Recently I had an entire family come to my office for nutritional counseling. The kiddo’s pediatrician had sent them my way because the parents wanted to learn how to feed their larger bodied children. The family had recently moved here from another country.

During our initial appointment it was important to me to learn about foods this family typically eats and how their culture influenced what foods they chose and how the children were fed.

Importance of Listening without Judgement

At a Nutrition Assessment appointment I ask lots of questions—Who does the shopping? Who does meal preparation? Where do you eat? What foods kiddo likes or dislikes, what is a typical meal? What are the parents’ goals? Do we need to take any pre-existing health conditions into account? I’m listening and gathering information without judgement.

It’s important to check any impulse I may have to jump in with “solutions” before I hear everything a family wants to share. (You may have noticed that we Dietitians can be a bit Type-A and want to be helpful!)

Asking with Curiosity and an Open Mind

I learned that my newly immigrated family offers a high-calorie supplement drink several times a day to their kiddos. I silently wondered why? The kiddo’s pediatrician has concerns about extra body weight and those supplement drinks are often recommended for children who have difficulty eating enough foods.

I was careful in the way that I worded my question, avoiding the word “why”, which can sound judgemental. I needed to be curious and keep an open mind. I asked “Can you tell me about the supplement drink?” One of the parents told me that they grew up drinking them and so they offered them to their own children, just as their parents had offered it to them.

This family’s culture included giving supplement drinks instead of offering milk. Learning this information gave me the opportunity to counsel the parents in a way that respects the family culture instead of jumping to judgement.

Understanding family culture is essential to effectively counsel a family with respect and kindness.

Snack Idea:

Yogurt Covered Frozen Strawberries- get the recipe here.

Reach out at Karen@CoastalFamilyNutrition.com or call the office at 603-674-2479.

Please feel free to share this with someone who may like to learn more about feeding kiddos!