In this episode, we talk a lot about weaning from a bottle and pacifier. Be sure to check out the linked resources. But what happens when you do wean from the bottle? What cup is best? Traditionally, many parents move right on to a sippy cup, because they think it is the next step. Melanie shares the science behind oral feeding development and how hard spout sippy cups can hinder the natural development of your child’s oral motor skills. There are many things that can contribute to the delay or the natural progression of these skills but avoiding a sippy cup and moving to a cup with a short straw is a big one. Melanie emphasizes the importance of the straw or any cup to not block the movement of the tongue as a function of swallowing.
Melanie is the author of 5 books, her most recent and upcoming, Responsive Feeding: The Baby-First Guide, is geared to help families understand babies feeding cues from the start of solids at 6 months old all the way to toddler eating habits at 3. You can find more information about Melanie and all the resources she has to offer on her website and social media.
Melanie Potock, MA, CCC-SLP, is an international speaker on the topic of feeding babies, toddlers and school age kids. She is the co-author of the award-winning Raising a Healthy Happy Eater: A Stage-by-Stage Guide to Setting Your Child on the Path to Adventurous Eating (2015) and the upcoming Responsive Feeding: The Baby-First Guide to Stress-Free Weaning, Healthy Eating, and Mealtime Bonding (Jan 2022). The tips in her activity cookbook for parents & kids, Adventures in Veggieland: Help Your Kids Learn to Love Vegetables with 100 Easy Activities and Recipes, are based on the latest research and Melanie’s 20 years of success as a pediatric feeding therapist. Melanie’s children’s book “You are Not an Otter” takes preschoolers on a food adventure, exploring all the ways that various animals eat! Melanie’s advice has been shared in a variety of television and print media, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CNN.com and Parents Magazine. Contact her at www.MelaniePotock.com and follow Mel on Instagram and Facebook too!
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