Calling All Parents Of Picky Eaters!

The Picky Eater’s Club is officially ready for launch!

This monthly blog carnival style tips feature will soon be hosted at In The Life Of A Child on the second Thursday of every month. Are you ready? Mark your calendars, because the very first edition begins Thursday, May 8th!

What’s that, you say? You’ve got some questions? Well, let’s hear them!

So, what is this Picky Eater’s Club that I keep hearing about?

The Picky Eater’s Club is an opportunity for parents to share tips on how they have gotten their picky eaters to eat, to solicit advice from other families who have had successes, and to otherwise commiserate and encourage each other as parents in the challenges of getting our picky little kiddos to eat something other than ice cream and chicken nuggets. It’s also intended to be a resource for parents facing extreme eating challenges with a child. Ever hear of feeding clinic? Have a kid on a G-tube that you are trying to get to even tolerate having food in the same room with them? Welcome. You’ve come to the right place. The entire spectrum of picky-ness is welcome here - whether you just wish you could get your child to eat a vegatable now and then, or you would be ecstatic if your child would allow anything near their mouth without the aid of general anesthesia, this is the place for you. Together we can accomplish great things!

So, what’s your story?

Are you sure you want to hear it? Well, ok… My daughter has both severe reflux and a rare condition known as cyclic vomiting syndrome, or CVS (Well… among other things). When she was two weeks old, her windpipe collapsed and she spent the next six weeks on a ventillator. A trach and G-tube were placed and it was another three weeks before we brought her home. My husband and I simultaneously battled to attempt to control her reflux and interest her in eating by mouth through endless hours in feeding clinic and therapy at home. It was a long process. And that is the understatement of the century. At eighteen months old she had a Nissen fundoplication surgery to prevent her constant vomiting. It was another seven months until she was additionally diagnosed with CVS and another 9 months before we learned how to manage that diagnosis. She was four years old before we successfully weaned her off tube feedings and she still has intermittent tube feedings during her CVS episodes. And now we are additionally dealing with the typical challenges of a picky eater. So let’s just say I’ve been around the dining table a few times. I’m learning new ideas from ingenious parents on this subject nearly every day though. And I’m looking forward to learning even more from each of you… and sharing with you some of my hard learned tricks for getting picky kiddos and children with extreme medical challenges to eat as well.

How is this going to work?

On the first of every month, I will post a topic for the month so you can start working on your post if you choose to participate. Then on the second Thursday of the month, come back here and you will find a post entitled ‘Picky Eaters Club ~ May 2008′, or whatever the current date is. The first part of the post will contain my post contribution and at the end of the post you will see a little “Mr. Linky” box that looks like this:

In the first blank in the box, enter your name or your screen name. In the second blank box, enter the URL (Uniform Resource Locater, or web address) of your post. This is different from the web address of your blog. To find the web address of your post, simply click on the title of your post in your blog then look up at the top of your screen in that first really long white box up there. The URL of your post should start with “http://”. Copy that whole line and paste it into that second blank in the box at my place. Then click enter. Your link will now show up in my post. Note that it will say “delete link” next to your name, but don’t worry… you are the only one who can see the “delete link” next to your name. Since you are the author of the link, it gives you the option to delete what you just posted if you choose to. Finally, scroll down and leave a comment with anything you have to say (hopefully nice) about my post and you can leave a brief note about your post there as well, if you like. Some people like to leave a link to their post in the comment too, and you are welcome to do so. Then go start clicking on some of the other great posts that start showing up and share a few tears, hugs or a good laugh. Learn something new, share a recent breakthrough, find the strength to face another month of breakfast battles. Together we can accomplish great things!

Are there any rules?

Of course there are! Now what kind of a mom would I be if there weren’t any rules?

(Don’t worry though… they’re pretty straightforward.)

1. Please keep in mind when you are writing posts for Picky Eater’s Club, that In The Life Of A Child is “family friendly” blog and I work very hard to keep it that way. I reserve the right to remove links to posts which include offensive or inappropriate language, or those containing rude, or objectionable content. I will always make an effort to contact the author of such a post, refer them to the participation rules, notify them that their link has been removed, and offer them the opportunity to reformat their post for re-submission.

2. Please mention Picky Eater’s Club in your post, and publish a link back to my master list here at In The Life Of A Child. Please make sure you link specifically to the URL for my Picky Eater’s Club post for that month and not just to my home page.

3. You are most welcome, and I encourage you to publish the button code provided below in your entry post and/or your sidebar, but it is not a requirement. It just helps spread the word so that more parents will be interested in joining in. (You’ll have my undying gratitude!)

Get The Code For The Picky Eater’s Club:

(Just copy the code below and paste into your post or sidebar template)

<p align="center"><a href='http://inthelifeofachild.com/index.php/home-of/' title='Picky Eaters Club'><img src='http://inthelifeofachild.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/pickyeaterclub.jpg' alt='Picky Eaters Club' /></a></p> <p>

If you need more detailed help on how to add images to your post, click here.

4. Please only leave a link if you have written a post specifically for Picky Eater’s Club. Empty links, spam links or links that are off topic will be deleted.

5. Please link specifically to your Picky Eater’s Club post, not to the front page of your blog. This is called a permalink and you can click here for an explanation of how to set one up and why this is important.

6. I prefer to keep things simple, with In The Life Of A Child as the only home page for Picky Eater’s Club. Please do not host your own “Mr. Linky” for Picky Eater’s Club at your site.

What is the topic for May?

After May, I will be posting the topic for the month on the first of each month, but you get to see it early this time. For our first edition here, let’s introduce ourselves, and our picky eater (or eaters). Then in whatever format you choose, share one tip for a success you’ve had with your picky eater, or ask for tips for dealing one challenge that you’ve been facing with your picky eater. I’ll try to include a tip both for the standard picky eater and for the picky eater with additional medical challenges in each of my posts. Click on the “Subscribe” button in the upper left corner of my blog and you’ll make sure you never miss an update. Are you ready to do this? Good! Then start working on that post, spread the word, and we’ll see you back here on May 8th!

And if you are the parent of a child with medical challenges, check out my Finding Courage Through Sharing Blog Carnival coming to you on the last Thursday of every month, beginning April 24th!

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