The movements of our lips are controlled by one of our cranial nerves – cranial nerve 7, otherwise known as the ‘facial nerve’. The facial nerve controls the muscles that allow us to move our lips. These muscles work together so we can smile, frown, articulate speech sounds, and eat and drink. Check out some of the key muscles here and why they are important for eating and drinking.

We’ve been looking at the four domains of feeding we consider in our initial assessment. Last week we covered some of the ‘psychosocial’ factors, this week we’ll start looking at ‘feeding skills’. To start, we’ll explore why the tongue is some important for eating and drinking.

This week, we explore how anxiety around food, and the interactions between child and caregiver/s can influence feeding - otherwise known as ‘psychosocial’ factors. For children, fear around food and eating is real and can be all consuming. Part of what we do is help you and your family reduce your child’s anxiety around food and provide you with the tools and the language to make mealtimes less stressful. During therapy sessions we love our new emotion magnets - they’re great for ‘checking in’ and can help start conversations.

Have you been thinking you need some help with your child’s eating for a while, but not sure what an assessment will involve or how it would help? Here’s the lowdown.

Check out these balanced breakfast and snacks ideas we've been having over the school holidays.

Check out this amazing pear and blackberry crumble we whipped up! The kids got involved in picking the fruit and had a blast making dessert for everyone. This was finished off perfectly with a scoop of ice cream! Getting outdoors and picking food with your kids is such a great activity! Kids learn more about where their food comes from and how it grows.

Check out this awesome breakfast menu Sophie’s daughter, Anabelle, put together! Each week she plans her menu, so she knows what to expect for breakfast each day.  We also love that Anabelle has included a range of options in her breakfast menu. Breakfast doesn’t have to be cereal and toast each day. Leftover dinner from the night before is a great breakfast option that is quick and easy, and provides a great start to the day.

These are often a fan favourite for our picky eaters; they are predictable, and they taste and look the same each time. We thought this blog post would be a perfect example of how you can start with foods which your kids like and build up to introducing more variety. Check out a few ideas to get you started here.

Here at 2Bites, we have been loving homemade poke bowls. Start with a simple bowl of rice, and then add as many toppings as you like! Not only is this dish super easy and flexible, but there are also so many ways you can get your kids involved; they can help choose the toppings at the supermarket, help you chop up all the ingredients and then everyone can make their own poke bowl at the table.