Fearless Feeding: The Definitive Guide to Feeding Children

When people find out that I’m a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) and the mother of twins, they automatically assume that I know exactly what and how to feed my children. While it’s true that I have strong opinions on what to feed them, pediatric nutrition was never my area of specialty. So when my girls started eating solid foods at 6 months and progressed from purees to all types of table foods, I pretty much had the what part of the equation figured out, but I found myself fearing the how: How do I get them to eat using a spoon? How do I make sure they ate enough when they’re throwing food off their highchair trays throughout the meal? How do I transition them to different textures of food? In the course of my work as an RDN, I have read a lot of Ellyn Satter’s advice on feeding children, but for years parents have complained that there is no definitive guide to feeding children through different stages. Until now!

My fellow dietitians Jill Castle and Maryann Jacobsen, two women who have provided me with a lot of guidance over the past 16 months, just released Fearless Feeding: How to Raise Healthy Eaters from High Chair to High School. This is the book that all parents need to buy and keep close at hand as long as children are under their roof (you may even want to get it before your children are even born!).

Jill and Maryann are both pediatric and family nutrition experts and have been working on building the Fearless Feeding community for the past few years. Based on the most recent research, they provide such a wealth of information in this book that will help take the fear out of feeding your family. Fear may seem like a strong word, but raising children is a scary, fear-filled journey – at least from my experience so far I can say that it’s one thing I really want to get right! And when it comes to food, that’s what Jill and Maryann help you do. The first chapter of the book is an explanation of the three fundamental components of the Fearless Feeding strategy  that must all be in place to raise healthy eaters:

• WHAT to feed your child: This is the part that most people refer to when they ask for help feeding their kids. Do a search online and you’ll get a multitude of answers, but you may end up more confused and potentially misinformed.
• HOW to feed your child: This is the part I found myself questioning the most – it’s about your attitudes, actions, and structure at mealtimes. Your approach to feeding is a key to preventing eating issues like picky eating, obesity, and eating disorders.
• WHY your child behaves that way: This is the part that gives you an understanding of who your child is, where he is developmentally, and what is normal behavior for your child.

The rest of the book guides you to fearlessly feed your children at different life stages: infants to young toddlers; toddlers and preschoolers; school-age children; and teenagers. There are also chapters about specific nutrition problems like food allergies and eating disorders, meal planning and shopping strategies, and “The Parent Trap,” which is all about how your food history and attitudes impact your children – this is such an important topic, one I recently wrote about on Wee Westchester. There’s a whole lot more information in the seven appendices as well as recipes throughout the book.

I don’t think it’s possible for me to express any more enthusiasm about Fearless Feeding! All parents need guidance when it comes to feeding their children, no matter what age, and this is the book to get it from. Jill and Maryann have been so kind as to offer one lucky reader a copy of Fearless Feeding. Below are instructions and rules to enter the giveaway.

Fearless Feeding Giveaway {GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED}

Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment on this post and tell me what your biggest challenge is when it comes to feeding your kids.

You will also be entered each time you do the following (and leave a separate comment letting us know you’ve done it):

• “Like” Nutritioulicious on Facebook and/or share the giveaway news with your Facebook fans and friends with a link back to the post
• “Like” Fearless Feeding on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter @JLevinsonRD
• Tweet about the giveaway with a link back to this post

The giveaway will end Friday May 17, 2013 at 5:00 pm EST and a winner will be chosen using random.org. Please leave a link to your blog, a twitter name, or some other way to contact you in case you win. You must be 18 to enter. Products shipped within the US only. Good luck!

For more about Fearless Feeding, check out these posts by other nutrition bloggers:

Mom’s Kitchen Handbook — Fearless Feeding: The Book Every Parent Needs
Tribeca Nutrition — Fearless Feeding Review and Giveaway
Elisa Zied — How to Fearlessly Feed Your Teen
Meal Makeover Moms — Tips for Feeding Kids from High Chair to High School