In Collaboration with the Texas Head Start Collaboration Office
Inclusive mealtimes - a free Webinar Series
Support avoidant (picky) eaters, sensory and autistic children, and children who are just getting used to being at the table with practical mealtime strategies for Educators, Health Teams, Program Staff, and Families.
September 24: 10:00 - 11:00 am CT (FREE)
Transforming Mealtimes: Supporting Autistic & Sensory Kids in Head Start
Join Natalia Stasenko, Pediatric RD, for a 1-hour webinar where we’ll explore complex feeding challenges in children, unpack key drivers behind avoidant eating, and equip you with actionable strategies to ease mealtime distress. Hosted by the Texas Head Start Association.
October 8: 10:00 - 11:00 am CT (FREE)
Onboarding Children to Family Style Meals
Now that we are back to school, eating in a communal setting can be hard for some children, especially those who are not used to eating at a table, sensory, and avoidant eaters. Get practical tips on supporting kids to ease into and start enjoying family-style meals in your program.
Oct 22: 10:00 - 11:00 am CT (FREE)
Supporting Picky Eaters for Caregivers
Some kids are genuinely, deeply hard to feed — and often caregivers think it’s their fault. This webinar helps understand what’s behind the avoidant (picky) eating and how accepted foods and family style meals can support children to participate in meals.
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What you’ll walk away with
A clear explanation of why some children eat the way they do, including how sensory processing, anxiety, and neurodevelopment shape food behavior in ways that have nothing to do with pickiness or bad habits
A new way to talk about selective eating that reduces family blame and opens the door to real support
Practical, concrete language shifts you can use in the classroom, at mealtimes, and in conversations with families, starting the next day
Confidence to recognize when a child's eating challenges go beyond what typical guidance can address, and what to do next
Meet your speaker
Natalia Stasenko
Founder, Pediatric Registered Dietitian, and mom of three
Natalia, Georgetown Thrive Center Innovation Fellow, specializes in responsive feeding, picky eating, and feeding children with sensory differences and neurodivergence. Natalia’s work is grounded in the latest feeding research, and her experience working with families and early childhood programs.
A Deep Dive into Understanding Kids' Mealtime Challenges
You know the child. The one who gags at the sight of certain foods. Who eats the same four things, every single day, without exception. Who shuts down completely at the table, or melts down before the meal even starts. You've tried encouragement. You've tried food play. You've tried everything the handouts suggest.
It didn't work because those strategies weren't built for this child.
Many of the kids educators find hardest to feed are wired differently. They may be autistic, sensory-sensitive, anxious, or still undiagnosed, but their relationship with food is real, it's complex, and it requires a different kind of understanding.
These webinars are about Understanding & Strategies
For early childhood educators, Head Start and Early Head Start staff, program directors, family support workers, and anyone who eats lunch with kids and wonders why on earth won't they just try it.
No nutrition background required.