Debra Alvarez Feeding Kids Sydney

23/04/2026

Let’s talk about toileting.
Specifically, when a child is not opening their bowels regularly.

Constipation isn’t just looking at how often a child goes to the toilet, but also how hard the stool is when it passes. Constipated stool looks like little separate pebbles (think rabbit poo), or pebbles that have been compressed together. It is hard to pass and hurts when a child goes to the toilet.

The relationship between pooping and feeding is incredibly important, and when things aren’t consistent or going to plan it often works to create an unhelpful cycle. When a child isn’t going to the toilet regularly it affects their overall appetite, and if a child is already a picky eater this can exacerbate some of their selectivity, increase their stress around mealtime or cause them to gag or vomit more easily when feeding.

Often natural and food based supports that work to keep children regular and relieve constipation (such as fibre) can be challenging for kids with feeding difficulties if they aren’t found in their repertoire of foods.

A medical review by a GP or paediatrician is important if you suspect constipation to provide alternative support, especially if the constipation has been occurring long term.

16/04/2026

REPOST From

What is Responsive Feeding?

Responsive feeding, as described by the World Health Organisation (WHO), is a feeding approach that supports children’s autonomy and development by being emotionally supportive, developmentally appropriate, and timely.

At its core, responsive feeding means:

✔️ Recognising and responding to a child’s hunger and fullness cues

✔️ Feeding in a way that is patient, encouraging, and never forceful

✔️ Creating a mealtime environment where a child feels co-regulated

✔️ Supporting confidence and curiosity with eating

🧠 Why is this important?

Responsive feeding helps build long lasting healthy eating behaviours, supports emotional development, and reduces stress for both the child and the caregiver.

💡 Top tip:
Responsive feeding starts as soon as a child starts their feeding journey with breast/bottle and solids. If your child turns their head or closes their mouth during a meal, pause and give them space. These may be signs they’ve had enough.
Respecting these cues fosters trust and comfort at mealtimes.

10/04/2026

Gagging is an important and protective reflex. Gagging is not choking, it is one of the many ways babies and children learn how to eat.

Gagging is more common in babies as their gag reflex is stronger and can be triggered more easily towards the front of their mouth. As they grow, the gag reflex moves towards the back of the mouth and can become less sensitive.
Watching a baby or child gag is hard.

It is hard not to want to jump in and scoop the food out, or react to the situation in a big way.

The most important reaction to gagging is no reaction at all.

The rhyme “Loud and red, let them go ahead. Silent and blue, they need help from you” is a helpful reminder.

Choking is by far the biggest fear parents have when introducing solids, but anyone at any age can choke on any type of food so it is important to know what to look for and what to do.

We highly recommend becoming familiar with baby and child first aid, and in an emergency call 000.

27/01/2026

Less food in the lunchbox can lead to more food eaten.

When children are sent to school with too many different options, and too much food it can feel overwhelming especially for fussy eaters, neurodivergent kids, or children with feeding challenges.

A smaller, predictable lunch helps children:
- Feel less pressure
- Know what to expect
- Focus on eating instead of choosing and reduce decision fatigue
- Finish more of what’s packed

Remember: the goal isn’t a “perfect” lunchbox, it’s enough food eaten to fuel learning and play.

23/01/2026

Let's talk lunch boxes.

It can be overwhelming trying to decide which foods to send, in what container and at what time. The options can sometimes feel endless!
has some great information in regards to lunchbox guidelines that are worth looking into.
Out top tip for lunch box prep is using the next few weeks before school starts to give the brand new containers some practice. Make sure your kiddos can open and shut them with ease, and that they are used to seeing the foods you are intending to send in them together.

21/01/2026

I am excited to be presenting three workshops this year together with Val!

Happy 2026!

We are back from a restful break. While on holiday, we got asked by a friend about what makes our workshops different.

Here are 2 two points that we spoke to-

Our workshops are held live, so you can immerse yourself in listening but also have the time and space to ask questions as the content is delivered.

Do you want to know another difference? Our multidisciplinary approach means we always involve other allied health professionals in our workshops to ensure you get a strong team approach with your training.

The speaker feedback is consistent every year - the guest speakers (along with Val and Deb's engaging dynamic) helped everyone learn and love this area of paediatric feeding.

Head to our website to download our upcoming infant feeding workshop PDF flyer and lock in your February ticket: www.feedingtherapyaustralia.com.au

19/01/2026

Welcome Back! We are excited to continue exploring in the kitchen in 2026.

It's that time of year again where we start to prepare for the school year. Over the next few weeks we're going to share some helpful tips on how to support kids feel comfortable to eat while at school.

School or day care/preschool settings can be sensory overloading environments with lots of sound, movement, smells and social expectations.
If you then also have difficulties with feeding, lunchtimes can be incredibly overwhelming for some kids.

It is very common to expect children to eat at school because of how much mental and physical work they are doing and how much fuel they need to do so, but children’s lunch boxes often come home from these settings untouched, especially if there are new foods in it.

This can be due to a number of factors including:
- sensory overload at lunchtime
- not enough time to eat- especially for those kiddos who have chewing difficulties
- new foods or non preferred foods in their lunchbox
- changes to the environment or the way their food looks
- too busy playing!

It's important to keep these in mind when you think about how you can support your child to feel the most comfortable at mealtimes at school.

19/12/2025

To all our friends who juiced, cooked, sliced, diced and baked; and those who thought about, tasted and explored new foods - thank you for a great year!

We are so lucky to be able to build such a lovely community. We hope you have a wonderful holiday season, be kind to yourself and we will see you in 2026.

We will be back in the clinic from the 13th of January.

Debbie, Kylie and Alyssa 🎄

11/12/2025

As school, extra activities and sports start to wrap up and the focus shifts to Christmas and the holiday season, the stress around eating can also increase.

Eating at other peoples houses, at a restaurant or even at home when there is a family gathering, can be overwhelming for children and their parents.

Here are some tips we shared last year on how to make a Christmas meal; or any holiday, fun for everyone.

28/11/2025

Feeding Kids Sydney book corner is a corner of the internet where we’re going to share some of our favourite books on all things to do with food.
🍕🥦🌭🍓🍪

Reading books with different foods in them can help expose new foods to children without pressure on them to eat. It also makes food discussions fun.

Play with your plate by is a great book that allows kids to mix and match foods to make endless meal combinations. It showcases foods from different cultures and features foods of different textures, shapes and colours. This is a great way to encourage discussions about the sensory elements of foods.

The opportunities and discussions that can be formed using this book in therapy are countless.

What is your go to food book?

03/11/2025

"They normally eat chicken nuggets so why won’t they 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 every day. These foods are their known, preferred and comfortable foods.
Every time a child eats one of these foods their senses go through a process of checking off that the food looks, feels, smells and tastes the same way it always has 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 safe nugget." "That food is a danger!"
This triggers stress and anxiety and can result in a fight, flight, freeze response, for example, becoming upset (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 flavour of noodles, one style of nuggets, one restaurants chips. It can take a lot of work from their sensory system to feel comfortable with small changes to these 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.