Feeding Tubes for Children: Benefits, Challenges, and Pathways to Weaning

Feeding tubes provide essential nutrition for children who cannot eat by mouth, offering life-saving support while addressing medical needs, but understanding their benefits, potential complications, and the process of transitioning off them is crucial for families and caregivers.

Feeding provide a way for kids to get the nutrition they need by bypassing the swallowing process entirely. In fact, it’s estimated that 2.7–5.6% of children rely on feeding tubes for their nutrition. Common indications for tube feeding include feeding disorders and nutritional needs related to prematurity, neurodevelopmental disorders, congenital malformations, metabolic disorders, and chromosomal abnormalities.

However, feeding tubes can come with some challenges, including:

• Increased risk of medical complications

• Higher healthcare costs

• Delayed swallow development

• Food aversions

• Difficulty with hunger regulation

• Missed opportunities during critical developmental windows

For these reasons, when it’s possible, transitioning a child off a feeding tube can be a great step forward. Speech-language pathologists can use a variety of strategies—or a combination of approaches—to help children move toward oral eating.

Every plan good tube weaning plan should be tailored to the child’s unique needs and family circumstances.

If you’d like to learn more about tube weaning or ways to improve your child’s oral eating while they’re using a feeding tube, we’d love to help! Contact us through our website, we’re here to chat.

What are adenoids and how do they impact my child?

Adenoids & Children

Adenoids can be amazing! These lymphatic tissues, located at the back of the nasal passage, play a vital role in the immune system by helping the body combat infections and germs. However, excessively enlarged adenoids can pose significant challenges. When they grow too large, they can obstruct the airway, making nasal breathing difficult. This can impact facial development, speech, and feeding skills. An obstructed airway may also lead to harmful oral habits, such as thumb or finger sucking.

What Does This Have to Do with Speech Therapy? 

Speech therapists with training in orofacial myology are skilled at identifying signs of enlarged adenoids or persistent maladaptive breathing patterns. These airway issues are often at the core of the speech and feeding challenges children experience. By targeting the root cause, therapy provides patients with lasting relief from speech and feeding difficulties they may have thought were insurmountable.

My Adenoids Story:

From the start, my daughter faced challenges with feeding—she often choked and struggled to maintain a latch. She was frequently sick, loved sucking her thumb, and primarily breathed through her mouth. As she grew, these red flags continued, giving me the confirmation I needed to schedule a visit with an ENT.

The ENT confirmed my suspicions, her adenoids were severely enlarged and completely blocking her airway. After surgery, the transformation was incredible—my daughter quickly became a happier, healthier version of herself. Now, we’re focusing on developing a nasal breathing pattern to support proper facial development, which is key for clear speech and effortless eating.

I am so grateful for my knowledge of airway health. It has allowed me to positively impact the lives of so many patients—and most importantly, it gave me the tools to help my own daughter thrive.

What You Can Do:

If your child is struggling with speech or feeding difficulties, reach out to Green Light. We will uncover the root cause of their problem and collaborate with the family to solve the issue once and for all.

Make Screen Time a Language-Learning Activity

The week between Christmas and New Years our children are off from school. Keeping our kids entertained, happy, and safe, without the activities we enjoyed pre-covid, can feel nearly impossible. Screen time is inevitable and that’s ok. Screen time does not have to be a total waste. By following the pointers below, you can make screen time a fun, language-learning activity! 

• Label the nouns (people/ characters, places, and things) you see on the screen.

• Label the verbs (action words) depicted on the screen.

• Talk about what the onscreen characters are doing or what they look like. Then pause and say, “your turn.” Wait and see what your child says.

  
  

Children learn language by listening to what we say. By labeling the characters, the things, and the actions you see on screen you are giving them the language input needed to understand words. By saying, “your turn,” and waiting, you are encouraging them to talk!

Making screen time a language-learning activity is a great thing to do. However, if you are concerned about your child’s ability to understand words or their ability to talk, it is best to contact a Green Light speech-language pathologist. Green Light offers early intervention services and guarantees progress. For more information about how Green Light can serve your child, give us a call- let’s chat!