The Airplane Spoon Podcast: Real questions and Real stories about Feeding Children

Podcast 17: What are your family values around feeding your child?

What are your family's values around feeding your child — and are you holding onto them when a doctor, therapist, teacher, or even a stranger tells you otherwise? In this episode, feeding therapist Sarina Murrell breaks down how assumptions and stereotypes — about breastfeeding, cultural food practices, self-feeding, and more — quietly override what families actually want for their kids. Through real stories from her clinical work, Sarina makes the case for one simple shift: ask, don't assume — for parents and providers alike. Parent reflection questions 1. What are your non-negotiable values around how your child eats? 2. Has a provider ever told you something needed to change without asking what you wanted first? 3. Where do you fall — low priority or high priority — on things like self-feeding, utensils, or where your child sits to eat?

16: How can I cook with my child?

A question I get often: should you cook with your child, and how do you actually do it without it turning into chaos? Short answer: yes, you should — and it gets much easier once you adjust a few expectations. This episode walks through three parts: what adults need to expect from themselves, how to simplify the process to set everyone up for success, and what to realistically expect from your child once you're cooking together. KEY CONCEPTS The goal is exploration, not compliance. Cooking with a child works best when the purpose is curiosity and connection — not perfect instruction-following or staying spotless. Recipes with lots of ingredients and steps (like bread or pizza dough from scratch) are more likely to get messy; that's normal, not a failure. Cooking with someone is different from cooking for someone. Cooking for others is an act of love aimed at a finished product. Cooking with others changes the goal — it's about the shared process, which won't look like solo cooking, and that's expected, not a problem to fix. Adult regulation comes first. Kids often mirror the adult's stress response. If a spill or mess sends the adult into frustration, the child becomes dysregulated too. Small moments — flour on a face, a spilled cup of milk — can be reframed playfully ("you look like a snowman!") instead of corrected sharply. Pouring, in particular, is a genuinely complex motor skill (shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand coordination), so grace matters. Start simple to build success. Easy entry points: squeezing orange juice with a hand juicer, blending a smoothie from frozen fruit, or assembling a "pizza" on premade crust with jarred sauce and shredded cheese. Modeling the task first (showing, then letting the child try) helps kids who've never done it before. Complexity — chopping, grating, mixing dough from scratch — can be added gradually as confidence builds. Involvement lowers pressure, and that changes eating. Kids often taste food during the cooking process — licking a spoon, biting into raw crust — that they'd never willingly try if served on a plate. The difference is involvement (they made it, so they're connected to it) and the absence of pressure (nobody's asking them to eat it). Serena doesn't encourage tasting during cooking, but she doesn't discourage it either — that intrinsic curiosity is valuable and shouldn't be interrupted. Watch the body, not just behavior. Wiggling, trying to get down, or attempting to leave often signals sensory or emotional discomfort, not misbehavior. Naming it ("you got a wiggle") helps kids build self-advocacy instead of having an adult silently fix the discomfort for them. Giving a child a small "job" (like rinsing an apple) can offer a break without fully disengaging them from the activity. The adult's mood sets the tone. If the adult is genuinely having fun, the child usually will too — and kids can tell when that enjoyment is faked. PARENT REFLECTION QUESTIONS * What's my actual expectation when I picture cooking with my child — a clean kitchen, a finished dish, or a shared moment? Which one am I prioritizing without realizing it? * Where could I simplify a recipe I already want to make, so my child can be involved without it becoming overwhelming for either of us? * The next time my child gets wiggly or tries to leave during a food activity, can I name it out loud instead of redirecting or correcting right away?

15: Why does my child gag on even the smallest pieces of solid food?

In this episode, Sarina Murrell, feeding therapist and director of The Airplane Spoon, answers a question she's heard again and again this week: why does a child gag the instant any bit of solid food lands in their mouth? She breaks down the protective role of the gag reflex, why mixing purees with lumps can backfire, what "lateralization" means and why it matters, how sensory differences (including in autistic children) change the picture, and the surprising link between mouth breathing and gagging. Parent Reflection Questions 1. Does my child gag more when I feed them versus when they feed themselves — and what does that difference tell me? 2. Have I noticed my child chewing mostly at the front of their mouth, or do they move food to the side teeth? 3. Does my child breathe through their mouth while eating, or do they seem congested/mouth-breathe often during the day or at night? 4. Is my child's gag response tied to certain textures specifically, or does it show up even with non-food sensory input (like touching messy play materials)? 5. What's one small strategy from this episode I could try this week — front-mouth exposure, distinct chewing vs. swallowing foods, or a chat with our pediatrician about breathing?

14: My child won't eat apples—how can I still get apples into her (all about food forms!)?

Your child won't eat fresh apples—but what about applesauce? Apple juice? Freeze-dried apple chips? In this episode, we explore food forms as legitimate variation: how the same ingredient (apples, carrots, chicken, rice) can show up in different sensory and behavioral ways, and why that matters for feeding. This isn't about hiding food or tricking your child. It's about recognizing that feeding is more flexible and expansive than we often think. When your child eats applesauce, she's eating apples. When he drinks apple juice, he's eating apples. When she crunches freeze-dried apple, she's eating apples. We walk through fruits, vegetables, proteins, and grains—showing the variety of forms each can take—and discuss how to use food forms strategically and without pressure to expand what your child is willing to consume. PARENT REFLECTION QUESTIONS 1. What forms of a particular fruit or vegetable does your child currently eat? (Fresh, cooked, blended, juice, powder?) 2. Are there foods he eats in one form but not another? What's different about the form he prefers? 3. How might offering a familiar food in a different form expand access without pressure?

13: Can my child's love of crunchy foods actually help them eat more fruits and veggies?

If your child could live on crackers, pretzels, chips, and cookies — this episode is for you. I break down why so many kids are drawn to crunchy foods, and it goes deeper than just preference: crunch is actually a biological signal. Our brains evolved to find crunch appealing because it meant food was fresh, safe, and nutritious. A crisp apple, a snappy carrot, a fresh green bean — crunch is nature's freshness indicator. The chips and crackers are almost hijacking a system that was originally designed to love fruits and vegetables. This episode covers the biology, the sensory science, and the practical strategy for using your child's crunch preference as a genuine, low-pressure bridge toward more variety. This isn't about sneaking anything or tricking your child. It's about starting from what already works — and thoughtfully expanding from there. In this episode: * The biology of crunch: why our brains are wired to find it appealing (freshness, safety, nutrition) * The acoustic science of crunch — we literally eat with our ears * Why crunch is so regulating and appealing for sensory-seeking kids * The proprioceptive satisfaction of the tension-release cycle in biting * The best bridge foods based on your child's specific crunch profile * Why freeze-dried fruit is one of the best-kept secrets in feeding therapy * Practical tips you can use at the dinner table starting this week Resources mentioned: * The inner ridge of romaine lettuce — a surprisingly kid-friendly crunch * Peppers, asparagus, carrots, corn on the cob * Apples, pears, watermelon * Freeze-dried fruit like strawberries, banana chips, dried blueberries * Freeze-dried or fried vegetables like green beans, peas, fried onion bits Follow The Airplane Spoon: * Instagram: @theairplanespoon * Website: theairplanespoon.com