La Trobe University’s Shepparton campus led an engaging event last week that normalises fussy eating and offers practical solutions to get food on the table.
Feeding children can be tough especially with rising costs, picky eaters and nutrition guidelines thrown into the mix.
Understanding Children’s Nutrition: Making Mealtimes Fun, Frugal and Filling was a free event led by panellists, involving a cooking demonstration and Q&A addressing issues around children’s nutrition.
The panel experts discussed what children need, what helps and hinders parents or guardians in making decisions about feeding children, as well as some community -based and creative methods to tackle common challenges and return calm to the table.
The group gathered to experience a cooking demonstration by cookbook author and La Trobe lecturer, Melanie Lionello, followed by an informative panel discussion led by Neha Samar, Founder of the Flamingo Project with local nutritionist, Katie Thorp and Sara Smilevska, Discipline of Nutrition and Dietetics Lecturer at La Trobe and Clinical Dietitian (Pediatrics, Specialist Medicine), and Melanie Lionello, lecturer in Dietetics and Human Nutrition, both from La Trobe University who travelled to the Shepparton campus for the event.
The panel covered topics including combating fussy eating, making mealtime fun and engaging, learning and development around food and mitigating fear and guilt associated with mealtime.
