Feeding Spotlight: Nuby Monster Snack Keeper
by Taryn Alper, MA, CCC-SLP/TSSLD
A significant portion of my caseload includes children who are picky or restrictive eaters. Restrictive eaters can have what’s diagnosed as a pediatric feeding disorder. Feeding Matters defines pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) as “impaired oral intake that is not age-appropriate and is associated with medical, nutritional, feeding skill, and/or psychosocial dysfunction.” For my young clients who have a sensory-based feeding disorder – meaning a significant breakdown in trying foods or drinks based on how their different sensory systems react – I recommend the Nuby Monster Snack Keeper pictured above to work on interacting with or touching food (Amazon affiliate link; $5.99 at time this post was published).
Many families ask me why a child won’t simply put a new food in their mouth and be done with it. In my practice I follow the SOS Approach to Feeding hierarchy which uses steps to eventually introduce a new food by mouth. This approach works by introducing food from distal (away from the midline of the body like tolerating an item on a plate) to proximal (towards the midline of the body to the mouth). I use this snack keeper once a child’s ready to interact with or touch a new food. The “snack monster” can be fed food put on a utensil, minimizing any touching if the child’s not ready for that step. The snack keeper can also be finger fed a new food. In my experience, I’ve seen kids eventually try the food that they’ve also been feeding the fun monster. This snack keeper offers a safe place for the food to go if a child’s not ready to give something a taste or if they’ve had enough of an item.
I also use this snack keeper as a learning tool for how to teach tongue lateralization and chewing or how to use their molars to bite (pictured below). After modeling repeatedly on the snack keeper and with the child, the new behavior sticks.
The Nuby Monster Snack Keeper not only securely holds in snacks, but you can also move the monster’s arms to celebrate a feeding victory! In terms of durability, the silicone teeth/flaps are built to last and are soft for tiny hands. I haven’t had any trouble twisting the top off to clean the two pieces. The cup is meant to be hand washed, not put in the dishwasher.
I recommend speaking with a pediatric occupational therapist for other dishes or utensil changes that you can make to create an optimal environment during mealtime. Your child or client might like the snack keeper as part of a bundle with a matching monster cup (Amazon affiliate link; $16.99 at time this post was published). This friendly “snack monster” has become a game changer for my feeding families, and I hope it’ll help you as well.