DFWChild Dallas/Collin Edition April 2020

DALLAS + COLLIN EDITION

APRIL 2020

MEET ALEX SNODGRASS OF THE DEFINED DISH IS BREAKFAST THE NEW FAMILY MEAL?

+

THE FOOD ISSUE

FIGHTING FOOD WHEN YOUR CHILD WON’T EAT

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pages / A P R I L

2020

13 DALLAS + COLLIN EDITION

DEPARTMENTS NOTED 9 Breakfast Club

Try a different approach to the family meal

REAL MOMS 13 Mom Next Door / Alex Snodgrass

The North Texan behind The Defined Dish on her bestselling cookbook, life in the spotlight and simple, healthy recipes 16 Briefs / Delectable Favorites Our Mom Next Door shares her top picks for the kitchen

18 Routines / Erin Cluley

This art gallery owner and mom puts her day on display

KID CULTURE 27 Cooking Lessons

Why you should empower your kids in the kitchen (and how to do it)

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ABOVE // Alex Snodgrass, the foodie who created The Defined Dish, stays busy with her culinary brand and two daughters.

FEATURE 20 Food Fighter

MOM NEXT DOOR: COURTESY OF ALEX SNODGRASS; COOKING: ©ISTOCK; MOM TRUTH: MARY DUNN; FOOD FIGHTER & SYDNEY: CINDY JAMES

What to do when your child just won’t eat words Carrie Steingruber

ON THE COVER

38 COLUMNS Cover Kid: Sydney, 8 Photography: Cindy James / Alyssa Pizer Management Hair & Makeup: Lisa Williams / Independent Artist Agency Art Direction/Styling: Heather Vance Devers

6 Hello / Deep Breaths

Adjusting to our new reality words Heather Vance Devers

38 Confessions / Mom Truths

Impromptu public dances and other LOL parenting moments dfwchild.com / april 2020

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hello / E D I T O R ’ S

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ABOVE // Heather Vance Devers in her home with her daughter, Betty, and son, Jude.

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Let us know what’s on your mind. editorial@dfwchild.com

I

T’S HARD TO KNOW where to begin. While our April issue centers on food, it feels silly to talk about anything besides the state of our world due to COVID-19. My husband and I are working from home while also attempting to teach our 5-year-old her kindergarten lessons and keep our 2-year-old son entertained.

Y’all, it’s a lot. The first few days we stayed in our pajamas, ate Oreos and ignored bedtimes. That was fun, but I quickly realized we were going to need some sort of structure to function in our (hopefully temporary) new normal. We’re now all getting dressed each day and brushing our teeth, because even if we’re not seeing anybody but each other, I want us to keep a sense of semi-normalcy.

Earlier today, my husband and I took a walk with our kids to look at bugs and all the flowers blooming. For them, it was a mini-adventure; for me, it was a nice break to feel the sun on my face. Yesterday, to teach my daughter basic math (and the value of money), I created “house money” and told her that she could do chores to earn money, which she could then use to “buy” things like string cheese or bubbles. She was eager to help me fold laundry and feed the cats, and I didn’t have to nag to get help with housework.

I’m doing my best to stay positive, because our kids’ worlds will look different for months—maybe indefinitely—after this. My daughter won’t have the party we envisioned for her sixth birthday in early April, but I’m going to decorate our house, have a virtual party with some of her friends and ask a local baker to drop a cake on our porch. I’m trying to support small businesses, since they are getting hit hard right now. These are uncertain times, and it’s a victory just to keep the wheels on.

The silver lining that I am seeing to all of this is a change in people, a sense of community that our world desperately needed.

My neighborhood Facebook page, typically filled with posts about people driving too fast or not picking up after their dogs, announced a “Chalk Your Walk” next week—we are all going to decorate our driveways with inspiring messages and beautiful pictures to lift everyone’s spirits. I have heard from a ton of friends this week, setting up FaceTime calls and sharing songs or memes to help spread happiness. I’ve seen families offering to help at-risk neighbors get supplies or medication. This virus has made us all realize what is really important: our connection to one another, even if it is from afar. I hope this is something that changes our culture for the better and creates a more kind and supportive world for our children.

Wishing you good health,

Heather Vance Devers 6

april 2020 / dfwchild.com

PHOTOGRAPHY BY KORENA SINNETT

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BREAKFAST CLUB start the day around the table WORDS

ALEXIS PATTERSON

F

AMILIES SEEM BUSIER THAN EVER these days. Kids fill their evenings with homework, sports and other extracurricular activities. Parents can’t always punch out of work at 5pm. And maybe Mom or Dad wants to catch a spin class or yoga session after wrapping up at the office. Getting everyone around the dinner table on a consistent basis can feel like herding those proverbial cats.

And yet there are so many reasons to make time to eat together. “Regular family meals are associated with lower rates of depression, anxiety, substance abuse, behavioral problems in school and teen pregnancy—those are just some of the benefits,” says Anne Fishel, Ph.D., executive director of The Family Dinner Project and associate clinical professor at Harvard Medical School. “A shared mealtime gives kids a chance to connect with their parents and feel a bond.

It’s that bond that’s so protective.” dfwchild.com / april 2020

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noted / B R E A K F A S T

CLUB

But with everyone going in different directions in the evenings—an issue that often becomes more pronounced as kids get older— how do you ensure that bond is developed?

“Breakfast is our go-to answer for families who say they can’t do dinner,” explains Fishel, whose organization developed The Family Breakfast Project initiative. “A shared family meal is a shared family meal. Any of those count in terms of benefits.”

“We built out The Family Breakfast Project with the idea that if you get up the first time your alarm goes off, you’ll have at least seven minutes you can devote to a family breakfast,” says Fishel. “It’s less about quantity than quality. It’s about the atmosphere around the table.

It doesn’t have to be perfect in terms of length, what you’re serving, impeccable manners—it’s about the connection.”

If your kids are cranky when they get up, it’s best to have a few tricks at the ready. The THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL Family Breakfast Project recommends everyBreakfast really does have the potential to be thing from creating a special morning playlist the most important meal of the day in terms with your kiddos’ favorite tunes to playing silly of nutrition. “When you’re sleeping, your practical jokes in order to get them going. The body is in ‘power save’ mode. So you need to Family Breakfast Project webpage also offers jumpstart your metabolism in the morning,” conversation topics, crafts, quick and healthy says Jacie Slocum, an recipes, and more Aramark dietitian at ideas that make breakBaylor Scott & White fast easier and more All Saints Medical fun (thefamilydinnerCenter in Fort Worth. project.org/the-familyDietitian Jacie Slocum suggests these breakfast-project).

“Lean protein and foods packed with Slocum emphasizoptions for a quick, healthy meal: fiber will provide the es that you can make Build-your-own yogurt parfait: Plain Greek calories you need and time for these things yogurt or low-fat strawberry yogurt with fuel your body.” while still having a an assortment of toppings (berries, low-fat Slocum adds healthy morning meal. granola, nuts, cereal) that ensuring a good “Have those foods breakfast doesn’t mean Dressed-up frozen waffle: Frozen waffle, readily available,” she toasted and topped with a nut butter or lowpreparing a gourmet advises. “Set fruit out, fat cottage cheese and fruit spread. “It can be have pre-portioned Toast and a little extra: Whole grain toast, something small, but cups of yogurt—even topped with peanut butter and banana having breakfast will just a banana and Breakfast tacos: Corn or whole-grain tortillas, peanut butter is increase your energy scrambled eggs, turkey sausage, cheese, salsa throughout the day.” good. You can have Egg bites: Eggs cracked in muffin tins, your She notes that breaka healthy breakfast favorite toppings (turkey sausage, cheese, fast also is associated without a lot of time.” tomatoes, etc.) with less calorie conMoms can also Naturally sweetened cereal: Hot or cold sumption throughout invest more time in whole grain cereal, low-fat or fat-free milk, the day (especially advance. “Sunday was fruit or a teaspoon of honey during nighttime baking day in our hours), a decrease in family,” Slocum says. diabetes and weight, “You can make homeand better performance in school. made breads and freeze them so they’re availAnd if you want those benefits for your able throughout the week. Your kids can help kids, Fishel suggests you pull up a chair. “Kids you bake, and that engages children more.” are more likely to eat breakfast if parents are eating too,” she says.

