FRIDAY SPRING FOOD EXPLORERS (6-week series)

Bearfoot’s Food Explorers is a feeding group beginning in April of 2024 that approaches feeding and mealtimes with a strengths-based and neurodiversity-affirming lens to help parents honor and appreciate their child’s inner experience during meals.

A hybrid group, combining nature-based group sessions  and parent coaching to promote the carryover of strategies to the home environment including:

• Understanding the child’s sensory preferences and how they are related to mealtimes
• Education on and bringing awareness to body signals/sensations (interoception)
• Strategies for families to use when a child is interested in learning about a new food
• Promotion of executive functioning skills
• Respecting bodily autonomy and the inner experience of eating and mealtimes for children
• This group is the best fit for kiddos who are meeting nutritional needs or are supplementing them through physician recommendations

This group is NOT:

• Going to use strategies to undermine your child’s autonomy and choice around engaging with food
• Just an experience for the child
• Going to focus on increasing the foods your child will eat

This group IS about: 

• Learning to listen to “no” and look out for signs kids are masking their authentic self
• Helping prioritize the caregiver-child relationship and support parents through parent coaching
• Helping families find strategies to make mealtimes work for them and their child

Prerequisites:

• This group is the best fit for kiddos who are meeting nutritional needs or are supplementing them through physician recommendations

Details:

• Meets Fridays at 3:45-5:00 pm in Glen Canyon Park San Francisco, rain or shine!
• 7-9 year olds
• 6-week series: 4/19, 4/26, 5/3, 5/10, 5/24, 5/31     
  • No group on 5/17
  • Make up days on 6/14 and 6/21
• Group limited to 6 kids (minimum 3 kids for group to run)
• $997 for 6 weeks
• 30 minute intake call to get to know your kid, find out what’s going well and where you feel like you need more support!
• Weekly learning topics in a video format and workbook guide to educate you on foundations and strategies to support your child during mealtimes (participation required)
• Two 45-minute group parent coaching sessions
• 30 minute call at end of group to discuss recommendations and
• Led by a skilled occupational therapist

A current (less than 12 months) OT evaluation is required to participate in group. If you don't have one, we will complete an abbreviated evaluation for an additional $300. You may register for group and then complete the evaluation after registration.