Therapy Training On-Site

The Golden Rule of Feeding

Hands On Learning Feeds Success

While we wait for the next group of children to arrive here at Shepherd’s Field, we have been utilizing the time to focus on specialized training. Our SFCV Therapy Team has started a series of training programs for our workers, and the first one, led by Katy Everhart, took place in late January. This program was focused on proper procedures and techniques for safe feeding. This is a very crucial subject and we worked with our nannies in small groups over five days. They learned more in-depth the importance of feeding children (1) in the correct position (2) at a slow and regulated rate (3) with developmentally appropriate foods in order to prevent choking and aspiration. The sessions were a lot of fun as the nannies participated in hands-on exercises and took turns feeding each other heaping spoonfuls of rice to help demonstrate the difference in appropriate portions and feeding rates. It was great to see how engaged in the program they were. At the end of the very first session, one of the nannies summed up the training perfectly when she said, “I get it! I should feed the children the way I would want to be fed.” Bravo to our hard-working nannies!

We also travel to orphanages to visit our kids and provide therapeutic education to caregivers. Check it out!