EAT TOGETHER—WHENEVER

Even if you have to get up earlier than usual, JUST SEVEN MINUTES breakfast can be a little easier on moms and Sitting down to breakfast sounds so wholedads than dinner. In addition to typically some, but many moms (me included) have requiring less cooking, breakfast offers choices hectic mornings. Well, that’s putting it mildly. that are often more palatable to little palates.

Truth be told, we run around like our hair “Kids tend to really enjoy breakfast foods, so is on fire. We’re throwing together lunches, there’s less bellyaching about what’s being shoving on shoes as we head out to the car. served,” Fishel says. “It’s easier to focus on For my son and me, a family breakfast usually what’s happening around the table.” means we’re both cramming cereal into our Still, if breakfast just isn’t an option in your mouths on the way to school. So a sit-down house, and dinnertime is busy, Fishel says find meal where we have meaningful communicasome time to connect. “It doesn’t have to be tion—when would I find the time? the same meal every day,” she says. “Maybe It’s easier than you might think, accordyou can do breakfast once a week, a couple of ing to Fishel: Don’t hit the snooze button in dinners, a weekend brunch and an intentional the mornings. (“Guilty,” I admit during our family snack. It’s whatever is doable and enjoyconversation.) able for your family.”

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real moms.

RÉSUMÉ

AGE 32 HAILS FROM Celina LIVES IN Dallas KIDS Sutton, 7, and Winnie,

4 SIGNIFICANT OTHER Husband Clayton Snodgrass, real estate developer ALMA MATER Texas Christian University, where she earned a degree in history WHERE TO FIND HER TheDefinedDish.com, @TheDefinedDish and her cookbook The Defined Dish HER DREAM JOB AS A KID Counselor

SNODGRASS AND DAUGHTERS: COURTESY OF ALEX SNODGRASS

The kitchen is a happy place for Alex Snodgrass and her daughters.

mom next door /

ALEX SNODGRASS new york times bestselling author of the defined dish WORDS

HEATHER VANCE DEVERS

C

ONVINCING YOUR CHILDREN TO CHOOSE grain-free, gluten-free, dairyfree versions of their favorite Chick-fil-A nuggets or Taco Bell Crunch Wrap Supreme may seem like a far-fetched dream—but leave it to The Defined Dish’s Alex Snodgrass to make that happen. The North Texan’s New York Times bestselling cookbook is flying off the shelves, with fans leaving rave reviews like this one: “I own two cookbooks, and Alex’s is the second. Buy it. You won’t be disappointed.”

Snodgrass recently returned from a sold-out book tour, maintains a blog that covers everything from pantry prep to self-confidence, and has an Instagram following of 415,000.

Oh, and she’s also parenting two young girls with her husband Clayton, her college bestfriend-turned-sweetheart. Snodgrass describes life as “chaos—but the best kind.” dfwchild.com / april 2020

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cry just talking about it.

What has been the best feedback you’ve been given? People like my mom who have always been cooking for families say when you cook that much for your kids, it gets burdensome and old, and so the kids leave the house and [the parent starts to] hate cooking. They cooked so long and [were so busy] just trying to get everyone to bed that cooking isn’t fun anymore. It’s like another job. And now, with these recipes, they say, “I like cooking again.

It’s fun for me. For a while there, I was just eating; I was just done cooking. I don’t care if it’s chicken soup from the grocery store, I just don’t want to cook anymore.” So to be able to bring that spark back to the kitchen and help them love it again and feel rewarded when they put dinner on the table is really lovely.

What has been your biggest lesson in this whole process? Probably throughout the whole thing, it’s just being able to accept criticism a little bit more. When you’re putting yourself out there like I am—and with this many people that are following me and looking at me and seeing me—part of it is the negative side of it, the negative commentary that you get from it. It’s just people being a******* to be honest. Just picking at the littlest things that you can ever imagine. That has been a little bit hard for me, especially at first.

Some months are easier than others; it just depends on what the person said and how deep it cuts, what my mood is—but being able to realize it’s not worth my attention is something that I’ve had to learn throughout this time and not let it affect me. There’s been times I want to crawl under my bed and just cry for a couple days. When my book came out, just reading some of the negative reviews on Amazon … The positive far outweighed the negative; it’s just our human nature to focus on the negative. I had to be able to break through that and be like, This is so silly that I’m focusing on these people’s comments or reviews. I could be focusing on all these people that are lifting me up and supporting me and showing up for me in such big numbers. So that’s been the mind game. It’s been a learning experience for sure.

“IT’S JUST NICE TO PUT A FACE TO A NAME AND REALIZE THAT PEOPLE REALLY DO CARE.”

DFWChild.com Directory

DOCTORS

How did you start The Defined Dish? Originally The Defined Dish started because my sister [Madison]—and this is probably six years ago—had an Instagram account where she would share fitness workout videos, because she was a personal trainer. It was really kind of my sister’s idea to join forces and start a food and fitness blog, where I did the recipes and she did the fitness.

After about two years, my sister was getting married, and she decided that she didn’t want to do it anymore. At that point, we probably had about 10,000 followers, and I was really starting to like it and get the hang of things. I was like, “Oh, should I just stop too? This is taking up a lot of time and energy, and it’s not really going anywhere,” or I could actually shift it into business mode and try to turn it into my business.

So I went out on my own. I rebranded my site, made it easier to work and just really shifted into a foodfocused blog. It was just me running it. From there it just kind of took off. That’s really when The Defined Dish as it is today was born.

What is it like to have a New York Times bestselling cookbook? Was that your goal? It’s pretty awesome. It’s not really necessarily the goal because it’s so hard to get. I was kind of warned before the fact that the odds of getting that, even if you have a great-selling book, are so slim—because it’s not just based on numbers.

So when I got it, it was just like the icing on the cake— because even though my book was selling great, and all my fans were cooking out of it, and that was the goal, this was just like such a good prize to get on top of it. You know, it’s super rewarding.

What has been the most surreal part of this process? I think just the fact that it did so well.

Plus, putting on the book tour, I didn’t know if people were going to show up. I’ve never gone to D.C. or New York or Boston to do an event.

They showed up and sold out every venue.

It’s just nice to put a face to a name and realize that people really do care. My favorite thing that so many people said to me was that they’re so proud of me, because they’ve been following me for so long. They feel like they’re a part of it with me, which is really special. I

SNODGRASS: COURTESY OF ALEX SNODGRASS

for

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real moms / B R I E F S

DELECTABLE FAVORITES

alex snodgrass shares her culinary picks

MU S T-H AV E KITCH E N TO O L

2

H E R KI DS’ FAVO R ITE CO O KBO O K R ECI PE S g“Sutton would probably say the tomato soup, but

don’t add the basil, and cook it with a grilled cheese.

They both love—and this is another fan favorite from the book—the grain-free chicken nuggets, which taste like Chick-fil-A, in the kids chapter. You brine them in pickle juice. You brine them in a grain-free almond flour/tapioca combination with some spices and fry them in avocado oil. They’re delightful. They’re so good. I just put mine on a salad and I’m like, ‘Oh, I’m so healthy.’’’

