Podcast Episode 422: Picky Eaters, Family Drama & That One Aunt: Holiday Meals Made Easier Transcripts

Please note: Transcripts for the No Guilt Mom Podcast were created using AI. As a result, there may be some minor errors.

JoAnn Crohn (00:00)

Welcome to the No Guilt Mom Podcast. I am your host JoAnn Crohn here with the brilliant Brie Tucker.

Brie Tucker (00:07)

Hello, everybody, how are you? You should tell them what day we’re recording this on.

JoAnn Crohn (00:11)

We are recording it on Halloween. It is a crazy Halloween too, as we’ll get into with our guests. Like she’s had some, some Halloween mishaps as well. And we’re preparing you for all of the burr months because they’re going to come in quick succession now with everything that you have to deal with. Thanksgiving coming along, Christmas, Hanukkah, all those family gatherings, all those eating challenges for kids at family gatherings that well-meaning relatives have so many opinions on.

Brie Tucker (00:38)

I mean, because like, I do think that the Burr months are like the months of eating hell. I’m just going to say it because there’s everything from they get too much sugar. Most of us would agree around Halloween, right? And then you have Thanksgiving, like you said, where they’re trying to do weird textures and flavor combinations they’ve never done before. And then you get in just like the holiday treats, like the weird desserts. It’s hard. It is hard on kids. is harder on the parents.

JoAnn Crohn (01:06)

It’s hard, especially on kids who really don’t have that much variety that they want to eat. so today we’re talking with Jordyn Kowaleski-Gorman, who is a licensed speech language pathologist, feeding specialist and founder of Eat Play Say, a trusted resource for parents navigating speech, feeding and play development. With nearly a decade of clinical experience, she leads a team of pediatric experts serving over 700,000 families worldwide.

JoAnn Crohn (01:34)

through playbooks, handbooks, and consultations. As a mom of two, she created Eat Play Say to give parents clear, expert-backed answers without the endless Google searches. And today, we are tackling all those eating challenges over the holidays with her. So let’s get on with the show.

Hey, Jordyn, it is good to have you with us on the podcast and all of the work that you have done getting here today. I mean, we’re talking about Halloween mishaps. You have had your Halloween mishaps this morning.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (02:08)

⁓ yes, I have. I’m so glad to officially be here, to have power, to have Wi-Fi, to have connected. Yes.

JoAnn Crohn (02:16)

My gosh, you have to like tell everyone like everything you went through this morning to get here.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (02:22)

Yeah, my gosh, so I live in a small town where unfortunately frequently lose power and today was one of those days. And it’s one of those things where we lose power for like half a day, sometimes multiple days. So I was frantically calling every public library, every place I thought they could have a small back room for me to sit. It took about an hour and half, but I finally found a cute little coffee shop with amazing little flower decor.

JoAnn Crohn (02:45)

Yeah, and you have a great view behind you.

Brie Tucker (02:46)

Yeah, I know that lighting is fantastic. The internet is strong and you got to do something you haven’t done in years today.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (02:55)

Yes, I had a meal all by myself. I got to choose exactly what I wanted to eat, not making sure that my kids would actually like it too. And I sat in silence, complete silence and ate it and it was glorious.

JoAnn Crohn (03:06)

Isn’t that amazing when you get that? It’s like you don’t even realize what you’ve been missing this whole time you’ve had kids is that silence.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (03:13)

I I felt like out of body. I’m like, who am I? Who is this person? This brewery of all pieces.

Brie Tucker (03:20)

You have a secret, you know about don’t share that with your husband or anybody else and anybody listening We don’t know where Jordyn was today

JoAnn Crohn (03:30)

It’s interesting talking about kids and their food preferences and everything because you said that you got to eat a meal where you didn’t have to decide if it would be palatable for your kids or not. And you are saying this as a mom of you have toddlers right now, correct?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (03:47)

⁓

Todd? Yep, have a four and a two year old and then one on the way.

