Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics

04/06/2026

If offering your child sweets, processed foods, or “junk food” leaves you feeling unsure or even a little guilty… you’re not alone.

We recorded this episode a few months ago, but honestly? There may be no better time to revisit it. With spring holidays here, candy seems to show up everywhere—baskets, classrooms, gatherings, and well-meaning gifts. It can feel like a lot.

In this conversation, Heidi and I talk about how to include these foods in a way that supports your child’s health and protects their long-term relationship with food. Because it’s not just about what kids eat…it’s about how they learn to eat, trust their bodies, and feel around food.

You don’t have to avoid these foods to “do it right.” And you don’t have to feel like things are off track just because there’s more sugar in the mix right now.

There’s a way to navigate this season and these treats with steadiness, clarity, and connection.

🎧 Listen to this week’s episode of Love Eat Thrive
🔗 Link in bio

02/18/2026

Children’s growth is often misunderstood. Bodies grow with natural ups and downs, and healthy kids come in all shapes and sizes. From percentiles at the doctor’s office to off-handed comments about a child’s size, growth can easily become the main focus — adding pressure for parents and kids.

This week on Love Eat Thrive, we take a deep breath and put growth into perspective. 🎧 Link in bio to listen.

02/16/2026

Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics doesn’t see tube feeding or your child’s oral eating as problems to be fixed. We see feeding tube weaning as a journey we take together. We focus on your whole child and support the entire family.

By understanding your child’s strengths, development, and experiences, we create individualized plans that support safe, lasting progress.

Backed by research and decades of experience, we help children transition from tube feeding to oral eating in a safe, supportive way.

Message us to get started.

02/14/2026

Every child deserves a seat at the table.

Including tube-fed kids in family meals isn’t about getting them to eat — it’s about connection, routine, safety, and belonging. Even when eating looks different, shared mealtimes help children feel included, regulated, and part of something meaningful.

In our newest episode of Tube to Table, we talk about why togetherness and enjoyment matter more than how eating looks — and how families can create calm, pressure-free mealtimes that support long-term relationships with food for their tube-fed kids.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts — Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more
🔗 Link in bio

If this episode resonates, don’t forget to like, follow, and subscribe so you never miss a new conversation

02/13/2026

Every child deserves a seat at the table.

Including tube-fed kids in family meals isn’t about getting them to eat — it’s about connection, routine, safety, and belonging. Even when eating looks different, shared mealtimes help children feel included, regulated, and part of something meaningful.

In our newest episode of Tube to Table, we talk about why togetherness matters more than how eating looks — and how families can create calm, pressure-free mealtimes that support long-term relationships with food.

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts — Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more
🔗 Link in bio

If this episode resonates, don’t forget to like, follow, and subscribe so you never miss a new conversation.

02/09/2026

💚 It’s Feeding Tube Awareness Week 💚

Feeding tubes are one of many ways children get nourishment — and every way of eating deserves respect.

Across the U.S. and around the world, hundreds of thousands of children rely on feeding tubes to receive the nutrition, hydration, and medications their bodies need to grow and thrive. For many families, tube feeding is a supportive tool that helps meet a child’s needs safely — whether short-term or long-term.

Different tubes support different needs.
Different journeys look different.
And all of them are valid.

At Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics, we love tube-fed kids and their families — this week and every week. 💚

01/19/2026

Feeding is an inherently sensory experience.

Yet many of the most common “supports” offered to children with feeding differences still focus on tolerance, exposure, and performance.

Decades of research and clinical insight tell us something different:
how a child experiences food is shaped by sensory processing, regulation, lived experience, motivation, neurodiversity, and context — not willpower or effort.

When feeding differences are understood through the whole child, support shifts away from trying to change the child and toward adapting environments, expectations, and interactions to better fit who they are.

🔎For clinicians:
If you’re looking to deepen your practice and strengthen how you support children with sensory feeding differences, join us this Thursday for a live continuing education course in collaboration with our friends at Get Permission Institute.

🗓 1/22/26 | 1–2:30 PM EST
📘 Sensory Considerations in Pediatric Feeding: A Whole-Child, Evidence-Informed Approach
👉 Link in bio to register

12/20/2025

Ever find yourself bribing, bargaining, or praising your way to “just try it” or “one more bite”?

You’re not alone — most parents are simply trying to help.
But research shows that while rewards may work in the moment, they can make eating harder over time. The good news? There is a better way forward — one built on consistency, trust, and support.

For direct parent support, connect with Thrive by Spectrum Pediatrics to find another way forward.
For ideas and tips, listen to Love Eat Thrive.
💛 And if you love a tube-fed kid (or a proud tubie!), check out Tube to Table.

You don’t have to do this alone.

12/20/2025

12/19/2025

Ever find yourself trying to bribe or trick your kid to eat a certain way?
You aren’t alone—and there is a better way.

In this episode, we unpack why bribery, tricks, and rewards are so common in feeding kids, why they often backfire in the long run, and what actually helps instead.

🎧 Listen today. Link in bio.

12/18/2025

Pressure can get a bite in the moment — but over time it often makes eating harder. It increases stress, fuels power struggles, teaches kids to ignore the body cues that help them feel safe with food, and prevents them from developing the foundational habits of healthy eating.

Your job isn’t to get food in.
It’s to create opportunities — trust, comfort, and consistency.

When pressure goes down, kids are more open to learning and eating in new ways 💛

12/18/2025

Pressure can get a bite in the moment — but over time it often makes eating harder. It increases stress, fuels power struggles, and teaches kids to ignore the body cues that help them feel safe with food.

Your job isn’t to get food in.
It’s to create opportunities — trust, comfort, and consistency.

When pressure goes down, kids are more open to learning and eating in new ways 💛