H E R FAVO R ITE CO O KBO O K R ECI PE

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FA M I LY M E A L O UT (O R I N)

‘‘

WE REALLY LIKE JOSÉ. THEY HAVE THE WATERFALL AND THE PATIO OUTSIDE, AND WE LOVE HANGING OUT THERE. OUR OTHER HACK IS TO GO TO LA DUNI AT NORTHPARK BECAUSE YOU CAN SIT OUT IN THE COURTYARD. WE LET OUR KIDS ROAM—WE’RE THOSE PARENTS— AND THEY LOVE IT.

‘‘

1

HEATHER VANCE DEVERS

Editor’s note: José and La Duni McKinney

“The most cooked recipe thus far is probably the grain-free chicken no parmesan.” THE DEFINED DISH:

Ave. offer pickup and delivery services dur-

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Everything is wonderful, all their grain-free chips, tortillas, enchilada sauces, hot sauces; they have everything and they’re all wonderful. I just love the company, the people that run it too. I have a really good relationship with them, but first and foremost I love their products.” SIETE FOODS // sietefoods.com

SNODGRASS AND CHICKEN: COURTESY OF ALEX SNODGRASS; KNIFE: MADE IN; CHIPS: SIETE FOODS

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17

a saturday in the life of

ERIN CLULEY

Erin Cluley is the owner and director of Erin Cluley Gallery, a contemporary art gallery in the Dallas Design District. Originally from Wichita Falls, Cluley lives in Dallas with her husband Tearlach (who works in the film industry), their son Lachlan, 2, and dog Eleanor. Tearlach is Australian, so the family typically heads to Sydney twice a year to visit relatives; in fact, they just returned from a trip before the COVID-19 travel restrictions were in place.

7

AM Tearlach gives me a loving nudge telling me it’s time to get the day going.

Lachlan’s awake and chatting to himself in his room. I head to make toast, fruit, tea and milk—a pretty standard family-style breakfast in bed we do most Saturdays and Sundays.

7:10AM I bring breakfast to our bedroom, and Tearlach goes in to get Lachie. This is one of my favorite times of the week. No distractions, the three of us together. We put music on, eat, talk and laugh.

7:40AM Lachlan gets dressed for swim class.

7:55AM I send my guys out the door for swim.

Time to get myself ready for the day. I work in the gallery on Saturdays, and we have an opening reception tonight for a new exhibition.

7:56AM What should I wear for the opening?

I’m always searching for the perfect combo of comfy and chic.

8:10AM Shower, throw on jeans and gather all my things for the day.

8:35AM Then head out the door to meet up

with Tearlach and Lachlan.

8:40AM I arrive just in time to watch the last five minutes of Lachlan’s swim class. Seeing his little eyes light up when he sees me will never get old.

Class ends, and I help Tearlach wrangle Lachlan.

8:50AM I put Lachie in my car, and we head over (in two cars) to one of our favorite Australian coffee shops—LDU on Fitzhugh.

9:05AM Our friend Mark, LDU owner, greets us at the register. Two almond milk lattes, a babyccino (a very common Aussie treat for kids— steamed milk dusted with cinnamon or cocoa) and a ham and cheese toastie for the three of us to share. Lachlan finds his usual seat on the bench at the front of the shop. He loves people watching.

9:45AM I kiss both my guys goodbye and head to the gallery. Tearlach and Lachlan head to the polls for early voting. It’s my husband’s first presidential primary vote after becoming a U.S. citizen last summer!

10:05AM Arrive at the gallery and look over the space, making a quick punch list of what needs to be accomplished before tonight. Things look great, so it should be smooth sailing.

11AM I take a break from moving artworks around and tidying up to post a few stories on Instagram. Then back to cleaning.

11:40AM One of our River Bend gallery neighbors stops in to see the new exhibition. They have an opening tonight as well. We are anticipating a pretty big crowd.

12PM My right hand, Krista, arrives. We discuss the agenda for the day. She knows the ropes, so she hits the ground running.

12:10PM Make myself a cup of tea. Look through emails. Text my husband and double-check that everything went smoothly with voting. All good!

Lachlan is down for his afternoon nap.

1:30PM We are in good shape for the opening. I realize I haven’t eaten, so I grab a salad at Eatzi’s.

2:45PM I notice a new business in the Design District selling indoor plants—Raíz Plant Studio.

I go in and introduce myself. Women-owned and-run! I buy a plant for the gallery’s front desk, welcome them to the neighborhood and wish them well.

3PM Back at the gallery. Krista has the space looking perfect. I post a few more stories as a reminder that we have an opening tonight. Ah, the calm before the storm. I sit down and go through emails again.

3:45PM One of the gallery’s represented artists, Zeke Williams, comes by. He helps with our vinyl signage. He and Krista quickly get our signage hung. I comment on Zeke’s fabulous (entirely) purple sneakers and chat.

4PM Time to change and touch up my makeup.

Inevitably people start showing up at 4:30 for a 5pm opening.

4:30PM We ice down the wine and water. Take care of any last minute tidying up. Sure enough, visitors begin to arrive!

Diaries are penned by moms (and dads) in the North Texas area. The authors volunteer to share a day of their choosing and are not paid or endorsed by DFWChild. Send your diary to editorial@dfwchild.com. All submissions are subject to editing and may be cut for space.

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april 2020 / dfwchild.com

CLULEY FAMILY: ALLISON V. SMITH

real moms / R O U T I N E S

the fine

print FAVORITE MOVIE The Goonies FAVORITE GIFT TO GIVE FRIENDS

Tim Tams (Australian chocolate biscuits) WHERE SHE TURNS FOR RETAIL THERAPY Australian designer Alistair Trung FIRST CELEBRITY CRUSH James Dean FAVORITE CHEAP MEAL WITH THE FAMILY

TIM TAMS: ARNOTTS; SALMON: ZOËS KITCHEN

Zoës Kitchen in Lakewood BEST PURCHASE EVER My six-month match.com subscription in 2012. It led me to my husband. ON GIRLS NIGHT OUT, WE’LL FIND HER Dining at a restaurant where we go all out and fully indulge—our latest stop was Bullion.

WORDS SHE LIVES BY “Never give up”—my 92-year-old father-in-law’s email signature MOM BAG The last tote bag I picked up at an art fair ONGOING PROJECT My business—the gallery is always evolving.

5PM Tearlach and Lachlan walk in the door. Lachie runs to me as if he hasn’t seen me in weeks. Lachie has spent a lot of time in the gallery since he was a baby and walks around like he owns the place. I love it.

8:15PM My feet hurt and I’m (the good kind of) tired. We had a busy night and sold a few pieces from the exhibition. We pack up any unopened wine and start cleaning up.

8:20PM I let Krista lock up and call Tearlach to see if I should pick up my own dinner. Turns out he and Lachlan went out for pizza and saved some slices.

8:35PM I get home and change into PJs. I put my pizza in the microwave and turn the baby monitor screen on. We hardly use it anymore, but I can’t bring myself to disconnect it. I love looking at my sleeping boy.

8:40PM With my leftover pizza and a glass of Champagne, I sit down on the couch with Tearlach. We catch up on how each of our days went. I miss my guys on Saturdays, but I also love that they have this time together.

8:55PM There is a new episode of Modern Family in the queue, so we put that on.

9:30PM It’s been a long day. It’s early for a Saturday night, but we both head to bed.

Ten years ago, things would have been very different. But I wouldn’t have it any other way. dfwchild.com / april 2020

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What to do when your child just won’t eat dfwchild.com / april 2020

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EFORE HER family's first trip to Disney World, Summer Satterfield stocked up—not so much on sunscreen or games for the plane, but on cases of Yoplait Thick & Creamy yogurt.

Besides Carnation Breakfast Essentials (a nutrition powder mixed into milk), that yogurt was her 9-year-old son’s only food.