Brie Tucker (03:51)

That’s the hardest time, think, those ages, right? Because they can get really picky, and you have all the thoughts on, is this going to be a permanent thing? Are they never going to eat anything? And it feels like it drags on forever at that stage.

JoAnn Crohn (04:09)

I feel like mine has never ended and I have a 16 year old and a 12 year old. But I it’s not a bad thing. And I don’t want to say that to anybody out there to scare them. It’s just kind of realigning your kind of parenting journey and expectations. Because for example, my 16 year old was looking to pack her lunch this morning and she’s like, I am all out of uncrustables and go-go squeezes and this is all I eat. And I’m like, And it’s not like for any lack of giving her more variety or like as the pediatrician was like, give more vegetables, give more this, give more that. Some kids just have food preferences and texture issues. And what do you see Jordyn, when you work with families and you work with kids with these food preferences and issues and challenges?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (04:59)

Yeah, I think it’s important to define food preference versus like food problem, right? So we all have preferences. I’m never gonna touch cottage cheese, no matter how hard you push it, what fruit you pair it with. It’s never gonna happen. Right. And that’s fine, because I can get calcium, I can get vitamin D and other things from other foods. So I think parents sometimes get hung up on like, my gosh, they have a preference.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (05:27)

But if you do a quick search in your brain of like, well, they eat these other foods that give them the same nutrients or are a part of the same food group, I wouldn’t worry about it. So hopefully that takes some pressure off from parents of like, okay, it’s fine if they don’t like to drink milk, but they like to eat dairy foods. It’s okay if they don’t like broccoli, but they like peppers. It’s okay if they don’t like carrots, but they like other orange fruits or vegetables. So I think that’s something that we need to recognize too. It’s okay to have those preferences.

JoAnn Crohn (05:57)

Yeah, and you say like if they like this, but they like that, like getting the nutrients and what about if you, cause I had to do this, like supplement with a multivitamin, is that an okay thing to do for parents if they’re having like trouble getting nutritious foods into kids?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (06:14)

Yeah, mean, multivitamins are definitely helpful. The goal is to always maybe depend on that short term and want to try to use it as you can try to get other foods in. So if you’re having trouble with iron, supplement with iron until you can get your little one hooked on chickpeas, sweet potatoes, maybe more meat sources. If your little one’s not liking calcium, try to work on those other foods that have calcium and use that multivitamin. But it’s a tool, it’s there for you. It’s only going to give a little bit more of what they’re missing.

Brie Tucker (06:45)

That’s really interesting that you brought that up because I feel like when your kids are younger, it feels like you just said if they’re not eating a variety of things, like the goldfish crackers and chicken nugget phase is never going to end. So when they’re younger, and I’m going to say like probably under first grade is where I had like the most food preferences, like baby or toddlerhood through first grade.

What are some of those red flags that you can like start looking for to know that you’re going to need to put a little bit more effort into this, or you’re going to need to like try to look for some extra support.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (07:28)

Yeah, so sensory responses are definitely the most noticeable. I wouldn’t call them necessarily red flags, but things that parents can really notice, if their kids are like, I don’t want to touch this at all. So think of the senses, right? Smell, taste, touch, feel. If they don’t like getting their hands dirty, they don’t want to touch it. They’re looking at a food and like, I’m not going to do it. Those are indicators that that child needs a little bit more time of warming up to those foods that you’re seeing those sensory responses to. And luckily, the fix for that to work on that is actually very simple. It’s getting your little one in the kitchen and around those foods with zero pressure to actually eat them. If we take that meal time pressure off the table and we just engage in those foods and meal prep, even in play, like using Jell-O or jelly, if that’s one of the foods that they don’t like, for them to like… use their finger and make letters or make shapes in or do a sensory bin. You can actually work on those meal time troubles with those tools outside of meal time.

