Feeding Difficulties in Young Children: A Policy and Practice Framework

<p dir="ltr">The <b>Feeding Difficulties Conceptual Framework </b>provides a structure for multidisciplinary collaboration, supporting individualised, context-sensitive, family-centred, and inclusive care. Early, evidence-based, individualised support can transform feeding into a foundation for better health, development, and child and caregiver wellbeing.</p><p dir="ltr">Launched in 2025, the Framework is the first guideline to take into account the diverse experiences of families, which may be shaped by culture, location, and systemic barriers. The Framework is grounded in the outcomes of <a href="https://scholars.latrobe.edu.au/amudholkar" target="_blank">Dr Asmita Mudholkar’s</a> PhD, which investigated factors associated with feeding difficulties in young children. One of her studies specifically examined the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of <b>paediatricians, General Practitioners, child health nurses, and early childcare workers in identifying feeding difficulties in infants and young children (0–2 years)</b>. At the time, there were no studies exploring the practices of Australian early childhood practitioners in identifying and referring children with feeding difficulties for treatment, which led to the development of this new conceptual framework.</p><p><br></p><p dir="ltr">© Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, 2025</p>