“We literally lived on yogurt and milk,” the Wylie mom says. “We would order three or four cases [of yogurt] every week, because he would eat three or four at a time. That was his meal.”

Satterfield’s husband found a store in Orlando that would deliver cases of Thick & Creamy yogurt to the resort where the family was staying—but they could get only strawberry, not even Tyler’s preferred vanilla. “We were taking a chance,” Satterfield says. “If they hadn’t’ve showed up with them, I guess he would have drank milk the whole trip.”

Fortunately, the yogurt was waiting for them when they arrived, and they stored it in the room refrigerator and an ice chest, along with vanilla they’d brought in their baggage.

“It’s crazy looking back on this,” she adds.

“I’m like, ‘I can’t believe we did that!’ We had to.”

That’s not an exaggeration. The adage “They’ll eat when they’re hungry,” often offered by mothers-in-law or even pediatricians, doesn’t apply to kids who have feeding disorders, like Tyler. Satterfield says he was “petrified” when presented with food.

“I would even try to tell him, ‘If you would lick a piece of bread, even lick, I will buy you a Thomas Train today,’” she admits of Tyler’s younger years. “It was terrible—bribery—but I didn’t know what else to do.”

These kids would (and occasionally do) end up on an IV before they’d venture off their limited menus. Some don’t even have the capacity to chew or swallow food properly.

And we’re not talking about a tiny sliver of the population here—research suggests that at least a fourth of typically developing kids have a feeding disorder. That means for every kid you know who’s left-handed, you probably know two with a feeding disorder.

Among children with autism, developmental delays and chronic medical conditions, the prevalence balloons to 80%.

Meanwhile, experts proposed defining “pediatric feeding disorder” for the first time in the ICD-10, the World Health Organization’s bible of diseases that doctors and insurance companies rely on. The distinction between a feeding disorder and typical pickiness is fluid, but some kids dismissed as “going through a phase” might actually be going through pain, anxiety or an undiagnosed medical condition that makes mealtime miserable and puts their health at risk.

WHAT’S GOING ON? “I can send you a picture of what his fourth-grade class looks like, and you can tell which one is my 22

april 2020 / dfwchild.com

child,” Fort Worth mom Lorena Pudyk told me.

She wasn’t wrong—in the photo, her 9-year-old son Walter barely comes up to his classmates’ shoulders.

Walter stopped eating at around a year old.

“This is gonna sound terrible,” Pudyk says, “but my husband would hold his head, and I would try to open his mouth just to feed him, because we got to the point where we were desperate.”

But when they tried to feed their son, he would gag and vomit (which can be symptoms of a feeding disorder). “I would just feel awful, and

“My husband would hold his head, and I would try to open his mouth just to feed him, because we got to the point where we were desperate.” sometimes embarrassed, because here I was not being able to feed my child, not knowing why or not understanding why,” Pudyk says.

Walter survived on PediaSure and Nutter Butters, eventually adding crunchy cereal—well, a crunchy cereal, Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

Kids with feeding disorders tend to take brand loyalty to the extreme, and that’s a key difference between run-of-the-mill picky eaters and those with feeding disorders, explains Mary Fink, clinical manager of feeding programs at Children’s Health. The latter reject entire food

groups (such as vegetables) or only accept foods with a certain texture, sometimes discriminating by brand (say, McDonald’s chicken nuggets but not Chick-fil-A’s).

While a child’s palate may suggest a feeding problem, often the proof is not in the pudding, but the growth chart.

“How a child is growing is a huge clue into their health,” explains Dr. Vanessa Charette, a pediatrician with Cook Children’s Pediatrics Fort Worth – Magnolia. “If a child is growing well, it helps give you a lot of reassurance that they’re getting enough nutrition and they’re doing OK. But if they’re growing poorly, then that is a sign that we need to start looking for what’s going on.”

The list of possible causes is lengthy, ranging from prematurity to gastroesophageal problems to traumatic events that trigger psychological aversions. “I had a child who had an aversion because of a hospitalization,” Charette says, “and literally all she would eat was chips and queso.

That was it.”

For some kids, eating is painful thanks to allergic inflammation or reflux. Blood tests on Walter didn’t reveal any such underlying medical conditions, but a pediatrician recognized the symptoms of sensory processing disorder (SPD): Besides refusing food, Walter never put anything in his mouth as a baby, and in public places he would sometimes “just scream his lungs out for no reason,” Pudyk says. She had no idea his tantrums were related to his picky palate, but SPD frequently precipitates feeding difficulties.

Still other kids have a physical dysfunction, like a swallowing problem, that prevents proper ingestion. Sally Bober, a Plano speech-language pathologist who treated Tyler Satterfield, says 100% of her feeding disorder clients to this point have ultimately been diagnosed with a tongue restriction. Tyler’s tongue-tie caused him to gag, and what was a structural problem swelled into a behavioral problem too.

“He’s scared to death he’s gonna gag, because his gag was horrible,” Bober remembers. “With these kids, if they gag once on something, they remember it.” Tyler reacted in fear, “freaking out” whenever food was placed in front of him, Satterfield says.

Anxiety and resistant behavior are hallmarks of feeding disorders, turning mealtime into a “power struggle between the child and the parent,” explains Monica Johnson, an occupational therapist at PediaPlex Southlake. “And then it increases anxiety for the child, and it increases anxiety for the parent, because eating is a life skill—we have to have it to survive.”

Charette explains that a period of poor nutrition early in life can stunt a child’s final height.

“If they have poor nutrition early on, they never grow as well,” she says. That goes for cognitive development too—lack of proper nutrition compromises a child’s ability to think, concentrate and learn.

And as their anxiety worsens, it can seep into other aspects of life, especially as food becomes an integral part of many social situations. “Some

of my clients have had a lot of anxiety when it comes to social events, because they know they’re not going to eat whatever’s offered at the birthday party,” explains Karen McPhearson, a speechlanguage pathologist at PediaPlex. Kids feel left out of the celebration, or they avoid social gatherings altogether.

So when a child is gagging on a new food or wailing in defiance at dinnertime, parents face an unappetizing choice: force-feed their child, or give in to their child’s preferences at the expense of their health. To outsiders, a pained decision borne of love looks like cruelty on the one hand or weak-willed indulgence on the other.

“They don’t understand,” Pudyk says of her own family. “Sometimes I would hear stuff like, ‘Oh, you’re not doing it right,’ or, ‘You’re spoiling him’—those nasty comments that you don’t expect from your family.”

MORE THAN HE COULD CHEW Though Satterfield’s family was more supportive, she did get ignorant comments from other people “all the time”—advice like, “You just need to make him eat.” She had tried, of course; in fact, she and her husband had spent tens of thousands of dollars on in-home, inpatient and outpatient therapy programs by the time her son was 7.

“I remember when my daughter started eating food,” Satterfield recalls, “and I think one of the most crushing things [Tyler] ever said was, ‘Mommy, why do I not eat food?’ He knows something’s wrong, but he doesn’t know what to do about it.”

Nobody, it seemed, knew what to do about it—when the Satterfields found Bober, Tyler was 9 and still on a diet of yogurt and milk despite years of therapy.

“We kind of just gave up,” Satterfield admits.

“We didn’t know what to do. Then you’ve got other kids in the mix. Your focus is not on fixing it all anymore—it’s coping with what you’ve been given.”

If there’s an underlying medical condition that’s causing pain, such as reflux, a pediatrician can test and prescribe treatment for it, which might swiftly solve the child’s feeding difficulties.

But if they have poor oral motor skills, deepseated anxiety or sensory issues, then working through those problems takes time, and sometimes a whole team of therapists.

“Feeding encompasses so many systems and so many skills,” Fink says. “Seeing it through several different eyes helps us determine a thorough plan for treatment.”

