There's an app for that!

 

As of this year, there are over 3 million apps available on the app stores. (1)

There's practically an app for everything now!

As a Registered Dietitian at Duke I had the privilege to work with a group of doctors to develop a diabetes care app. Through that app development experience, I was totally inspired to create something that is very relevant to my own area of expertise: childhood nutrition.

I had spent years learning about "balanced nutrition", "medical nutrition therapy", "motivational interviewing to support behavior change", and "division of responsibility to address feeding struggles" ... all of which have contributed strongly to my nutrition practice. 

However, I was continuously faced with feedback from parents that their children wouldn't want to follow through with nutrition recommendations at home. It wasn't as easy as just explaining what to do, or knowing effective ways to handle a situation, or how to prepare healthy foods in a tasty way... no, the struggle went beyond these cerebral-topics. Parents were trying their very best and yet finding that their children still wouldn't want to eat a balanced meal or participate in the nutrition plan that was recommended by their medical team. And of course a child's dietary intake is ultimately up to them! A caregiver's job is to provide good food/drink options, and it is the child's choice to eat/drink what is offered or not. So instead of forcing anyone to do something they don't want to, I wanted to figure out a way to inspire kids to WANT to eat healthfully! (Which of course can mean something different for everyone - Tiny Tastes doesn't endorse any specific dietary plan, but is meant to be used with a parent's discretion as a tool to promote positive food experiences.)

Parents work so hard to take care of their families. Face lots of challenges.
So I wanted to create something that would help make their job easier, and also bring some positivity to a situation that can sometimes be a struggle for families. 

I designed Tiny Tastes to be a useful real-world tool for parents and caregivers to use with children at home, to help introduce new healthy foods and/or to increase a child's interest in following through with feeding recommendations from their medical team. 

Tiny Tastes can be useful for the typical child who just needs a little extra incentive to taste new fruits & veggies, or the more selective eater who is hesitant to try new foods in general... as well as for children with more specific medical nutrition therapy needs. 


For more information about using the app, please visit our website to learn about the variety of children who could benefit from Tiny Tastes. We are almost finished with app development, so stay tuned for the big announcement!


(1) http://www.statista.com/statistics/276623/number-of-apps-available-in-leading-app-stores/