S2, Ep. 5: Hunger and Beyond: Motivation Matters

In this week’s episode, Jennifer and Heidi talk about what motivates children to eat. While hunger is important, it’s not the only missing piece of the eating and feeding puzzle for tube fed kids.

When helping tube-fed kids become oral eaters, there are a lot of other pieces of the puzzle we must consider! Comfort, pleasure, curiosity, and relationships are all aspects that you, the loving and caring adult, can help facilitate for your tube-fed child. Eating in a comforting environment, having a meaningful and pleasurable experience during a mealtime, exploring food independently, and being a part of the mealtime routine can all help to drive internal motivation to eat! And Yes! Hunger also plays a role to build on oral eating. This looks different for every child in our program and beyond, and we know that following your child’s lead is of most importance to THRIVE!

It's important to differentiate between tolerance and internal motivation. Our goal as well-meaning adults is not to help children tolerate a food or bite a certain number of times. In fact, that undermines their curiosity and adds external pressures to eat. We know and believe that all children are competent! They can feel hunger and start to do something about it independently, but only once we remove any obstacles you have control over (pain, discomfort, stress, pressure) and allow for periods of rest/repair for your child to build knowledge and experience on their own terms.

** Please remember this podcast is NOT meant to replace the support and guidance of your child's medical team. Consult with your doctor before starting the weaning process.**

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