It’s a multifaceted problem that requires a holistic solution, often a combination of occupational and speech therapy, as well as mental health counseling to alleviate anxiety. “You can’t just treat the oral skills; you have to treat the whole child and the family,” Fink explains.

Still, those oral skills are a prerequisite to fighting mealtime fears and expanding the menu—a child who can’t chew or swallow properly won’t make any headway with new foods.

For the first few weeks of Tyler’s treatment

with Bober, food wasn’t even on the menu; they exclusively worked on his oral motor skills— something none of his other therapists had done, Satterfield says. “He had to know what it was gonna even feel like to chew.”

So at the clinic and at home, Satterfield says her son chomped his way through an alphabet of oral motor tools—“P” and “Q” tubes, a “knobby T”—to strengthen his mouth muscles, while another tool called a Z-Vibe gently simulated the feeling of food.

Then as Bober presented new foods—Greek yogurt, fruit, bread—Tyler’s tongue-tie was still problematic. “He couldn’t lateralize his tongue to get the food out of his cheek,” she explains. “He couldn’t keep the food on his teeth if he wanted to chew. So it floated around and that’s what caused that gag.” And he was spending upwards of 50 chews on a single bite, far above the max of 20 chews that Bober aims for.

Tyler finally had a frenectomy (aka tongue release) five months into his therapy with Bober, and Satterfield says the change in his mealtime demeanor was “almost immediate.” He wasn’t anxious anymore; he had control over his mouth. By the time Tyler was released from therapy, five months after his frenectomy, he was eating about 100 foods.

FOOD EXPLORERS There is no standard length of treatment. Some kids are chowing down in a matter of months; Walter’s treatment, meanwhile, lasted for years— and he’s still not crazy about food. The therapists at PediaPlex taught him a gradual, step-by-step process for trying new things, which Johnson likes to call ‘food exploration.’ “Sometimes you’re gonna just use your basic senses to explore the food with no intention of eating,” she says, “because once you take that away, sometimes that reduces some of that anxiety.”

Food exploration is a progression of sensory encounters: touching or playing with the food, then smelling it, putting it to your lips, touching it with your tongue and holding it in your mouth—all before ever trying to ingest the food.

The therapists invited Walter’s parents to observe this process so they could replicate it at home.

A key ingredient of successful treatment is consistency between the clinic and the dining table, so therapists teach parents to establish a mealtime environment that doesn’t reinforce their child’s food aversions. For some families, that means establishing a mealtime, period—kids thrive on routine and expectations. Other families may need to loosen up a little.

“Some families are, ‘We eat neat and tidy, there’s no mess, there’s no playing with food, it’s always utensil-based, it’s never hand-based,’” says Nicole Dunagan, a speech-language pathologist and COO at PediaPlex. “Sometimes it’s breaking those barriers down with parents as well—let them be messy, don’t wipe their mouth every time, let it hang out on their face for a little bit, let their hands get sticky.”

The Pudyks have a poster of the food explora-

It’s a rare child who enthusiastically scarfs down everything you put on their plate, so when does a picky palate become something more concerning? Here’s what to watch for, according to experts: • Gagging, choking or vomiting when eating • Inability to transition to an age-appropriate diet • Super selective eating—rejection of whole food groups, or preference for a certain texture or brand • Sudden and permanent rejection of previously accepted foods • Holding food in their mouth a long time or swallowing food whole • Tantrums and other resistant behavior at mealtime (particularly in combination with other signs) • Poor weight gain for their age • Inability to eat without a distraction (e.g., a TV show) If you have any concerns about your child’s eating habits, keep a record of what your child eats and talk to your pediatrician.

tion steps on their wall, and they also took home a new mealtime routine: Walter has to sit with his parents, even if he’s not hungry, and he has to try everything they eat. Pudyk clarifies that they don’t push if he’s resistant. “We don’t want to get to the point where he gets upset and then he starts hating food again,” she says.

After-school cooking classes helped Walter expand his gustatory horizons as well. Now on the menu: waffles, chicken nuggets, quesadillas, Fanta (previously a no-go because of the carbonation). As a parent, Pudyk’s job is to continue presenting new foods to her son, and to accept that because of his SPD, he may always struggle with eating to an extent. She has to urge him to eat sometimes, and remind him that food is what gives him the energy to jump on his trampoline.

But at least he has tools for navigating a foodfilled world.

“We know now that he’s never gonna grow out of it,” Pudyk says. “Therapy helped him as much as they could to be socially interactive and to find out what he can do in a situation where food is present.”

Mealtime at the Satterfields’ isn’t resistancefree, and even as Tyler adds new menu items, he drops others he had begun to accept, like bacon.

But Satterfield can handle a little pickiness if it means her son is eating.

“Is there still pushback sometimes, like a normal kid? Yes,” Satterfield says. “But the fact that he eats food at every meal … We can eat together.

We can go to a restaurant. We can go through a drive-thru. Our life is dramatically different.” dfwchild.com / april 2020

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LITTLE CHEFS: ©ISTOCK; COOKING: NOUN PROJECT

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COOKING LESSONS empowering kids in the kitchen

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ALEXIS PATTERSON

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HILE SHE WAS PREPARING DINNER ONE DAY, Lupita Hoffheiser’s toddler son wandered in and asked to help. Hoffheiser didn’t think too much of it.

“I thought it was just something he wanted to do that day,” recalls the Dallas mom. “I didn’t expect him to be interested long term.”

But a year later, Thomas—now 3—is practically a pro in the kitchen. Handmade apron from Grandma? Check. Kid-friendly knife? Check. Onion-chopping goggles? Check. (“They’re supposed to help your eyes, but they really don’t,” laughs Hoffheiser. “Thomas loves them, though.”)

Hoffheiser admits that having her son by her side in the kitchen every day can be challenging.

“It does take longer to cook and requires a lot of patience,” she says. “I have to remember to be really calm and know beforehand that it’s going to be messy.”

In her mind, it’s all worth it. “Pushing him out of the kitchen and finding something else for dfwchild.com / april 2020

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him to do would take just as long and be more frustrating for both of us,” she points out. “And it’s teaching Thomas from an early age to be a helper and contribute to our family.”

That’s just one of the benefits of making your child a sous-chef.

“There’s a study showing that the earlier you expose kids to food preparation and get them in the kitchen, the better their long-term health will be,” says Amy Haynes, a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN) with Medical City Children’s Hospital. “I think it’s the simple fact that they’re more likely to cook at home and do their own food prep—which is, in general, healthier than eating out.”

Haynes is part of Medical City’s Kids Teaching Kids community outreach program, which works with high school culinary students to help younger children develop healthy eating habits. She believes that kids who help out in the kitchen are more willing to try different foods. “It can give them a sense of ownership, a sense of I made this; I need to try this.”

She shares that cooking offers a wealth of opportunities for connection and learning.

“You could design an entire curriculum around cooking, something that touches on many subjects,” she explains. “Cultures, history, math, science, health—in addition to the life skill they’re developing.”

Haynes notes that developing that life skill is critical from a young age. “The earlier you start cooking with your child, the better. By the time they’re, say, 17, if they haven’t learned basic kitchen skills, they’re probably going to be in the drive-thru.”

ABOVE // Lupita Hoffheiser’s son, 3-year-old Thomas, uses a kid-friendly knife (and an apron custom-made by Grandma) when he helps out in the kitchen.

cooking show and eventually began making her living from teaching others to cook.

To give your resistant child a foundation in the kitchen, Gillig recommends trying out a kid-friendly cooking class to engage them in the idea, to make it seem less like a chore. At home, begin with small, quick tasks that won’t overwhelm them or derail your process too much.