JoAnn Crohn (08:34)

That’s an interesting thing. So kind of like exposure to the food with no pressure to actually eat the food and put it in their mouth.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (08:41)

Exactly. And we know from research that some little ones take anywhere from 20 to 100 presentations of a food before they’re actually going to put it in their mouth.

JoAnn Crohn (08:54)

That my daughter.

Brie Tucker (08:57)

Okay, so if you’ve got that kid that absolutely is very preferable, very small palate, what are some things that we can do to prep them for, JoAnn was saying, like the burr months? There’s so much going on, so much food coming out there.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (09:15)

Yeah, and there’s a whole other social aspect of that too. You’re in a different house usually. You’re around a lot of people. It’s loud. There’s a lot of smells. There’s a lot of other things going on that actually impact the meal. So if parents are going to someone else’s house or participating in Thanksgiving or a holiday meal, just try to remember it’s one meal. It doesn’t really matter how they perform at that meal. If they only eat the dessert or they only eat the breads,

it’s not a big deal because you’re going to work on the other nutrients that they are missing or you’re to offer their regular foods in just a few hours. Surviving the holidays is important. And also just trying to enjoy it. If you know it’s going to be a fight, we don’t have to have a fight at a random Thanksgiving table at Aunt Donna’s house. we don’t have to, we don’t have to push this right now. They’re going to have a decent breakfast before you go. And tomorrow they’re going to eat their regular foods again.

Just enjoy the time, offer the foods if they don’t take it, whatever.

JoAnn Crohn (10:16)

And I want to get more into those fights and how to avoid them right after this.

So Jordyn, before the break, was talking like how this is my daughter. She has definite textures and definite preferences for things. I mean, she was the kid who like would not touch anything. Only now at 16, we went to a birthday dinner with my husband and she ordered a salad with chicken on it and she said it was fire. And I’m like, my gosh, this is such progress. It’s fire, yes. All the teen language.

Brie Tucker (10:46)

It’s fire.

JoAnn Crohn (10:49)

Thanksgiving meals and stuff, it was really hard for me as a parent to deal with it because she would put little things on her plate. I’m not talking like hard for me as a parent towards her, more hard for me to operate around my family. Because if she didn’t take some dishes, some of my extended family would be like, does she not like what I cooked?

Brie Tucker (11:10)

Gosh. And so they turned it into something.

JoAnn Crohn (11:14)

It’s personal about them. Yes, yes, it’s personal about them. Dealing with that as a parent, wanting to be there for your kid, how can you encourage your kids food-wise when they’re overhearing things like that?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (11:28)

It’s really hard when you’re a parent going to these things because you never know what someone else is going to say. Right. And it’s like you could prep your little one or yourself as much as possible, but you don’t know what Aunt Donna, going back to her, is going to say about the casserole. What I tell parents to say when they’re talking about foods, especially new foods, is to describe them in very neutral ways. So stuffing. You can talk about the color that it is, that it’s lumpy, what else it kind of looks like, what it smells like, but there’s no positive or negative.

They can choose to put it on their plate or not. Cranberry sauce, for example, which everyone loves, especially the older generation. Have some cranberry sauce.

I’m like, love it. Have you do you this any other time of the year?

Brie Tucker (12:12)

It’s not sweet

JoAnn Crohn (12:15)

Mix it with some turkey. ⁓ guys. But I’m also the cottage cheese lover so I am the odd one out here.

Brie Tucker (12:23)

I cottage cheese. do love cottage cheese. Okay. That’s okay. But yeah, right? All those foods.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (12:25)

That’s okay.

Exactly. And you can talk about how to make something with your little one. So Thanksgiving, for example, has a lot of different types of foods. like cranberry sauce, breadsticks, let’s build something. Let’s build a house with these. Let’s do something with this and make it fun for them. So it’s not actually overwhelming and they might pop it in their mouth. You have no idea.

