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Testimonials

Hi Dana,

I wanted to say "Thanks" and give you some feedback on 'The Food Sense Program.'

We were having issues with our son William at dinner time. He kept wanting to get down and not eating anything, then wanting something 10 minutes later. It was very annoying, and it was like a circus around the table. We started following the advice in the Food Sense program, and what a difference it has made!

After just a few nights we are all having nice dinners together most of the time. No bribing, begging and whining. When he gets down we calmly tell him dinner is over. He can decide to play upstairs in his room or sit with us. In fact, the second morning of the program he said .. "Mommy, I'm hungry because I got down and didn't eat enough." Again, what a difference! You book gave me the confidence and the concrete tools to be make the changes that needed to be made.

Sincerely,
Tammy Lyon (& son William)

Ms. Obleman,

When I first found your website, my daughters were driving me crazy with their constant food demands. I felt like I was a short order cook in my own home. I would have to make TWO different breakfasts and dinners every day, since they didn't like to eat the same things.

When I put their meals in front of them, they would sulk and pick away at their plates and tell me that they "didn't like this food." And then 10 minutes after they got up from the table they would start begging for yogurt and crackers!

A friend told me about your website, and after following just a few of the things you say, I'm thrilled to report that Hannah and Chloe are like two new children... There is no more whining for treats all day long, and mealtimes are actually a civilized time... or as civilized as meals can be with a 2 and 5 year old.

Thanks again!

Shara

Hi Dana,

Thanks for your insight and information regarding my son's diet and eating habits. Within 6 months he did a complete 180 with regards to trying food and eating the whole meal. You hit it on the head with the rationing of milk... he used to fill up with Milk and not eat... now he can enjoy a meal with a whole glass of milk. That means the whole family can enjoy mealtime... he is currently 6yrs old and willing to try everything now... whew, long way from only eating waffles.

Scott S.

Hi Dana,

My daughter Jasmine (now 20 months old) has most certainly a much improved attitude to food.

Since reading your programme I have relaxed about mealtimes, we increased the number of family mealtimes which really helped.

Jasmine will now try most foods, and if she doesn't like it she hands it back or leaves it without a fuss.

No more battlegrounds at tea time for us.

She still is not a big fan of vegetables but absolutely loves all fruit, I keep putting a little veg on her plate with other fods that she likes and sometimes she will leave it and other times she will try again.

She has a much more varied diet, and I have found that sticking to a routine and not giving loads of choices has helped immensly.

She has responded really well and if she asks for 'yum yum' (her word for food) outside of the snack time or meal time, I tell her she needs to wait for snack time or lunch and she says 'okay'.

At 18 months I took my daughter to be weighed and was delighted to find that she was slap bang on the 'average' 50th centile line, from always being around the 25th centile.

Jasmine is a happy healthy wonderful little girl and life is so much improved since following some of the advise in your programme.

Thank you.

Nicola Andrews

Hi Dana,

My son Joshua was always fussy right from a baby and when he was two years of age he only would eat 4 different meals at dinner time and even those meals that he did like he would sometime not eat them. After reading your book I did your plan and on the first night he was waiting for me to get angry with him for not eating but I said nothing to him about eating his dinner and he started trying the meal on his own, and after that each meal got better and better. He eats every meal I put in front of him now.

Thank you very much for all your help.

Regards,

Katrina Patton

Hi Dana,

We have noticed a big improvement in our dinner time. She generally eats what we eat, and even though it may take some patience on our parts, eventually, she does eat.

I still think she knows deep down that she can control what she eats while at the table, but she also knows that we control all food away from the table. In other words, eat at the table or no snacks, etc. It just took stamina on our part and the gut-check for me as mom not to respond to her crying and fits.

Thanks for checking in,

Jill C.
Omaha, NE

Hi Dana,

I have one word for you: salmon! Last week, my son ate salmon and
steamed broccoli. Your program has been a success in two ways. It has
helped my son be more willing to try new things and it has brought an
end to mealtime stress. Thanks for the good advice!

Kimberly Grisanti

Hi Dana

I read the program cover to cover, highlighted the bits I thought would work and set to it!

The main things that worked for me:

1. Letting my daughter pick her own meal. Yes, there are lots more bowls and plates to wash if we put it all on the table and help ourselves, but she fully understands that she is in control of how much goes on her plate and how much she can eat - more dishes = less stress!

2. Letting her have 1 treat per day and then once that has gone that is it. She soon got a grip on this and stopped asking for a biscuit as soon as she got up because she learned there were no more treats after that.

3. The main thing that sticks with me from the whole programe - my job ends when the food reaches the plate - it is her job to control how much she eats and whether she is full/not full. If not, she goes hungry until the next meal.

All in all, mealtimes are much less stressful, she enjoys her food, willingly tries new things, eats until she is full and knows that when she gets down from the table there is nothing else until her next meal. She is now 4 and in Reception class at school. She takes a packed lunch with a good healthy range of food and brings her packed lunch bag home empty everyday!

Thank you for providing one less stress in my life!!

Jo Cunliffe

Hi Dana,

I just wanted to let you know that your book helped A LOT.