“Ease kids into it,” Gillig advises. “Maybe have them peel carrots and then go back to playing. And as they develop skills, keep their kitchen jobs something they will enjoy. Kids are super tactile, so think about rolling out pizza dough or making homemade pasta.”

As if she could hear all the moms out there protesting that they don’t have time for that, Gillig adds that kids will still get the benefits if you don’t cook with them every day. “My parents worked full time while I was growing up, and there were lots of nights when we ate KFC,” she says. “But we’d always make things on weekends and cook for parties my mom would host at different times during the year.”

And Gillig points out there are shortcuts— ordering your groceries and picking them up from the parking lot or getting them delivered, for example. “Meal-kit services like Hello Fresh and Blue Apron are also great resources for

“[COOKING WITH KIDS] CAN GIVE THEM A SENSE OF OWNERSHIP, A SENSE OF I MADE THIS; I NEED TO TRY THIS.”

COOK (PLAY)BOOK If your child doesn’t just pull up a chair and ask to help without prompting, hope is not lost. Just ask Kelly Gillig, who owns The Cookery, a “cooking class meets dinner party” with locations in Dallas and Fort Worth. “I credit my love of food and cooking to my mom,” says Gillig, even though she resisted those early culinary lessons.

“Other kids were playing, and I’m in the kitchen helping with these from-scratch, wonderful meals. Honestly, I kind of resented it.”

Gillig says she didn’t realize the value of her upbringing until she went off to college. “I lived on campus and was eating dorm food,” she says.

“That’s when I knew I missed cooking things from scratch.” So she started her own campus

THOMAS: LUPITA HOFFHEISER

YOGA MATS

LESSONS

A KIDFRIENDLY KITCHEN

Amy Haynes, registered dietitian nutritionist with Medical City Children’s Hospital, offers these suggestions to set your child up for success in the kitchen.

8 MONTHS–2 YEARS: Incorporate baby-friendly kitchen utensils into playtime. Model common cooking activities (e.g., get a wooden spoon and plastic bowl and pretend to stir ingredients). Identify names and colors of foods at the store or while unloading groceries.

2–4 YEARS: Have your child pour pre-measured ingredients, stir prepared batter and use cookie cutters on rolled dough or soft bread. Older kids in this age range (3–4 years) can tear washed lettuce for salads. Taste foods together and discuss textures and flavors.

ELEMENTARY AGE: Help your child read and follow simple recipes; slice or cut food with a butter knife; measure and assemble prepared ingredients; and operate a pop-up toaster, microwave and can opener. Discuss kitchen math, proper sanitary practices, the seasonality of produce, and the origin and history of cultural cuisines.

MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE: Your child can be responsible for preparing portions of a meal; selecting recipes and making a grocery list; and safely handling raw meat, poultry and fish.

Talk about how to plan meals and avoid cross-contamination.

Continue discussions about kitchen math and cultural cuisines.

LITTLE CHEFS: ©ISTOCK

Need some recipes for your budding chef? Try everything from Bat Shortcake to Super Duper Sweet Potato Dip in Medical City Children’s Kids Teaching Kids’ latest recipe book, available online at kidsteaching-kids.com. The book contains snack ideas from culinary students in North Texas school districts.

busy families,” she adds.

Bottom line: Gillig believes any involvement in the kitchen will serve kids well in the long run. “They may not realize it at the time, but cooking builds confidence to try things in life,” she explains. “And it can be very therapeutic. As an adult, I really appreciate the foundation cooking with my mom gave me in life.” dfwchild.com / april 2020

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ABA therapy makes happy campers out of everyone.

ABA therapy services combined with a fun curriculum of activities to bring about measurable improvements in the behavior of children with autism. We collect and analyze extensive data from each therapy session, so we can ensure every child is making progress on their goals. Our unique learning programs and proven ABA therapy techniques help children:

Plano Hive: 6105 Windcom Ct. Suite 400, Plano, TX 75093 Frisco Hive: 8501 Wade Blvd. Building 12, Frisco, TX 75034 971-312-8733 behaviorexchange.com

• • • •

Communicate better Successfully participate in group activities Get ready for school Develop their social skills

All in a colorful, caring, and engaging environment.

Once you see the results, you can’t help but be happy. Reserve your spot today! Our programs, including Summer Camp, are covered by insurance in most cases.

28 Exciting Science Day Camps!

Kids Grades Pre-K–7th Spark your children’s love of science this summer by enrolling them in fun and engaging science day camps! Your children are sure to have an unforgettable experience as they do hands-on activities and learn how science is used in everyday life. 5 new camp themes offered this year! Topics include rocketry, video game creation, robotics, veterinary medicine, meteorology, paleontology and many more.

Locations in Addison, Dallas, and Plano 214-530-5979 ClubSciKidzDallas.com Hello@ClubSciKidzDallas.com

The Hockaday School 11600 Welch Rd. Dallas, TX 75229 hockaday.org/summer Contact information Melissa Curtis, Director of Auxiliary Programs 214-360-6534 mcurtis@hockaday.org

Who: All Children Grades Pre-K–7th

What: Science Day Camps

When: June 15–August 7, 2020

9am–4pm, Mon–Fri (Optional Pre & Post Camp Hours Available)

Where: Two Dallas locations, one Addison

location, and one Plano location

Cost: $245–$295/per week Please visit our website for more details and registration: ClubSciKidzDallas.com Don’t wait—many camps fill up quickly!

Summer at Hockaday is a fun-filled, engaging summer program for girls and boys located on the beautiful campus of The Hockaday School in Dallas. A variety of camp and class offerings provide campers ages three and up the opportunity to participate in day camps, art camps, cooking camps, coding camps, sewing camps, musical theater camps, science camps, sports camps, STEM camps, and much more! Campers can learn to ride a bike, create with LEGO®, brush up on reading and writing skills, learn to swim and play tennis, and even participate in a hip-hop dance class. These are just a few examples of what campers can experience as they try new things, make new friends, create positive memories, and grow in self-confidence each day at camp! Summer at Hockaday faculty and staff are eager and excited to welcome new and returning families to another fabulous summer!

dfwchild.com / april 2020

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BEST Summer EVER CAMPS | TRAVEL | SPORTS | ARTS | STEM

The UT Dallas Chess Program spreads enthusiasm for the game year-round.

Summer chess camps engage children in intellectual pursuit while building social skills.

Many campers return year after year to build their skills and see friends.

Registration begins each winter for the following summer’s camps. Check back often to receive discounts and ensure their spot at the chess board.

Classes are for kids 6–14 in age.

800 W. Campbell Rd. Richardson, TX 75080 972-883-4899 james.stallings@utdallas.edu utdallas.edu/chess/summer-camps

Classes have a low student-to-teacher ratio. Kids are grouped by ability, age, experience and instructor assessment. UT Dallas Chess Camp will attempt to group friends and relatives upon request.

Choose the session that fits your child’s schedule: • Morning sessions run from 9am–noon • Afternoon sessions run from 1–4pm June 15–19 • June 22–26 • July 20–24 • July 27–31

The DIS Summer Enrichment Camp is a 6-week program designed to provide children with the opportunity to explore a wide range of activities in a safe and caring environment. Activities include Arts, Academics, Languages, Sports, Science. Campers may enroll 1/2-day or full day and combine activities. They are placed in small groups based on their age and skills level. Students in the full day program are automatically signed up for lunch at no additional cost.

Our program is offered on two campuses: • Churchill campus: Ages 3 to 17 • Waterview Campus: Ages 11 to 17 6039 Churchill Way, Dallas, 75230 17811 Waterview Parkway, Dallas, 75252 469-375-6109 camps@dallasinternationalschool.org dallasinternationalschool.org

Register Here: dma.org/summercamp 214-922-1200 familyprograms@dma.org 1717 N. Harwood Street, Dallas, TX 75201

Dates: June 8–July 17 Full-day: 9am–3:30pm Half-day: 9am–12pm or 12:30–3:30pm Extended day options are also available: Morning: 7:30–9am Evening: 3:30–6pm

Ready, Set, MAKE! Summer Art Camps at the Dallas Museum of Art have something for every creative kid (ages 4–12) to explore the Museum galleries, make new friends, work in the studio, and create their very own art!

