Half Pint Therapy

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09/01/2026

Both of my kids know WHEN and HOW to spit out their food. And no, it does not cause bad manners. Haven’t you ever taken a bite and realized you have a meat bone in there? Or something doesn’t feel quite right and you discretely spit it into a napkin? Kids need to be able to do this too.

So, this is the first thing I teach kids when starting solids around 6 months old because it is a safety mechanism to prevent choking.

In this video, my little dude has gnawed down his crust of sourdough into a bite that’s too small to hold now, but too big to move to his gums to “chew”. He attempts to “lateralize” the piece, and when he realizes he can’t and it’s just getting stuck in his palate, he spits it out. I removed the piece from his tray and gave him a new longer crust.

So, how do you teach your kid to spit? When starting solids, kids will gag. I always imitate the gag back calmly. If it’s a piece they can’t work through chewing even after they’ve gagged it forward, I will put my hand behind their head and tip their head forwards slightly while tapping the tray. I will then spit the food out of my own mouth in front of them (tip your head down, stick your tongue out dramatically and spit it). Give them time to attempt this - don’t finger swipe food out because that can push it further past their gag reflex and cause choking.

As always, check out Solid Starts for safe food prep for your baby!

The broccoli saga. Don’t back yourself into a corner. You’re the parent, you decide what goes in your fridge and on thei...
08/31/2026

The broccoli saga. Don’t back yourself into a corner. You’re the parent, you decide what goes in your fridge and on their plate, and they decide IF and how much they are going to eat.

And yes, I know I need to vacuum my couch 😭😷

08/25/2026

Straw drinking tutorial as promised! Drinking from a straw uses an entirely different oral motor pattern than drinking from a bottle or nursing, so it must be explicitly taught!

This is the first step of the pipette method - an operant conditioning technique using delivery of water as immediate positive reinforcement for lip closure to teach your child how to suck from a straw.

Getting ready to try and teach your child? Save this to reference later!

08/24/2026

I can’t be the only one? Mom to mom, sometimes all our choices suck. But we survived the day and our kids are safe and loved.

My children aren’t in school yet…but here’s everything I would be doing if they were scheduled to start this fall — afte...
08/22/2026

My children aren’t in school yet…but here’s everything I would be doing if they were scheduled to start this fall — after panicking and crying of course!

Any good tips you want to add?

Wondering how many words your child should be saying? Even as a speech therapist, when I had my daughter I was often res...
08/20/2026

Wondering how many words your child should be saying? Even as a speech therapist, when I had my daughter I was often researching milestones to make sure she was on track. I didn’t want to withhold extra support should she need it.

If your child isn’t meeting these milestones OR if your gut says your child is struggling, don’t “wait-and-see”. Get a speech evaluation!

Now hear me out…Getting these kitchen gadgets does NOT magically fix picky eating. But, it may meet your picky eater whe...
08/18/2026

Now hear me out…
Getting these kitchen gadgets does NOT magically fix picky eating. But, it may meet your picky eater where they are at and provide the perfect, low pressure invitation to interact with novel or non preferred foods in the kitchen, before they see the food on their plate.

They may be more willing to look at, tolerate, touch, smell and lick foods if we offer interaction in playful ways like this. All of these steps may allow a picky eater to feel more comfortable actually taking a bite of a new food.

Want the links to these kitchen tools? Click the link in my bio and find the “kid friendly kitchen tools” which brings you right to my resource page on my website. Happy food playing!

08/17/2026

Do you see it? That itty bitty tear on the right? Check your ni***es for small slits or cuts at the hole and toss them!

Ni**le tears can happen for a few reasons:
🍼 extended use (yes, my second born is using hand me down bottles from his big sister because…duh?)
🍼 high heat from sterilizer or dishwasher can break down material overtime
🍼 teething baby biting and pulling at the ni**le
🍼 cleaning the incorrect way (just use a pinky with some soap, not a straw cleaning brush)

A torn ni**le will have a much faster passive flow rate (milk that comes without even sucking) and deliver a higher volume of milk per suck than they’re used to. This can contribute to over feeding or a bottle preference. It’s clearly really hard to see, so carefully inspect your ni***es and toss to help protect your breastfeeding relationship. Send this to a fellow combo feeder who needs this reminder.

✨ Don’t forget the biggest tips that prevent bottle feeding preference (slow flow ni***es…no higher than 1, paced bottle feeding, and offering about 1-1.5 oz of milk per hour that’s passed from last feeding). I will expand on this in a future post!

08/13/2026

Let’s fix this today 👇🏻

1. They can’t reach the foot rest. Have you ever eaten in a bar stool without a foot rest, and your legs are dangling for the entire meal and you’re wildly uncomfortable? If your child’s knees and ankles are not at 90° angles like shown in the video above, this is the first thing to fix. Tape some textbooks together so they have more postural support.

2. You’re putting them in it way too early. By the time foods ready they’re restless and bored. Don’t put them in the highchair until the food is cooked, cooled, cut the way it needs to be and placed on their tray. THEN put them in. Expect them to want out from the chair within 15 to 20 minutes. This is a normal child attention span.

3. They feel disconnected and isolated. Turn your chair to face them even if that means you’re eating dinner sideways. They need to be able to watch you chew and feel included; eating is social. Would you want to sit away from the table by yourself while all their friends are at the lunch table facing each other? As the age, pull them up to the table and ditch the tray as soon as you can. This is why I love the versatility of the Tripp Trapp Chair - save a search on FB to get one second hand! I’ve done it 4x, 2 for my house and 2 for my mom’s.

Let me know if any of these tips helped! And enjoy my Mimi laughing with my baby and my dog doing free BLW clean up.

08/13/2026

Welcome to our newest member, Half Pint Therapy!

Half Pint Therapy offers in-home services for Southern RI. They specialize in infant feeding & lactation support, oral-motor & sensory feeding therapy, starting solids support, and speech & language therapy.

Visit https://www.halfpinttherapy.com/ to book a free discovery call.

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Main Street
South Kingstown, RI
02879

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