Brie Tucker (12:51)

Okay, my grandmother just rolled over to her grave about that playing with your feet. With her nice china and her like a hundred year old linen tablecloth that we can’t get anything to drop on. Cause it would just. You said something earlier about the pressure to perform and I never thought about it that way, but I think that’s a perfect way to describe these like holiday get togethers with your extended family.

Brie Tucker (13:20)

We know that there is expectations. know that everybody wants our kids to probably look a certain way. Where’s that dress that I sent you, right? Does she have that pretty bow or where’s those nice shoes I got for your kiddo? And then like you said, why aren’t they eating the jello that we made? It’s jello fruit salad. It’s jello. Wouldn’t they love it? And you’re like, yeah, but there’s like little red balls in there. And I know it’s cherries, but you know, I don’t think you’re going to get far with that. And it just feels like.

We’re judged and we’re also trying to show people that our kid is awesome, even though they’re not doing what’s expected. So much pressure. God.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (13:59)

And such little time too. It’s like you have this five hour window where you have to like greet everybody, catch up, try to eat, make sure your kids don’t break anything, make sure that you remember to eat. If your little ones need to go to the bathroom. There’s so much extraneous noise that getting to the meal is like the last thing you’re like, my gosh, just eat something, please. I just want to get out of here. So I really feel for parents.

JoAnn Crohn (14:23)

That goes with like another parenting fear. I have this person in my life who I will not name. She is very afraid that if her kids do not eat at the meal, they will be hungry later and then they will go into a tantrum and be inconsolable. So like this fear drives her to say stuff at meals such as, you better eat that or your stuff is gonna die. Or I mean, it’s, it’s, I know it’s not.

JoAnn Crohn (14:53)

That’s why they will not be named.

Jordyn’s just looking at me like eyes wide. ⁓

Brie Tucker (15:01)

Maybe that the stuffy is one of those Tamagotchi toys from like the 90s like if you don’t feed your Tamagotchi it’s gonna die. Okay, well it’s a digital toy. I’ll let that happen.

JoAnn Crohn (15:11)

There is the threat about it drowning. I don’t know, it was bad. It was bad Jordyn. And obviously I know it’s bad, but I also know that the fear is real.

Brie Tucker (15:20)

She thinks she’s doing what’s best for the future, right?

JoAnn Crohn (15:23)

Yeah, she thinks she’s doing what’s best for the future, regardless of how it’s going right now. So like, what would you say to like, kind of dampen that fear a little bit if kids don’t eat enough at the meal that they’re going to be hungry later and have a tantrum and whatever?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (15:37)

Yeah, honestly, I feed my kids a whole meal before we go to Thanksgiving because I feed them lunch. I’m like, here, we’re going to have lunch. I don’t want you showing up hangry and then be pissed at the food option.

Brie Tucker (15:41)

That’s smart.

Good point. Yeah, because like they get mad. They don’t understand why the turkey is taking an extra half hour.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (15:55)

Exactly. They can’t regulate their emotions, which is fine. And honestly, we as adults have trouble regulating our emotions when we have 50 people in a house or 20 people or people we haven’t seen before or whatever. And also usually Thanksgiving dinner is at the weirdest time, three o’clock to 30. What are you supposed to do? You know what I mean? Like, you can’t push back lunch and then like expect them to eat food that they’ve never tried before. And then, ⁓ then go to bed.

Brie Tucker (16:23)

I was gonna say, and it’s normally during like nap time. So they miss their nap time on top of it all.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (16:27)

Right. So I try to operate the day as normal as possible. I also pack a lot of nutritious snacks. So if they want a beef stick or a cheese stick or sometimes I’ll even bring stuff and put it in the person’s fridge, like I’m going to bring my own fruit that they like or something so that they can have something that they like there. Because again, it’s one day, one meal. There’s no report card on this meal. It’s not going to change the trajectory of the kid’s life. I don’t want them to hate Thanksgiving because they know they’re going to have that pressure to eat foods that they don’t like.

