Personalized Nutrition Support for Children, Teens, and Families
When your child is struggling with food, growth, digestive symptoms, or a medical condition, it can be difficult to know what advice to follow.
You may worry that your child is not eating enough, eating only a limited number of foods, gaining or losing weight unexpectedly, or becoming anxious around meals.
Our registered dietitians take the time to understand your child’s health, eating patterns, symptoms, routines, preferences, and developmental needs. Then we create a realistic nutrition plan that supports your child without making food more stressful for the family.
What Makes Our Pediatric Nutrition Care Different?
We Listen Without Judgment
We Protect Your Child’s Relationship with Food
We Make the Plan Work for Your Family
Recommendations need to work at home, at school, during sports, and on busy days. We help you make practical changes without expecting your family to follow a rigid or unrealistic routine.
We Work with Your Child’s Healthcare Team
When appropriate, we can coordinate with pediatricians, specialists, therapists, feeding professionals, and other members of your child’s care team.
What to Expect
1. Schedule an Appointment
Choose an available appointment and provide your contact and insurance information.
2. Complete the Intake Forms
3. Meet With the Dietitian
Your dietitian will listen to your concerns, review your child’s history, and identify the first priorities. Your child must be present for at least part of the appointment, including infants. It is often also helpful for the dietitian to have one-on-one time with the parent or caregiver during part of the visit.
Pediatric Nutrition Care That Looks at the Whole Child
Children and teens need more than a generic meal plan. Their nutrition can be affected by growth, sensory preferences, appetite, digestion, medications, school schedules, sports, sleep, stress, and past experiences with food. We look beyond what your child eats to understand what may influence their health and eating habits.
Pediatric nutrition care may help with:
- Picky eating
- ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder)
- Pediatric weight management
- Poor appetite
- Disordered eating
- Food anxiety
- Body image concerns
- Emotional eating
- Digestive symptoms
- Constipation or diarrhea
- Food allergies or intolerances
- Celiac disease
- Diabetes or prediabetes
- Insulin resistance
- PMOS/PCOS in adolescents
- High cholesterol
- Sports nutrition
- Nutrient deficiencies
- Family meal challenges
You do not need to know exactly what is causing your symptoms before scheduling an appointment. Your dietitian will help you look at the different factors that may be affecting how you feel.
Pediatric Nutrition Care Is Not About Creating a Perfect Eater
The goal is not to force your child to eat every food or make every meal look perfect.
The goal is to support growth, address health concerns, reduce stress, and help your child develop skills they can carry into adulthood.
Small, realistic changes can make a meaningful difference in your child’s health and your family’s daily life.
Insurance May Cover Pediatric Nutrition Counseling
Many insurance policies include Medical Nutrition Therapy or preventive nutrition benefits for children and teens. Coverage varies based on your specific policy, diagnosis, referral requirements, deductible, copay, coinsurance, visit limits, and other plan rules.
Our team will review the information available after you schedule and complete the required intake forms.
Common Questions About Pediatric Nutrition Care
What happens during the first pediatric nutrition appointment?
Your dietitian will review your child’s health history, growth, eating patterns, symptoms, routines, medications, and family concerns. The first visit is also an opportunity to identify priorities and begin creating a practical nutrition plan.
Should my child attend the appointment?
My child's pediatrician said they need to lose weight. Can you help?
Yes. It’s common for parents to leave a pediatrician’s visit worried and wanting to act quickly. We take your child’s health seriously, but we don’t put kids on weight-loss diets. Children are still growing, so our focus is helping them grow into their weight over time rather than lose it.
Restricting food during childhood can backfire. It often leads to more food preoccupation, sneaking food, and a higher risk of disordered eating later on. Instead, we work with the whole family on the things that actually shape long-term health: regular meals and snacks, balanced plates, sleep, movement your child enjoys, and a home environment where food and bodies aren’t a source of shame.
Progress may look different than you expect. We look for steadier growth over time, improved labs like blood sugar or cholesterol, better energy, and more peaceful mealtimes. These changes take time, and that’s what makes them last.
Can you help with picky eating and ARFID?
Yes. We help families understand what may be contributing to limited food variety and create gradual, realistic strategies for expanding foods without pressure or shame.
We have a structured approach for introducing foods and expanding the child’s diet.
Will you put my child on a diet?
Our goal is not to place children on restrictive diets unless a medical condition requires specific nutrition changes. We focus on growth, nourishment, symptoms, habits, and your child’s relationship with food rather than appearance or a number on the scale.
Can you help children with digestive symptoms?
Yes. Pediatric nutrition counseling may help with constipation, diarrhea, bloating, abdominal discomfort, food intolerances, celiac disease, and other digestive concerns. Your dietitian will also recommend medical follow-up when symptoms need further evaluation.
Do you work with teenagers?
Yes. We support adolescents with concerns such as sports nutrition, diabetes, insulin resistance, PMOS/PCOS, food anxiety, and digestive symptoms.
Do you work with children who have restrictive eating patterns or a disordered body image?
Yes. Our team includes dietitians who specialize in helping children and teens who are struggling with their relationship with food or their body. That can look like rigid food rules, fear of certain foods, sneaking or hiding food, or worry about weight or shape. We work with the whole family to rebuild trust and flexibility around food. Every child is screened at intake. If we see signs of an eating disorder that needs a higher level of care, or a medical concern that needs closer monitoring, we’ll tell you honestly and help you connect with the right specialist or treatment team.
How many appointments will my child need?
The number of appointments depends on your child’s concerns, health history, goals, and progress. Follow-up visits allow the dietitian to adjust the plan, monitor growth and symptoms, and support the family through challenges.
Research recommends approximately 26 hours of nutrition counseling over the course of a year to support pediatric weight management.
Are virtual pediatric appointments available?
Virtual appointments may be available depending on your location, insurance policy, your child’s needs, and provider availability.
Does insurance cover pediatric nutrition care?
Many plans include nutrition benefits, but coverage varies. Benefits may depend on the diagnosis, referral requirements, deductible, copay, coinsurance, visit limits, and other policy rules.