Choose from a variety of imaginative camp topics: • Science and art mash-ups • Sculpting • Superheroes • Dollhouses • Fairy tales • Building • Animals • And more!

From June 1 through August 7, each camp runs Monday–Friday for a half-day, 9am–noon or 1–4pm.

Campers ages 6 and up can register for both morning and afternoon camps and enjoy a supervised lunch. Registration now open.

Alcuin Summer offers a 100+ Half-Day and Full-Day weekly camps between June 3–July 10 for ages 3–14.

Camp options include: Archery • Art • Bike Riding Community Service • Cooking • Coding • Dance • Drones DJ Academy • Improv • Little Veterinarian School • Math Music • Parkour • Robotics • Spanish • STEAM • Sports Theater • Web Design • and more!

Alcuin School 6144 Churchill Way I Dallas, TX 75230 alcuinschool.org 972-239-1745

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Our experienced camp staff and welcoming environment provide the perfect opportunity for campers to have fun, begin new friendships and create lasting memories!

Camp Brochure and Registration available online.

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BEST Summer EVER

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CAMPS | TRAVEL | SPORTS | ARTS | STEM

Camp Buzz: STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics)

June 15th–July 3rd, 2020 2nd–6th Grade Students Cost: $175 each week 8:45am Early Drop off, 9am–4pm, pick up at 4pm Where creativity swarms!

Eastfield College 3737 Motley Dr., Mesquite, TX 75150 972-860-7114 4CommunityEd@dcccd.edu eastfieldcollege.edu/CampBuzz

• Week of June15th–June 19th: Natural Science • Week of June 22nd–June 26th: Performance Arts (Improv, Storytelling and Theatrical Design) • Week of June 29th–July 3rd: Computer Technology

ACTING & FILMMAKING CAMP For ages 7–17

214-638-0484 kdstudio.com

A pillar of the entertainment community for 40 years, KD continues to provide a trusted environment for developing confidence and performance skills for children of all ages. 2-week camps begin June 8 and run through August 7.

Ready for a fun one-of-a-kind summer experience?

4900 Walnut Hill Lane Dallas, TX 75229 469-232-1800 www.ursulinedallas.org

Your child is invited to join Ursuline Academy of Dallas Summer Campers in fun artistic, academic, and athletic enrichment activities designed to stimulate creativity and curiosity, spark innovation, and encourage collaboration.

Adventure Camps are offered in areas such as STEM, Musical Theater, and Leadership Skills. Some Adventure Camps are exclusively for girls. Others are open to all middle school students.

Athletic Camps include Basketball, Lacrosse, Soccer, Softball, Rowing, and Volleyball. Camps are available for elementary and middle school girls.

Registration opens February 1. Camps run weekly from June 8–August 6. Visit www.ursulinedallas.org/ summerprograms to learn more.

The start of summer doesn’t mean the end of learning ...

The summer youth programs at Brookhaven College are designed to give kids of all ages the chance to experience something new and challenging. Our programs include: 3939 Valley View Ln. Farmers Branch, TX 75244 972-860-4715 • bhcinfo@dcccd.edu brookhavencollege.edu/youthprograms

• App Development • Drone Navigation • Cake Decorating • Leadership • Python Coding • Photography dfwchild.com / april 2020

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BEST Summer EVER CAMPS | TRAVEL | SPORTS | ARTS | STEM

2430 Hwy. 39, Hunt TX 78024 830-238-4650 RagsdaleFamilyCamps.com

FULL STEAM AHEAD! Two- and four-week options for traditional camps (boys and girls separate) on the beautiful Guadalupe River. Ages 6–16. Family style dining, home cooked food, worldwide, limited enrollment, personable staff, role model counselors and fun programs! Instruction-oriented, offering more than 50 activities, including sports, horseback riding and swimming. Also intangibles—self-confidence, teamwork, leadership, individual identity and dealing with challenges. Ragsdale family owned and operated.

Stewart est. 1924, Heart est. 1953.

Summer Camp begins in June June 1–August 31, 2020 • Camp Ages: Entering 1st–7th Grade

White Rock North School

9727 White Rock Trail, Dallas, TX 75238 214-348-7410 whiterocknorthschool.com

What makes this camp so awesome? Every day starts with “Morning Meet-Up” and every week ends with a blow-out event! Our kid-friendly Activity Center is the ultimate hub for indoor fun! We have flat-screen TVs for XBox Kinect, movies and interactive games! A comfy reading nook, board games, game tables and hands-on projects are just a few of our extra features! Campers will also get to experience our Outdoor Learning Center, Roller Skating Rink, Indoor Swimming Pool, and Performing Arts activities! Children will have “Bring your own device” time each day, and also daily reading time to keep their brains active throughout the summer months.

Weekly Camps June 1st–August 7th

Challenge Island West Plano/North Dallas 17630 Davenport Rd. #103 • 469-779-7844 challenge-island.com/westplano-northdallas

16795 State Route E, Rolla, MO 65401 573-458-2125 • office@bearriverranch.com CubCreekScienceCamp.com

• Weekly 9am–1pm ($200) • Aftercare until 4pm ($100) • Two age groups: 4–6 yo and 7–12 yo • Themes include USA, UTube, Slime, Wizards, Space, Dolls, Mine-craft and more • STEAM Challenges, activities, crafts, games • SLIME every week • Wacky Water Wednesdays • Pizza Fridays (provided by Challenge Island) Imagine a summer camp where campers eat breakfast with a colony of lemurs, zoom down a zip-line and pet a camel before lunch, and play a camp-wide game of Capture the Flag after dinner! Cub Creek is that camp! With 300 incredible animals and over 100+ classes, we are not your average science camp! Welcoming boys and girls ages 7 to 17 for over 25 years.

Dallas Zoo Wild Adventure Camps

650 S. R.L. Thornton Frwy., Dallas, TX 75203 469-554-7300 • education@dallaszoo.com dallaszoo.com

1 Nature Place, McKinney, TX 75069 972-562-5566 heardmuseum.org/camps

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June 8–August 3, 2020 | PreK–Grade 12

Dallas Zoo camp is the perfect way to get your kids out of the house this summer and into nature. Choose from themes like animal adaptations, zoo habitat design, and more! Visit DallasZoo.com/Camps to learn more and sign your camper up for a wild adventure today.

Spending time in nature plays a vital role in child health and development! Register for a Heard Nature Camp and give your child the gift of a connection to nature. Heard Nature Camps and mini-camps feature opportunities to investigate the wonders of nature on our 289-acre sanctuary, encounter animals and more. Specialty camps offer opportunities to create art in nature, learn about animal care, go behind the scenes, and more.

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BEST Summer EVER

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CAMPS | TRAVEL | SPORTS | ARTS | STEM

J Dallas Summer Camp 7900 Northaven Rd., Dallas, TX 75230

Laura Seymour, Camp Director, at 214-239-7110

jccdallas.org/camp

See #2020campvision at J Camp this summer where the focus is YOU! J Camp is the destination for summer fun and personal growth with traditional, gymnastics, performing arts, sports, teen travel and tennis camps. Extended care and bus pick-ups are available to help the busy parent make sure their camper gets the full camp experience. The fun starts Monday, June 8.

