
According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 13.5% of U.S. households were food insecure at some time during 2023. Unfortunately, food-related trauma is a common challenge for many children who have entered the foster care system. Whether it’s an aversion to a particular type of food, fear that there won’t be enough food, or a tendency to overeat and hoard food, there are many behaviors a child may exhibit as a result of their past experiences. When these behaviors occur, it’s important to meet them with curiosity and kindness.
Madison Tyler, a foster and adoptive parent who has been a pediatric dietitian for 13 years, is here to help us understand more about a child’s relationship with food.
Madison and her husband became foster parents in 2017. Over the years, they have welcomed and witnessed reunification for several children. Today, Madison integrates her professional expertise with her personal experience to help families navigate food challenges, build trust, and foster connection around the table.
In this episode, you’ll hear strategies you can use to respond to some of the most common challenges foster and adoptive parents encounter around food, what a Harvard study says is the single most important factor in determining a person’s health and longevity, practical tips for helping your child develop a positive relationship with food, and much more.
TAKEAWAYS FROM TODAY’S CONVERSATION:
1. Any child can have a negative relationship with food.
If food was used as a punishment, if meals were scarce, or if a child was forced to eat a certain food over and over because it was the only thing available, they can easily develop aversions to certain food items. As foster or adoptive parents, we need to be understanding when helping a child navigate mealtime. It’s important to avoid putting too much pressure on a child to eat certain food and be willing to offer them assurances that there will always be food on the table.
“Our relationship with food is one of the earliest relationships that we will have for the rest of our lives.’”
2. Model a positive relationship with food.
One of the greatest strategies you can use to help a child who is struggling with food is to model what a positive relationship looks like. Try to steer clear of traditional parenting tactics like forcing a child to clean their plate or eat everything that is served to them. These approaches can further harm a child’s relationship with food.
“Even positive pressure tactics don’t work. The best thing we can do for our kids is model a healthy relationship with food.”
3. Building relationship is more important than what a child eats.
Instead of stressing out about what a child is going to eat, prioritize the precious bonding opportunities you have when you plan meals, cook them, and sit down at the table together. It’s normal to be concerned about whether or not the child in your care is receiving a wide variety of nutrients, but the truth is, sometimes children just want comfort food when they find themselves in a new or unfamiliar place. You haven’t failed as a parent if your child only wants to eat chicken nuggets for a week—if you remain patient with their requests and curious about where these preferences are coming with, you can start to build trust with them. And when trust is built, children will be more likely to branch out and put new things on their plate.
“We care more that they are with us at the table than even if they are eating.”

Meet Our Guest
Madison Tyler is a pediatric dietitian as well as a foster and adoptive parent. Driven by a deep passion for helping others navigate food-related challenges, much of her professional experience comes from working for the world’s leading pediatric cancer research hospitals where she supported patients and families with optimizing nutrition during cancer treatment. She started her journey as a foster parent in 2017. Since then, she’s become an adoptive parent to one daughter through fostering and a second daughter through international adoption. As a foster and adoptive mom, Madison integrates her professional expertise with her personal experience to help families navigate food challenges, build trust, and foster connection around the table.
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