Boys and Big Feelings

© Rachel Clelland Photography

by Alicia Schumacher Boys and Big Feelings

Meet Andy, Alicia, Jack, and Jude. The Schumacher family lives in the Harrisburg School District and has called Sioux Falls home for over 15 years.

Jack and Jude are active boys who love to bike, create, play basketball and hockey, and seek adventure.

They also have big hearts and think about, process, and feel things deeply.

Over the past few years, the Schumachers were introduced to occupational therapy and play therapy after Jack was diagnosed with ADHD and Sensory Processing Disorder.

Andy and Alicia are proponents of consistent therapy for everyone in their family. Emotions and feelings show up in various ways, and learning to process those early is especially important to them.

The boys sometimes have sessions together to learn how to work through sibling conflicts and understand their similarities and differences. Alicia shares, “Our emotions are real and valid, and we believe one of the most important responsibilities as a parent is to help them learn and understand those and how to process them. Participating in therapy offers them a safe space outside of mom and dad to express themselves and a chance to share what they are feeling and experiencing.”

Andy and Alicia learned that they have highly sensitive children and can become overstimulated by their environment or busy schedule. “We’ve needed to be thoughtful about what and how many activities we have the boys in,”

“says Andy. “Overextending ourselves and constantly running from here

As parents, we to there leads to are responsible for exhaustion, big maintaining and understanding our feelings, too. emotions. and can leave everyone feeling frayed.” One of their favorite ways to spend their time is being out in nature, whether it be hiking, bike riding, or simple walks where conversation naturally opens and offers a different environment to experience. “As parents, we are responsible for maintaining and understanding our feelings, too,” she said. After Alicia lost her younger sister to cancer in 2009, her grief journey brought years of processing emotions during different phases of life. “Having a trained professional and someone who can sit with you to help you understand how to move through and understand what you are feeling is so impactful. The work isn’t easy, and it doesn’t happen overnight. It’s an ever-changing and evolving process and is influenced by what is happening at certain times of your life.” Alicia’s best advice for families is this: “The goal of giving valuable tools and resources to our children is to help them access and understand their emotions so they can not only be good to and care for themselves but those around them as well.” l

WINTER IS THE PERFECT TIME TO GET YOUR FAMILY HOOKED ON A NEW ACTIVITY AT THE OUTDOOR CAMPUS SIOUX FALLS!

EYE EXAMS JUST FOR KIDS.

kids love it here. Vision is important to learning. We have optometrists specially trained in working with kids to make sure they have the best chance to succeed. Make an appointment today.

For resources and tools, check out this story at www.thehoodmagazine.com.

RESOURCES

EYE CARE + THERAPY CENTER

6201 S. Minnesota Ave. (605) 274.6717 visions@sdvisions.com sdvisions.com

by Melissa Carrier-Damon, MA, CCC-SLP, BCS-S

Feeding Milestones for Infants and Toddlers

After your baby is born, feeding them is one of the first things you do. Sometimes it’s an easy task, and for others, it can be difficult from the very start. After you get breastfeeding and bottling figured out, the next worry is when and how to start solids.

Knowing what to expect as your child progresses with eating throughout the years can be stressful. Like many other areas of development, it’s important to know what to expect as children grow and develop. A good understanding of feeding milestones and development for infants and toddlers up to 2 years of age can help parents identify early concerns. It’s important to note that every child develops at a different pace, and below are general guidelines to keep in mind.

Birth-3 Months: 4-6 months:

• Beginning to eat pureed baby food and working up to eating up to 3 times per day. • Demonstrating increased neck and trunk control for sitting, and being fed in a supported highchair. • Shows interest in food. You may not see this until closer to 6 months of age. • Eating solids at this age is more for exposure to different tastes versus nutritional needs. A baby’s main form of nutrition should continue to be breastmilk/formula.

• Consuming breastmilk and/or formula from the breast or bottle. • Latching, sucking, and swallowing should come without difficulty. • Eating 2-3 oz a feeding, 6-8x/day and sometimes more often if breastfeeding.

6-9 months:

• Baby should now be independently sitting and can hold their own bottle. • Will readily accept a spoon in their mouth by opening as a spoon is approaching. • Meltables and mashed/soft table foods are introduced (usually closer to 8-9 months), and babies can tolerate thicker pureed solids.

• They should now be able to practice drinking from an open cup and/or straw cup, but drinking may look more like sucking. Some liquid loss is still typical at this age.

9-12 months:

• Sitting without the need for external support; however, continues to benefit from sitting in a highchair or booster for eating. • Consuming small pieces of soft-cooked vegetables, soft fruits, and finger foods. • Finger feeds themselves. • Adequately removes food to clear a spoon. • Able to transfer food (lateralization) when placed on center of the tongue to the side.

12-18 months:

• Eating coarsely chopped table foods. • Begin to self-feed using utensils. • Holds and drinks from a cup. • Uses tongue to move food from side to side in the mouth.

18-24+ months:

• Consuming most table foods- including meats and raw vegetables. • Fed sitting unsupported. • Self-feeding using utensils by 24 months. • May refuse to eat certain foods and become more selective. It’s important to continue to offer a variety of foods.

What to Watch For

Possible Signs of Feeding Issues:

• Difficulty latching to breast/bottle • Unusually short or long feedings • Frequent spitting up and/or vomiting after feeding • Stiff body or arching of back during a feeding • Constipation • Difficulty with transitioning to eating solids • Difficulty keeping food or liquid in mouth • Difficulty chewing • Gagging, coughing, and/or choking while eating and/or drinking • Refusing to eat certain textures or food groups

If you have any concerns about your child’s feeding and swallowing skills, it’s important to seek medical advice from your healthcare provider as early as possible. There are specialists who can help children with feeding issues, including lactation consultants, speech-language pathologists, and occupational therapists who have specialized training in feeding and swallowing. LifeScape also offers a free feeding/ swallowing screening that can be completed over the phone at 605-444-9778.

Find a free, evidence-based tool to help parents identify feeding disorders early at http://questionnaire. feedingmatters.org/ questionnaire