Raise your hand if you have a HIGH CHAIR like this or something like it!!!! (you may not be able to see but at least half the people reading this blog are raising their hands!!)

I think this is one of the most common high chairs around!! Its affordable, durable, easy to clean and more BUT does it support the correct posture for eating? No, not really!
 
SO NOW WHAT? Don't feel like buying a new high chair? 
 
HERE ARE SOME HIGH CHAIR HACKS
(You can get creative with these too!!!)
 
👣FOOT REST HACKS
 
THERABAND
Take your sports band and tie it around the front two legs (at the right height for your child) to create a foot step!! Make sure it is nice and tight and wont slide down as soon as your child puts their feet on it. 
 
WOODEN PLANK
You can either make this yourself of buy one online. It is a wooden plank that can be attached to the hair chair legs to create a foot rest ! I have seen a few of these for sale on Etsy! 
 
DINING CHAIR
Simply slide a dining chair between the legs of the highchair (whatever angle works, usually from behind is best) creating a foot rest. This doesn't work for all as it depends on your chair and where your child's legs are reaching.
 
SPARE TRAY TABLE
Using an additional ikea high chair tray table, cut holes in each corner to fit the legs through and put at the height of your child's feet. 
 

If your high chair already has a foot rest but it is not at the right height you can also try:
PHONE BOOK
Secure 1 or more phone books to the existing phone books so your child can rest their feet on that

EXERCISE FOAM BLOCK
Secure an exercise block onto the existing foot rest for support. 
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↔️ HIP SUPPORT:
 
TOWELS
Place towels on the sides of your child to provide hip stability and reduce the width. 
 
HIGH CHAIR CUSHION
You can buy or make high chair inserts to give extra support. Depending on the size of your child you may need to add towels to this too. 
 
⚖ STABILITY:
 
DYCEM
This is a nonslip mat or roll that can be placed under your child's bottom. This is great for the kids that slide down or out the chair! It can also be used on the footrest to keep their feet still. 

As a general understanding, when we talk about feeding therapy, we are talking about treating difficulties with any aspect of eating and drinking. This can look different between children, it can be; refusal to eat, only eating very specific foods (shapes, colour, texture, flavor, temperature etc) or more of a physical difficulty related to muscle, tone or movement. Sometimes feeding difficulties can appear behavioral but are often associated with an underlying difficulty.

“Feeding and swallowing problems affect between 25 to 45 percent of typically developing children, though the prevalence is much higher (up to 80%) for children with other medical and behavioral disorders” (Caring for children with feeding disorders, n.d.)

A child with difficulty feeding or eating can be extremely stressful for the child, the parents and the whole family.
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Each child is different and there isn’t one specific cause. Some feeding/eating difficulties begin at birth and others develop later on and are usually identified in the toddler years. Some known causes are:

• Underlying medical condition
• Developmental disorders
• Physiological condition
• Physical (e.g. poor tone)
• Sensory
• Introduction of a feeding milestone too early
• Negative feeding experience

There are also populations more at risk of developing feeding and/or eating difficulties including; certain syndromes (e.g. Down Syndrome, ASD), premature babies, or children with complex medical issues.
 
The earlier we can start working with the children who need support, the better the outcomes. Children who are having difficulty feeding/eating can be consuming less calories and not meeting their nutritional requirements. Children need to be meeting their nutritional requirements for optimal growth and development, which is extremely important in the early years.
 
Each child is unique and will require a unique Feeding Therapy plan which takes into account the WHOLE picture.

A speech sound disorder or delay is a type of communication difficulty which is due to the inability/difficulty to produce 1 or more of the speech sounds accurately. 

Children will learn to produce different speech sounds at different ages. 
When a child continues to have difficulty producing a speech sound, beyond the expected age, this is considered a Speech Sound Delay or Disorder. 

There are different kinds of Speech Sound Disorders, such as; 

• Articulation 
• Phonological 
• Motor/neurological (dysarthria, apraxia)
• Structural (cleft, other structural deficits)
• Perceptual (hearing impairment

The Speech Therapy approach is based on the type of Speech Sound Disorder the child is displaying.

At HaMakor, we are trained not only in traditional speech therapy approaches but also Oral Placement Therapy (OPT). This is a particularly useful approach for children who have had difficulty progressing when using traditional therapy, most likely due to placement or movement deficits. For more information about OPT click here. ​