Your child's feeding challenges
make sense.
Stop guessing what to try next.
The EASE Framework helps you make sense of what is beneath your child’s feeding challenges so you can:
make confident decisions
reduce mealtime stress
support curiosity, connection, and progress
Created by award-winning pediatric occupational therapist and feeding specialist Brenda Chilstrom, OTR/L
30+ years helping children and families.
Maybe you're here because...
✓ Feeding has been hard since the very beginning.
✓ Your child only eats a handful of foods.
✓ Mealtimes feel unpredictable.
✓ You've tried the tips, tricks, rewards, and advice—but nothing seems to last.
✓ You're carrying the worry long after mealtime is over.
If you’re nodding along,
I’m glad you’re here.
Feeding doesn’t just happen at the table.
When your child is struggling to eat, feeding follows you everywhere.
You think about it while you’re grocery shopping.
You wonder whether to make one meal or two.
You pack “safe” foods before leaving the house.
You check restaurant menus before making plans.
You worry about school lunches, birthday parties, vacations, and holidays.
You lie awake wondering whether your child is getting enough nutrition.
You search for answers after everyone else has gone to bed.
And every time someone says,
“They’ll eat when they’re hungry.”
or
“Just stop making a second meal.”
you wonder if you’re somehow getting it wrong.
Let me reassure you.
You’re making the best decisions you can with the information you have because you love your child and want to help.
The problem isn’t that you aren’t trying hard enough.
The problem is that no one has given you a clear way to make sense of what you’re seeing.
And that’s exactly why I created the EASE Framework.
You’re not doing anything wrong.
There’s a reason feeding can feel so complicated.
Feeding is one of the most complex things your child learns to do.
It is shaped by much more than hunger or willingness.
Development, sensory experiences, feeding skills, emotions, health, relationships, routines, and the environment can all affect what happens at the table.
That’s why more tips, tricks, and one-size-fits-all advice often leave you feeling even more confused.
The EASE Framework helps you step back, make sense of the whole picture, and confidently choose a next step that fits your child.
A Different Way
The EASE Framework gives you a way to make sense of what is happening, recognize what matters most, and choose support that fits your child.
EASE isn’t a checklist or another collection of feeding tips.
to Move Forward
EXPLORE
“Why is this happening?”
Begin making sense of the challenge.
You’ll look beyond what is happening on the plate and begin noticing the sensory, developmental, emotional, medical, relational, and environmental factors that may be shaping your child’s eating.
The goal is not to solve everything at once. It is to gather better information before deciding what to do next.
ADAPT
“What can I change?”
Make sense of your role.
You’ll explore how expectations, pressure, routines, language, and everyday interactions can affect what happens around food.
Small changes can create more felt safety, connection, and room for curiosity to emerge.
SUPPORT
“What does my child need most right now?”
Make sense of where to focus.
You’ll learn how to organize what you are noticing and recognize whether your child may need more support with comfort, capacity, capability, development, or another part of the eating experience.
Instead of trying everything, you can choose a next step that fits your child.
ENJOY
“What does progress really look like?”
Make sense of progress.
You’ll begin noticing growth beyond bites: less tension, more communication, increased flexibility, greater participation, and a stronger sense of trust.
The goal is not a perfect eater or a perfect mealtime. It is a more confident parent, a more supported child, and more room for connection and enjoyment along the way.
The goal isn’t to become the perfect feeding parent.
It’s to become a confident one.
EASE gives you something different.
You don’t need more pressure, more guessing, or another list of strategies to work through.
You need a way to make sense of what you’re seeing so the support you choose fits your child.
Not more random tips.
A framework for making sense of what you’re seeing.
You don’t need another list of things to try.
EASE helps you step back, notice what matters, and choose a next step that fits your child.
Not focused on “fixing”.
Focused on finding the right fit.
The goal is not to make your child fit a strategy.
It is to choose support that fits your child, your relationship, and your real life.
Not built around one diagnosis.
Designed for the whole child.
Sensory differences, anxiety, development, health, feeding skills, neurodivergence, past experiences, and the environment can all shape eating.
EASE helps you make sense of how those pieces may be working together.
Not just more information.
Confidence you can use in real life.