THE KNIGHT SCHOOL SUMMER CHESS CAMP! Daily chess puzzlers for prizes and daily tactics to learn! Have your breakthrough at chess camp with our great network of friends.

theknightschool.com

S U M M E R

C A M P S

June 29–July 3, 2020 • 1–4pm July 20–24, 2020 • 1–4pm CARE Church 1504 E. Campbell Rd., Richardson, TX 75081

July 20–22, 2020 • 9am–12pm SLPS Community Center 1910 N. Britain Rd., Irving, TX 75061

DISCOVER LAKEHILL SUMMER CAMPS Coeducational Kindergarten through High School June 8–July 31

Morning, afternoon and full-day teacher-led camps are available, as well as free before- and after-camp care.

214-826-2931 lakehillprep.org/summer-camps

Academic Readiness • Acting and Film-Making Community Service • Cooking • Crafting and Building Arts • LEGO • Outdoor Adventure • Science and Discovery Sports • Technology • And More!

Online Summer Camps Guide and Online Registration: lakehillprep.org/summer-camps

Learn! Grow! Create!

Plano, Fairview, Frisco, and Dallas NTPA.org/camps 972-422-2575

This summer you can transform into a superhero, a princess, or your favorite storybook character.

Our morning, afternoon and full-day camps bring your favorite childhood stories to life on stage.

With summer learning opportunities for ages 5 to 18, there’s a spot for everyone to learn from our professional directors, actors, and singers who have worked everywhere from Broadway to L.A. Perfect for new actors!

Summer Fun for Everyone!

June 1–August 21 • Full & Half-Day Camps • Ages 3–18 • More than 875 campers from 65 different schools • Programs from 7:30 am–6:00 pm • Open to the community

Parish Episcopal School 4101 Sigma Rd., Dallas, TX 75244 972-852-8752 summer@parish.org

parishsummer.org

Summer 2020 Camps: • Academics – Financial Literacy, Launch (6:1 ratio!), Study Skills • Arts – Movie Magic, Painting, Theatre • Athletics – Basketball, Football, Soccer • Community Service – Earn hours!

• Day Camp – Waterslide Tuesdays, Field Trip Thursdays • STEM – Coding, Rocketry, Roblox Plus so much more!

Summer The Shelton Way June 8–26 There’s something for everyone! Shelton’s unique multisensory and discovery learning methods are perfect for students with and without a language-learning difference. And did we mention fun?

Shelton School & Evaluation Center 15720 Hillcrest Rd., Dallas, TX 75248 972-774-1772 Ext. 2223 shelton.org/summerschool shelton.org/sportscamps

Academic and Enrichment Classes EC–12 Languages • Drama • Fitness • Technology • Science • Reading Scholars Small Group Tutoring in Reading / Writing / Spelling Upper School Credit Classes Sports Camps for girls and boys Speech / Language / Hearing Program

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BEST Summer EVER

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

CAMPS | TRAVEL | SPORTS | ARTS | STEM

Ballet Basics introduces boys and girls, ages 3 to 6, to the fundamentals of ballet. The camp experience also includes crafts, story time and choreography to correlate with the theme of the week.

300 N. Coit Rd., Suite 231 Richardson, TX 75080 texasballettheater.org/summer-program

The Junior Intensive Program broadens the perspective of 7–14 year old students with a variety of classes including ballet, modern, jazz and musical theater.

Camp Westminster 2020

June 8–July 24 Half Day 9am–12pm and Full Day 9am–2pm Come join our summer fun with weekly literature, crafts, Bible stories, yoga, special events! A few weeks of fun are: Westminster Presbyterian Preschool & Kindergarten 8200 Devonshire Dr., Dallas, TX 75209 214-350-6155 • wpcd.org

• World of Eric Carle • Treasure Island • Games Galore!

• Reading Raiders!

• Spanish – Cultural Kids! • Environmental Art • Fine Motor Fun • Basics Cooking with Kids Registration information at wpcd.org.

It’s Your Child’s Summer to Shine!

Boost your child’s creativity, confidence & talent…

The Westwood School Summer Camps are designed for MORE FUN at every age!

• An exciting daily schedule with art, games, cooking & more • A special guest each week and Pizza/Splash Fridays • Camp times: 9am–3pm, plus Extended Day & Childcare available 14340 Proton Rd., Dallas, TX 75244 972-239-8598

Register by May 1st for $50 Early Bird Discount WestwoodSchool.org/summer

Want more camps?

From sports and STEM to dance and art–we’ve got them all! Explore our not-so-secret weapon, the online directory, at dfwchild.com.

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SPRING FAMILY FUN DIRECTORY //

SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTION

Spring

FAMILY FUN D I REC T O RY Note: This information is accurate as of press time. Check with organizers to ensure events are not canceled in light of coronavirus concerns.

DESCRIPTION

1

Church Eleven32 churcheleven32.com/hope-is-here-the-hunt

Easter Weekend at Church Eleven32 is a two day event, starting with DFWs largest egg hunt at 5:30pm on Saturday at Allen High School, followed by Easter Sunday at the Allen Event Center at 11am.

2

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden dallasarboretum.org 214/515-6615

Immerse yourself in the beauty of Dallas Blooms and let nature nurture you in our unforgettable outdoor oasis of floral beauty featuring more than 500,000 spring-blooming bulbs and six musical instrument topiaries throughout the garden. See ad on page 7.

3

Dallas Musuem of Art virtual.dma.org 214/922-1200

Our doors may be closed, but your city’s museum is open! Connect with the Dallas Museum of Art online and bring the wonder and discovery of art to your home. See ad on page 33.

4

Nasher Sculpture Center nashersculpturecenter.org 214/242-5100

Enjoy free activities, games, and art lessons for learners of all ages.

Connect with us from home and spark your family’s creativity.

Available on our website now. #NasherfromHome

5

Reunion Tower reuniontower.com 214/712-7040

Visit the iconic Reunion Tower GeO-Deck for the best views of Dallas!

Enjoy crafts and photos with the Easter Bunny on select dates. For dates and times visit reuniontower.com or call 214/712-7040. See ad on page 29.

dfwchild.com / april 2020

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confessions

MOM TRUTHS ILLUSTRATION MARY DUNN

I WAS FLIPPING THROUGH NETFLIX AND THE REMOTE WASN’T WORKING. I SAID, ‘WHAT THE HECK?!’ MY 5-YEAR-OLD QUICKLY BLURTED OUT, ‘MOMMY! THOSE ARE BAD WORDS! YOU SHOULDN’T SAY THAT!’’’ —PAPATIA, DALLAS

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CO M P I L E D BY E M I LY Y E A R W O O D

My 3-year-old doesn’t hesitate to tell me every night, ‘I love your big, soft, squishy belly. Sqoosh, sqoosh.’ Thanks, Bud.” —JENNIFER, BURLESON

“When my daughter was 3, she was a flower girl for my cousin’s Hindu wedding.

After watching a traditional dance from the groom’s sister, she kicked off her shoes, turned around and told me, ‘Mommy, I can do that!’ She ran up and did her own scarf dance, alone on the dance floor.”

—MARIA, HASLET

“My 8-year-old daughter has never slept past 7:30 in the mornings. I gave her stern instructions to not wake me up on the weekends. Her reply was, ‘I wake you up early on the weekends to get revenge for you waking me up early during the school week.’”

—ROSHUN, MCKINNEY

WHEN I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY LAST CHILD, I LAID ON MY BED FOR A FEW MINUTES. I WOKE UP TO THE TEACHER CALLING ME TO COME PICK UP MY DAUGHTER.’’

—ELIZABETH, DALLAS

Got a funny parenting moment you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you. Send it to editorial@dfwchild.com.

My 6-year-old son was driving a car on a game on his iPad. We asked him why he was up on the sidewalk. He shrugged and said, ‘Poor driving skills.’”

—ALEXIS, BEDFORD

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