What is a Food Jag & How to Avoid Them

Did you know that June is Dysphagia Awareness month? Dysphagia refers to when a person has difficulty swallowing. We have a wonderful team of feeding therapists at GASLC who treat a wide range of feeding disorders. Ms. Erin is one of our wonderful feeding therapists and is here today to talk about Food Jag! Is this a new term for you? Read on for some good info on food jag (you may be more familiar with this than you think) and to avoid them!

A food jag often occurs after eating one food for multiple meals a day for consecutive days (maybe weeks or months). This causes a child to stop eating this once “safe” food and the child does not start eating another food to replace it. Think of it like this: sometimes when an adult meal preps their lunches for work to eat throughout the week, by Thursday or Friday they are most likely ordering lunch out because they are tired of the food that they’ve been eating for the past three or four days. This can be particularly stressful for a family if the child already has a limited food repertoire as they are further limiting the number of foods that they will consume.

So what do we do? Read on for 7 ways to avoid food jag!

·         Try and avoid offering the same food prepared in the same way over 2 consecutive days

·         Encourage your child to help during the food preparation and cooking process

·         Offer a variety of foods prepared in a variety of ways

·         Serve the food on new, fun plates or allow your child to use utensils when eating the food

·         Offer new foods in a fun, relaxed, no pressure manner while pairing it with foods you know they like (i.e., their “safe” foods)

·         Provide a model of eating new or previously preferred foods while describing all the characteristics (e.g., “Oh I wonder if this food will make a loud or soft crunch?!”)

·         Always make mealtimes fun, relaxed, and comfortable for everyone involved!

The key to overcoming a food jag is to pack your patience and stay persistent! Big changes may not happen in one meal or in one day. Always remember that every little bite counts!

Thank you Ms. Erin! If you or someone you know has a child who is experiencing feeding difficulties, please reach out to our clinic to set up an evaluation to determine if feeding therapy services are recommended. Contact us here!