I realized, through your book, that the issue was me and not my son. That his eating habits were perfectly normal and I was stressing for nothing. I was expecting him to eat as much as an older child should. Now that I have eased up, breakfast lunch and dinner are usually without incident.

Thank you for your help.

Candy Lampropoulos

Dear Dana,

Being in a happy place with food and mealtimes now I realise that i haven't actually read the book I purchased from you for such a long time.

I have just gone over it again to refresh my memory and I realised how far the three of us have actually come, my husband, my child and myself. Actually, in all honesty it's how far my husband and myself have come. We both feel so far removed from how we were a year or more ago. I can't really remember how long ago our awful mealtimes were, they really do feel so far
in the past.

The one statement which started to ease the pressure we had created at mealtimes was 'as a parent our job is to put a healthy meal in front of our child and it is his job to choose whether or not he was going to eat it'. This seemed to be the one main piece of advice that changed our mealtimes around from being upsetting and unhappy to relaxed and normal. I no longer feel so angry, I get annoyed very, very rarely and I know it is because I don't feel so guilty, I don't feel like the worst parent possible, I don't feel like i'm failing. How ridiculous that sitting down to a meal could affect so much.

Little things like having a treat box and allowing my son to choose 1 treat per day at any time gave him some much needed control. Although he doesn't have that anymore it seems to have taught him that treaty food isn't the stuff which is going to make him healthy so he'll opt for sticks of cucumber or carrot these days and be just as happy.

He can now confidently tells us he's had enough of his meal and not look at us like we are going to blow our tops at him. He'll simply say he's had enough and he knows whether he's done enough to have a dessert or not. He often opts for a bowl of fruit for dessert. Quite often though the bowl of fruit is incorporated into the meal, which he loves. We have realised he is very much a 'banquet' or 'buffet' eater, i.e. he prefers to have a meal consisting of lots of choice so we oblige by making sure that a few meals a week are of this type. We have found a good range of meals to allow this.

I don't overphase him with a plateful of food, I remember that his tiny tummy will only hold a fraction of what I eat and I put out smaller amounts.

He lets me know if I haven't put enough out by asking for more or by helping himself from the dishes on the table (I don't think it ever happened before!)

I think I could go on with so many positives, I literally have a huge list. Your advice really has changed so much, life is easier, happier. My son is incredibly energetic, happy and enjoying his food and importantly is happy at mealtimes. I am enjoying mealtimes, my husband is enjoying mealtimes. We love going for meals out, we are so proud of how our son behaves in restuarants and how willing he is to try out foods. He loves the praise he gets at mealtimes and praising him is so easy now.

There are occasions where my son will sit down and after saying he is hungry for some time prior to mealtime will then be unable to eat anything. I stop at this point and think what has caused that reaction, sneaky snacks, too much on his plate, a meal he doesn't really enjoy or illness (very rarely illness). We deal with things so much better now, I actually feel like a proper adult, a proper mother.

I have recommended your book to so many people I only hope they have taken my advice and purchased it.

Again thank you so much for making so much sense,

Therese Lee

Dana,

Thank you! We have had great success. Dinner time is no longer a power struggle, my children eat if they want or not and I have stopped stressing about it.

Much to my pleasure they are trying new foods and discussing what they like and don't. Meal times have become an enjoyable time together, the children contribute and make decisions for themselves which I have learnt to value.

It certainly isn't perfect... we still have a few two year old tantrums! The difference is I deal with the situation in a more positive manner thanks to your guidance. I highly recommend your program.

Kindest regards,

Mandy Eilbeck

Dear Dana,

I just want to say, the book has been fantastic, my little boy is now wanting to eat more vegies and enjoying them!

I told him “If you eat your veggies and try little things at a time, you will be able to see in the dark.” The funny thing to all this is that it actually works! When we go to bed a night time he says “Mummy, I really can see in the dark now because I eat my veggies!”

So, thank you! It has been going well at the dinner table, and he now even asks for more! Just thought I would share this as it really has made a difference.

Thank you,

Deidre Peeters

Dana,

Your Food Sense Program was extremely helpful to us. We have a 3 1/2 year old son and our main concern was that he wasn’t eating enough. He didn’t seem motivated to eat on his own so we continued to feed him well past the age when he could feed himself. We even resorted to putting in a DVD while he ate so that we could just “cram it in”. Horrible, I know.

However, after reading the Food Sense Program, we realized that when he got hungry enough he would feed himself. Lo andbehold, he did!

Food Sense alleviated many of my worries about the way a toddler eats. I understand now that they eat in cycles and as long as they get the basic requirements from most of the food groups most days of the week, they’ll be fine. My son is certainly not malnourished, nor is he overweight. His appetite waxes and wanes and we are fine with that. We offer new foods at least once a week, but are not frustrated if he doesn’t gobble them up. Food Sense helped me to relax when it comes to feeding my son and I have found that to be the most important piece of the program for me.

Even though I purchased the program many months ago, I still refer to it regularly for suggestions, refreshers, and ideas. We have found your advice with the Food Sense and the Sleep Sense programs to be sound, reasonable, and achievable. Thanks for all your hard work!

Sincerely,

Carol, Mark & Josiah