49 - Forbidden foods and navigating parties with paediatric Occupational Therapist Rachael Smith

With the festive season in full swing it is likely you and your child will come in contact with some forbidden foods... so what should you do? Our paediatric occupational therapist Rachael Smith has you covered.For those who don’t know Rach, she is a mum to her daughter Olive, a Paediatric Occupational Therapist, and the owner of Therapy Time, a private practice based in Brisbane.Even before having her own family, she has always been passionate about taking a big picture approach to child development. Rach strongly believes that what we eat has a huge impact on everything and sees this everyday in her clinical practice (and at home).Meal times are a big deal for our little ones, and they require a lot of sensory, fine motor, oral motor, and behavioural skills. With her gentle, kind and empowering approach Rach equips parents with a toolkit full of responsive, evidence-based and family-centered strategies.In this podcast we discussWhat are forbidden foods? Should any foods be off the menu?What age should we start being more relaxed around sweet or sugar/additive laden foods and whether there is a magic age to introduce themShould we be teaching our kids about healthy/unhealthy foods?The language we should use when talking to our kids about different foodsHow to navigate social events or situations where different foods are offeredWhether restricting our kids will make them go crazy at the dessert table!Communicating with other caregiversand so much more...Some books that Rach loves to support this topic include...What’s On Your Plate by Whitney StewartThe Whole World Inside Nan’s Soup by Hunter LiguoreOff to the Market by Alice OehrIn My Garden by Kate Mayes and Tamsin AinslieToday’s episode was brought to you by Kärcher Australia.  We try to keep our home clean and free from bacteria, without using any harsh chemicals. Unfortunately, we also have kids that don't like to abide in the whole 'keeping the house clean' thing - especially having a 2 year old with sticky hands that likes to touch everything in sight. Sometimes we just need a quick touch up without having to wait months for the lounge cleaner to come - so the Karcher SE 3-18 battery powered spot cleaner is perfect! It is great for parents with young kids, being able to quickly and easily clean up spills and stains on carpet and lounge offering deep fibre cleaning and complete portability as it is powered by an 18V Battery.The Karcher spot cleaner is available at Supercheap Auto, Mitre 10, Harvey Norman, Bing Lee, The Good Guys or directly through Karcher at Karcher Centres or through their website www.kaercher.com.au where you can use the code 'BOOBTOFOOD' for 20% off.Visit www.kaercher.com/au/ or find them on Instagram @karcher_australiaFollow us on instagram @boobtofood to stay up to date with all the podcast news, recipes and other content that we bring to help make meal times and family life easier.Visit www.boobtofood.com for blogs and resources, to book an appointment with one of our amazing practitioners and more.Presented by Luka McCabe and Kate HolmTo get in touch please email [email protected]