Information is helpful.
Confidence grows when you can recognize what is happening and make thoughtful decisions—even when a meal does not go as planned.
You won’t leave EASE with one perfect strategy.
You’ll leave with a clearer way to decide what comes next.
EASE may be a good fit for your family if…
✓ You’re concerned about your child’s eating but aren’t sure where to begin.
✓ Your child is already in feeding therapy, and you want more clarity and confidence between sessions.
✓ Feeding therapy isn’t available, accessible, or financially possible for your family right now.
✓ You’re looking for a relationship-based approach that moves beyond pressure, rewards, and one-size-fits-all advice.
✓ You want guidance you can return to as your child grows, changes, and encounters new challenges.
You don’t need a diagnosis, a referral, or all the answers before you begin.
What begins to change when feeding starts to make sense
Real families come to feeding support with different stories, ages, and challenges. Here are just a few of the changes parents have described along the way.
Before working with Brenda, we had already tried many different therapists and approaches, and we still felt stuck. My son was very rigid about food and believed there was one right way to eat it, including exactly how much he should have.
Brenda helped us stop focusing only on getting him to eat and start looking at what he needed. She used his strengths, took away the pressure, and helped us change how we supported him at home.
Over time, he became more flexible, started listening to his body, and tried foods we never thought he would — including sunny-side-up eggs, pasta with sauce, and dips with new textures.
—Jordan, mom of an 11 year old
“He finally started thinking about food differently.”
My daughter had reflux and food sensitivities, and feeding had been difficult for a long time. Even when some of her medical symptoms were better controlled, eating did not suddenly become easy.
Through our work with Brenda, I began to see how her medical history, comfort, and feeding experiences were all connected. I finally understood why progress could come in waves and why she still needed support even when the medical concerns seemed more stable.
That helped me stop feeling so confused and gave me a much clearer way to support her.
— Anita, mom of an 18-month-old
“For the first time, I understood why feeding was still so hard.”
“I didn’t have to carry so much fear into every meal.”
I was constantly worried about how much my child was eating, and I didn’t realize how much that worry was showing up at the table.
Brenda helped me see what was happening without ever making me feel blamed. She gave me practical ways to take the pressure off and respond differently.
As I became calmer, my child did too. Mealtimes started to feel more connected, and I’m so grateful for the difference it made for our family.
— Parent of a 5-year-old
When feeding starts to make more sense, families begin to move forward with more clarity, confidence, and connection.
Designed for real life, not perfect schedules.
Real families don’t have uninterrupted hours to sit down and take a course.
That’s why EASE was designed to fit into the small moments of everyday life.
Learn in bite-sized lessons
The lessons are intentionally short and easy to follow, so you can learn in the moments you already have.
Watch while you’re waiting in carline.
Listen during practice.
Catch a lesson while folding laundry or preparing dinner.
Support to begin putting EASE into practice
As you move through EASE, you’ll have a place to bring questions, celebrate wins, and learn from real-life situations.
Live implementation and Q&A sessions help you apply the framework to your own child and family, with three months of support included in your enrollment.
Resources you’ll return to again and again
EASE includes practical guides, visual tools and downloadable resources to help you apply what you’re learning over time.
Making sense of feeding isn’t something you check off a list.
It’s something you continue building as your child grows and changes.
Support that fits into your life without becoming one more thing competing for your attention.
Everything included when you enroll in EASE
After your three months of included support, you’ll continue to have access to the EASE Academy and the free Raising Curious Eaters community. You may also choose an optional monthly support level for continued live guidance and additional resources.
✓ Ongoing access to the complete Eating with EASE Academy
✓ Bite-sized lessons you can watch from your phone, tablet, or computer
✓ Practical activities and downloadable tools
✓ Core Recipe Box resources that support the EASE program
✓ Access to the Raising Curious Eaters parent community
✓ Three months of live implementation and Q&A support
✓ Three months of access to eligible session recordings and enhanced community resources
Ready for feeding to make more sense?
You do not need to have everything figured out before you start.
Your EASE enrollment gives you the framework, resources, and live support to make sense of what your child needs and choose next steps with more confidence.
