Mealtimes can be about so much more than food.
Mealtimes can be some of the most meaningful moments of family life. But when eating feels difficult for your child, they can also become stressful, unpredictable and exhausting.
Our Mealtime Therapy supports children to feel safer and more comfortable around food, while helping families better understand what may be shaping their child’s eating.
Through play, exploration and gradual steps, we work at your child’s pace to build skills, confidence and more positive mealtime experiences.
A play-based approach that follows your child’s readiness.
The SOS Approach to Feeding
Motivate Kids uses the Sequential Oral Sensory (SOS) Approach to Feeding, a structured, play-based approach that considers the many things involved in eating, including sensory processing, oral-motor skills, posture, regulation, routines and developmental readiness.
Rather than starting with the expectation that a child should eat a new food, SOS works through gradual steps such as being comfortable with a food nearby, interacting with it, smelling it, touching it, tasting it and, when the child is ready, eating it.
Progress might look small from the outside, but every safe, positive interaction with food can be an important step forward.
Mealtime Therapy may be helpful if your child…
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Has a small range of foods they feel comfortable eating
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Avoids certain textures, smells, colours or types of food
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Finds trying unfamiliar foods hard or prefers things to stay very familiar
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Becomes anxious, upset or overwhelmed around mealtimes
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Prefers particular brands, presentations or routines around food
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Finds chewing or biting some foods difficult
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Eats more comfortably in some places or routines than others
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Mouths or chews non-food items
If some of these feel familiar, we can help you understand what may be contributing and whether Mealtime Therapy is the right fit for your child.
Individualised, family-centred mealtime support.
Every child comes to food differently.
Your child’s sensory preferences, developmental stage, oral-motor skills, regulation, routines and experiences all help shape the way we approach therapy. There isn’t one food list or one definition of progress that every child needs to reach.
We work towards meaningful goals for your child and your family, celebrating progress at the pace that is right for them.
Where to next?
At the end of the 12-session program, we’ll step back together and look at your child’s progress, the strategies that have been most helpful and what you can continue at home.
For some children, that may be a natural place to finish. For others, another block or a different kind of support may be recommended.
Wondering if Mealtime Therapy might be right for your child?
Tell us a little about what mealtimes currently look like for your family. Our Mealtime Therapy team will review your enquiry and help determine whether SOS Mealtime Therapy is the right place to start.
