Around the Calm Table

Stores, reflections, and encouragement from my therapy sessions, my kitchen table, and everything in between.

Parenting is full of moments that don't fit into a checklist. This is where I share the stories, lessons, and conversations that have shaped me as a feeding therapist, a mom, and the founder of The Early Years Collective.

A child sitting at the dinner table with an uneaten plate of food during a family meal.

The Part After "NO."

When your child says “no” to dinner, understanding why matters. But what happens in the next five minutes matters too. Here’s how our responses to food refusal can unintentionally create patterns—and how understanding the whole picture can help us change them.
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But She Ate It Last Week.

She ate it happily last week. This week, she wouldn't touch it. One mom's question reveals something important about what food refusal actually tells us.
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Untouched toddler dinner beside a small bowl of Goldfish crackers, illustrating why some children eat snacks but refuse dinner.

The Snack Wasn't the Entire Problem

A little boy came home hungry every day, ate every snack he could find, and still refused dinner. It would've been easy to blame the snack—but what if dinner wasn't where the struggle actually began?
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Toddler dinner plate with untouched food beside a small afternoon snack, illustrating why children may eat snacks but refuse dinner.

The Snack That Started an Arguement

Your child eats everything after school or daycare... then tells you they're "not hungry" when dinner is ready. As a feeding therapist and mom, here's why that happens—and why dinner may not actually be the problem.
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Feeding therapist explaining why children don't always eat when they're hungry

Will My Child Eat When They're Hungry? What Parents Need to Know About Picky Eating

"If they're hungry enough, they'll eat." It's one of the most common pieces of feeding advice parents hear—but it's not always true. Learn why hunger isn't the only thing that influences eating, how sensory processing and pressure affect mealtimes, and what actually helps picky eaters feel safe enough to eat.
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Young child sitting at a kitchen table during mealtime, illustrating common picky eating challenges and toddler food refusal.

The Day I stopped Calling Kids Stubborn

A little boy changed the way I saw picky eating forever. What looked like stubbornness was actually communication—and it changed everything.
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Notes from the Calm Table

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Before You Go...

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