They’re going to remember that year after year after year and their experience around family and food is way more important than how many foods they actually eat that day.

JoAnn Crohn (17:06)

I love this advice Jordyn, because it goes so contrary to the advice we usually tell our kids with big meals. You’re like, ⁓ you know, save your hunger, don’t snack before the big meal, else you won’t be hungry for Thanksgiving. you’re like, feed them the whole thing before. I love it. It’s so counter intuitive, but it makes complete sense.

Brie Tucker (17:27)

I’m like, and yet it is the biggest aha. Where were you when my kids were younger? Like I have teens now, but ⁓ man, that would have been so helpful because yeah, Thanksgiving and the Christmas dinner and all the other jazz.

JoAnn Crohn (17:43)

I mean, you’re dealing with so many other outside influences that it only makes sense. Like, let’s just take hunger off the table and like, make sure they get full bellies.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (17:54)

Their attention span is so short. Typically a meal with little ones, they only are eating for what, eight, 10 minutes, and then they’re like, off, like I’m done. Sometimes they’re like dancing in their seat, like get me out, like I want to move. So you can’t expect them to save their hunger and jam 500 calories in with foods they don’t even like and sit for 30 minutes. They want to go and play. They’re distracted by this new environment. So absolutely fuel them before you go. And then whatever happens, happens.

JoAnn Crohn (18:20)

Yeah, that is such a good point. That reminds me of something else that one of our balance members was having trouble with, mealtimes, and it relates to the upcoming holidays as well, about a toddler who every time they get into a high chair to eat just starts screaming. So I wanna hear what you have to say about that right after this.

Right before the break, Jordyn, we were talking about an issue one of our balance members had with every time the toddler goes in the high chair, they just start screaming and meal time becomes just horrible. How do you recommend parents tackle that challenge?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (18:55)

Yeah, there’s a couple things you can do. But first, I also want to say that that’s kind of normal. Around 18 months, sometimes toddlers are like, I’m ready for a change of scenery. They don’t want to be so confined. They’ve been spending the last six months learning how to move. And they want to move. We know from a safety perspective, having them sit, or at least stand to be stationary is the safest position for them to be in while eating. So if you have an alternative place for them to eat a toddler table, a toddler tower or a booster at the table, you can offer them where would you like to sit and take a break from the high chair. You can always go back to it or offer it. If you don’t have an alternative place for them to sit, have them bring something they absolutely love into the high chair with them, a book, a game, have them pick the first thing they’re going to eat, even if it’s a fruit or something, a snacky to get them to enjoy being back in the high chair, play their favorite song, play a game with them, do whatever you can to make that environment enjoyable, and then try to offer the meal.

JoAnn Crohn (20:00)

I forgot, as soon as you said toddler table, I’m like, yes, we had a toddler table when my kids were younger and they used to eat there all the time. And that was the only place actually my son would eat because he had control over it and could choose when he sat down and we had to the dogs away.

Brie Tucker (20:18)

Yeah, I know right like you big dogs man. They’re just like ⁓

JoAnn Crohn (20:22)

It’s perfect height. It’s like, it’s brought up to my mouth level. Awesome.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (20:28)

Exactly

Brie Tucker (20:29)

of all the easier to steal from.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (20:31)

Yes, we have a little tent that sometimes we have a picnic instead on the floor, which is great. Even just putting on a blanket in the middle of the floor. think parents get so concerned of like every meal has to be at the table. I have to teach them to eat at the table. You don’t have to have every single meal in a high chair at a table. You also want to raise a flexible eater that can eat everywhere, can participate in meals when the environment is different. So as long as you’re offering meals at a table, on occasion or at least a few times a week, you’re doing what you can to get them acclimated to eating at a table.

JoAnn Crohn (21:07)

So like just trying it a lot, like you said, with food preferences, it’s like just exposing them to it without any pressure to see how they, do it.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (21:17)

Exactly. Toddlers and little ones want everything to be fun. So unfortunately, we as parents have to try so hard to make everything so fun, which is exhausting, especially at 530 at night, I get it, at dinnertime. But thinking of how to make things fun is usually the path of least resistance to get them to do what you need them to do.

