important that a child feels safe and regulated when a change may occur.

18/05/2025

NDIS changes to how funds are accessed start tomorrow. This is a great summary of the changes and how they might affect families using funding to access therapies.

Address

Unit 2, 10 Gymea Bay Road
Sydney, NSW
2227

Telephone

+61432995457

Website

http://feedingkidssydney.com.au/

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