Picky Eating
Welcome to Jen Belanger Nutrition! If you’ve found your way to my office, whether in person or virtually, you’ve got an extreme picky eater on your hands.
With years of experience treating all types of children with extreme picky eating and ARFID, I’ve developed a program that will target your child’s food aversions and help them overcome their food anxiety and picky eating.
Here are some ill-informed statements I’ve heard about picky kids:
“They’ll grow out of it”
“They’ll eat it when they are hungry enough”
“Just don’t offer them anything else”
While the above statements may be well intentioned, they are BAD feeding advice.
Maybe you’ve listened to my podcast, too. While it all sounds great, nothing seems to stick for your child.
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I’m so ready to tackle my child’s picky eating!
That’s awesome. Me too! But there are a few things I want you to know.
-Neither you nor I can MAKE your child eat. But, I CAN set you up with the tools and knowledge to help them eat more foods.
-Getting a child comfortable with new foods takes time and patience. A lot of time and patience.
-Everyone needs to be ready (child and parents). Without motivation and willingness on both sides, we won’t see much progress.
-It’s important that we meet regularly to stay on top of goals and troubleshoot roadblocks as they occur. This might mean weekly or biweekly visits. Unfortunately, insurance may not cover all of the time needed to see a meaningful change in your child’s eating.
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I’m Ready! What Else Do I Need to Know?
If you wish to use health insurance for services, you may do so for part of the program. Insurance will cover face to face sessions (up to 1 hour in length) with the child present. Insurance will not cover extra support including handouts and activities, meal plans, email correspondence, or any other service not face to face. Quick check ins and frequent email support are beneficial to keep progress moving along and allow you to work at your own pace throughout the week.
Insurance will usually cover between 3-6 visits (each 1 hour in length) per year. These are usually the intake visit and in-office food exposures in combination with nutrition education for the child. Ask me about your specific insurance. Insurance requires the child to be present during the visit.
Outside of insurance, you can sign up for additional services for treatment of extreme picky eating and ARFID. A minimum of 4 weeks is required and payment is owed at the first session (after the intake session, should you decide to add additional services). The cost for the 4-week program is $360. Services include:
- Weekly phone or zoom check ins to review goals and set new weekly goals (includes parent coaching: what to say, what not to say, how to talk about food, what foods to serve, and more. Each 15 minutes in length. Child does not need to be present)
- Weekly virtual food exposures with child (each 15-20 minutes)
- New recipe each week that includes a challenge food to make with your child
- Unlimited email support with Jen during the program
- Sample meal plan for your child
Optional add-ons; additional fees may apply
- Option to have Jen join a session with child’s therapist, if desired
- Option for a home/eating assessment, virtual or in person depending on location (mileage not included)
Email [email protected] to get started!
Insurance
We accept the following insurance plans*
Aetna
Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Cigna
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care
Health New England
Mass General Brigham (formerly Allways)
Tufts Commercial Plans
Tufts Health Public Plans
Unicare/Wellpoint (select diagnoses only)
United Healthcare
Wellsense (Formerly BMC HealthNet)
*Not all insurances will cover 100% of your visit. It is always best to call your insurance before your appointment and know your coverage.
If I do not accept your insurance, self payment is available.
We can also provide a Superbill that can be submitted to your insurance for reimbursement.