JoAnn Crohn (21:38)

Yeah, what are some other ways that parents can make things fun for meal time?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (21:43)

Yeah, one of the things I’ve been doing recently, because you know, I have a two year old that’s very, no, I don’t want that. Using kid chopsticks, using serving spoons or like tablespoon, half tablespoon measurement spoons to eat. She thinks it’s so cool, so fun to stack them all up and

then try to eat from them. Using toothpicks, like little fondue type little picks to eat, changing the utensils, changing the plate. They had like at the dollar spot at Target.

Halloween little placemat, like glow in the dark ones. So I’d start in the kitchen with like the lights down low and she could see what was glowing and then her food would go on top. Thought it was hilarious. These little teeny tiny changes sometimes can completely change the whole dynamic of the meal.

JoAnn Crohn (22:27)

Those are fun little things and really easy to implement too. Like all those things you’re mentioning. I’m like, I have that. I have that in my kitchen. I could totally use that.

Brie Tucker (22:37)

Yeah, I remember one of the ones that my kids still talk about and they are 18 and 17 now they still talk about finger food night and we would put a picnic blanket out in middle of the living room and I made nothing but food they could eat with their fingers and they thought it was so fun and JoAnn you’re gonna die I actually got Audrey to eat egg rolls. yeah Yeah, cuz she was all like wow. What’s this and I’m like, it’s like a little burrito. Granted, she wasn’t a huge fan, but she did eat them. She was like, not my favorite. Then I had like four or five different dipping sauces too. Dipping sauces saved my ability to get my kids to eat vegetables. My daughter would only eat, right? And it changed. Like her favorite vegetable was carrots. At first it was that they had to be in peanut butter. Then she got tired of peanut butter and they had to be in ranch. Now she’s tired of ranch and it has to be in the Chick-fil-A sauce.

JoAnn Crohn (23:30)

Chick-fil-A. I was gonna mention Chick-fil-A sauce. My gosh, that stuff has crack in it or something. don’t know. Like, it has the power to get kids to eat like everything, at least my son.

Brie Tucker (23:40)

I think the power of sauces and like, and like you were saying, Jordyn, maybe a combination of like, just said, giving them more power to make those decisions is awesome. So my question is, if you’re listening to all of this and your kid is any age, my oldest went from being pretty restrictive when he was little to he will eat anything now. He’ll be like, sushi. All right, let’s try it. But my daughter is still very picky about what she’ll eat, still very much a sauce girl, needs her sauces. But what would a parent do if they’re like, okay, I’ve tried all these different tips, I’ve tried all these different tricks, and it still is worrisome to me. What would be next steps that they would do?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (24:26)

Yeah, I think talking one-on-one with a professional is your best bet if you have somebody near you. an occupational therapist or a speech language pathologist, they can work with you and actually make the menu of what is your little one eat? What are you trying to get them to eat? And it’s called food chaining. How do we get from pretzels to chicken? And you chain, okay, let’s use a bready food. Now let’s go to chicken pot pie without chicken in it. Now let’s go to actual chicken breasted breaded. Then let’s go to chicken.

They’ll help you little by little step from the foods that your little one is eating to the foods that you want them to eat. And this works pretty much with all ages. Honestly, the older the child is and the more that they can understand how foods are grouped together and how they’re similar, it actually works a little bit better. If your 10-year-old is only eating 10 foods, there is something that you can do about it. It’s not like it’s too late.

Brie Tucker (25:20)

Okay, there’s no point where you’re like, well, you’re a creep now, sorry. Last 10 years and six months, you’re just, you’re out of luck.

