MD, MPH
Dr. Leesha is a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist who shares a heartfelt message of love, hope, and acceptance for moms. As a practicing physician, dynamic public speaker, wife, mommy, and parenting expert, she skillfully weaves sound medical advice with practical strategy grounded in years of clinical care, current research, and personal experience.
Learn more about Dr.Leesha on her website: https://drleesha.com/about/
We fight battles in parenting – battles around bedtimes, tooth brushing, clothing choices, bathing, and more. Then there is the eating face-off. From baby’s first introduction to solids around 6 months of age (check with baby’s pediatrician before starting solids) to toddlerhood and beyond, eating challenges abound. Sometimes it’s hard to differentiate picky eating from significant feeding issues. Parents need to know what signs signal trouble.
Picky eating is super common. I challenge you to find one kid or even one adult who literally will eat anything – this just doesn’t happen. Sometimes kids are simply developing their palate as their taste buds mature. Other times they are boldly declaring their independence by refusing to eat what’s placed in front of them. Or perhaps it’s the color or the texture or the smell. Kids may find particular food characteristics unappealing and refuse to eat certain foods. Overall, picky eating is common especially among toddlers and preschoolers, usually does not impact a child’s growth and development, and improves over time.
There are several mental disorders that can occur in younger children outside of Anorexia Nervosa, Bulimia, and Binge Eating Disorder seen more commonly in adolescents and adults that can cause problems with eating.
Dr. Leesha is a member of the Happy Baby Experts team, available to chat about mental health. As a board-certified child, adolescent, and adult psychiatrist – and a mother of 3 – Dr. Leesha has been on both sides of this conversation. She is here to help you work towards cultivating a healthy mindset, identifying parenting guilt, putting real self-care into practice, and more. Dr. Leesha will be available on our free, anonymous live chat Mondays 6-8pmEST and Saturdays 8-10am EST, no appointment needed.
While Dr. Leesha is a physician, she is not your physician. Any health information featured on this website (can substitute chat for website) or contained within her blogs are for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Neither using, accessing, and/or browsing this website nor sharing personal or medical information with the author creates a physician-patient relationship. Nothing contained within this website is intended to create a physician-patient relationship, replace medical services offered by a licensed physician or other health care provider, or serve as a substitute for professional medical advice. As such, Dr. Leesha is not liable for any losses or damages related to actions or failure to act related to the content in this website. Should you need professional medical advice, consult with a physician or other health care provider licensed in your state.