The Eating with EASE Academy
Ongoing EASE Access + 3 Months of Live Support
$595 paid in full
or
3 monthly payments of $209
✓ Ongoing access to the complete Eating with EASE Academy
✓ Bite-sized video lessons you can watch from any device
✓ Practical activities and downloadable tools
✓ Full access to EASE curriculum resources in the Recipe Box
✓ Access to the Raising Curious Eaters parent community
✓ Three months of live implementation and Q&A support
✓ Three months of access to session recordings and enhanced community resources
Your enrollment includes ongoing access to the Eating with EASE Academy, plus three months of live implementation support and enhanced community access. After that, you’ll continue to have access to the EASE curriculum and the free Raising Curious Eaters community.
The lessons give you the framework.
The resources and live support help you use it in real life.
Using the Step Up For Students FES-UA Scholarship?
Eligible families are able to use scholarship funds toward Eating with EASE through That Makes Sense OT.
Planning to use scholarship funding?
Reach out before enrolling, and we’ll walk through the process together.
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Absolutely. EASE is designed to complement feeding therapy, not replace it. It helps you make sense of what you are noticing between appointments so you can respond with more confidence at home and get more from the support your child is already receiving.
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EASE is a helpful place to start. It gives you a framework for looking beyond the food, noticing what may be affecting eating, and deciding what kind of support may fit your child.
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The strategies inside Eating with EASE are helpful for toddlers and young children who are still developing their eating skills, along with older children up to around age 12 who have anxiety and stress surrounding the feeding process.
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Yes! EASE was designed specifically to be adaptable for all populations struggling with eating. EASE is not built around one diagnosis. It considers the many factors that can affect eating, including sensory processing, development, feeding skills, emotions, medical history, neurodivergence, relationships, routines, and the environment.
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Yes! Families using the Step Up for Students FES-UA scholarship may use those funds for services and learning programs through That Makes Sense OT. If you plan to use scholarship funds, we can walk through the process together. Please use the pink button above this section for instructions.
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EASE is not a one-size-fits-all program because no single strategy works for every child. Instead, it helps you make sense of what may be underneath your child’s feeding challenges, strengthen your problem-solving, and choose approaches that fit your child and family.
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Your enrollment includes ongoing access to the Eating with EASE Academy and EASE curriculum resources. You’ll also receive three months of live implementation and Q&A support, session recordings, and enhanced community access. After that, you’ll continue to have access to the EASE curriculum and the free Raising Curious Eaters community.
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Some families benefit from more personalized guidance. Individual consultation, coaching, and therapy options may be available depending on your needs and location.
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After you enroll, you’ll receive instructions for accessing Eating with EASE inside the Raising Curious Eaters online community. That is where you’ll find the Academy lessons, EASE curriculum resources, session recordings, live support details, and parent community.
Your enrollment includes ongoing access to the EASE curriculum, along with three months of live implementation and Q&A support and enhanced community access.
Questions you might still have…
Recognized for Care That Puts Relationships First
Brenda Chilstrom, OTR/L
Brenda is a pediatric occupational therapist and feeding specialist with more than 30 years of experience supporting children and families. Her relationship-first, regulation-informed approach has earned recognition including the 2025 Early Intervention Master Clinician Award and multiple Best of Naples honors.
EASE brings together what she has learned from decades of helping families make sense of complex feeding challenges and find a more confident way forward.
Three-Time Winner
Best of Naples Occupational Therapy
Before you go…
If feeding has felt confusing or exhausting, it makes sense that you’ve been searching for answers.
You may have tried different strategies, read the articles, and still felt unsure about what will actually help your child.
Eating with EASE was created to help you make sense of the sensory, developmental, medical, emotional, and relational pieces that can shape your child’s eating experience.
When those pieces begin to make sense, you can carry less pressure into meals and move forward with more clarity and confidence.
You do not need to have all the answers before taking the next step.
I would be honored to help you find a clearer way forward.
— Brenda Chilstrom, OTR/L
Founder, That Makes Sense OT
Ready to begin?
Enroll in Eating with EASE and get the clarity, support, and next steps you’ve been looking for.
Live support, practical resources, short lessons when you need them most, and more hope for what comes next.
Copyright 2026-Brenda Chilstrom