JoAnn Crohn (25:30)

I think something that may be good to know for parents, just having a kid who’s a picky eater, is that it doesn’t have to be all your responsibility either. Kids learn a lot from their peers. One thing that is getting my daughter to branch out is she will go out with her friends and they’re like, why are you only eating pizza? They will counter that with her so that now as a 16 year old, she is branching out and eating more options than when she was younger. So just know like,

If your kids aren’t eating the things they need to eat, it’s not all on you. It will also take care of itself with peers.

Brie Tucker (26:07)

That makes me think about that. right? Because like my kids would eat really good at daycare, but just not at home. And I was always like, I guess I suck at making food. ⁓ Right? And I would ask the childcare, how do you make the carrots and peas that she eats? And they’re like, we open a can and we put it in a pot. Like, yeah, it’s nothing fancy. And yet she would eat all of her stuff at daycare, but come home and demand nothing but

Brie Tucker (26:34)

chicken nuggets and goldfish crackers. And I guess I always just thought it was my failure because she would eat at other places.

JoAnn Crohn (26:41)

my gosh, I have the evilest plan for tonight. So people are coming over tonight, adults and kids. And I am making one of my favorite dishes in the world, Jordyn, pumpkin enchiladas. They are so good. They are so good. My son though, refuses to eat them. So knowing his friends are coming over, I will be offering pumpkin enchiladas to his friends. And usually they’re pretty adventurous and they will eat anything. And then he might enjoy it more. It helped with pizza roll ups. He wouldn’t eat pizza roll ups and then his friend Seth came over for dinner and Seth was like devouring all the pizza roll ups and here I am going like, yes. Because you do feel it’s you, but it’s not you. It’s not you. It’s kind of the relationship your kids just have with food and seeing peers eat them helps.

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (27:33)

Yeah, and there’s a science to that. Peer modeling is 100 % a thing and it works with food. So you’re a little feeding specialist over there, JoAnn.

JoAnn Crohn (27:40)

Evil feeding specialist. Well, Jordyn, this has been amazing. So many tips taken away, even tips that I might use on my teens as well. We like to ask everybody who comes on the podcast, what is something right now that you are looking forward to?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (28:02)

This is a good question. Honestly, I am looking forward to the holidays because I have that seasoned mom confidence that I didn’t have with my first. When you go into a holiday and you’re like, I don’t give a bleep about what anybody has to say because I feel confident in my choices as a parent. And I remember being on my first Thanksgiving as a first time mom, being a wreck. And now I actually look forward to the holidays because I’ve been able to pep talk myself.

believe in what I’m doing. And I just hope that all of their parents out there can give themselves a mirror pep talk before they go into the holidays and say, I got this. What happens today is not a representation of my family as a whole. It is one day. I’m going to walk away with happy memories. I’m going to get in the picture. I’m going to get in the picture for proof of mom. I’m going to have a good time and not care what anybody else thinks. I love that. So that’s what I’m looking forward to.

Brie Tucker (28:57)

And you know what I want to do a shout out to? If Jordyn, who is a feeding therapist, she is a licensed speech, language pathologist, feeding specialist, can get intimidated with mealtime, then anybody can and it’s not you. So I’m just going to say that. means a little better.

JoAnn Crohn (29:17)

So Jordyn, where can parents get more information to help them through these picky eating phases of their kids?

Jordyn Koveleski Gorman (29:25)

Sure, so you can follow us on Instagram at eplacei and you can head to our website. We actually have a picky eating freebie for preventing picky eating for babies and navigating picky eating for toddlers and above. That’s eplacei.com backslash picky dash eating. You can download that. It’s like a little ebook that you get for free to help you really navigate those meal time challenges.

Brie Tucker (29:46)

We need to get that out to everybody there is a link in the show notes for you guys on that one So there you go

JoAnn Crohn (29:51)

Absolutely. And remember, the best mom is a happy mom. Take care of you and we will talk with you later. Thanks.

Brie Tucker (30:00)

Thanks for stopping by.

JoAnn Crohn (30:03)

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