By Marisa Tolsma, Certified GAPS Coach | Bumblebee Apothecary
Quick Answer
To start the GAPS diet with kids, begin by getting your kitchen ready and introducing the foundational foods gently: homemade meat stock, well-cooked soups, animal fats, and tiny amounts of fermented foods. Go slowly, let your child warm up to new foods over days and weeks, and never force it. In my experience doing GAPS with my own children, the gentle, patient approach is the one that actually works. Kids do beautifully on GAPS when we meet them where they are. Always work with your pediatrician when making big dietary changes for a child.
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How to start the GAPS diet with kids
If you’re thinking about doing the GAPS diet with your kids, I want you to know something right away: it’s doable, and your children can thrive on it. I’m a mom of 5, a Certified GAPS Coach, and I’ve walked this road with my own family. So when I say GAPS with kids can be gentle and even joyful, I’m not speaking from theory. I’m speaking from my own kitchen.
The GAPS diet was actually created for a child. Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride developed it to help her own son recover from autism. So at its very heart, GAPS is a children’s healing protocol. Parents come to it for all kinds of reasons: eczema, food allergies, picky eating, behavior and focus struggles, tummy troubles, recurrent illness, autism, ADHD, and more.
Let me walk you through how to actually do this with kids in real life, the gentle way.
Why GAPS Works So Well for Kids
Children’s bodies are remarkably responsive. Because kids are growing and healing so quickly, they often respond to gut-healing nutrition faster than adults do. The skin is a reflection of the gut, and so is behavior, sleep, focus, and mood. When we heal a child’s gut, we often see changes ripple out into all of those areas.
Dr. Natasha teaches that the gut and the brain are deeply connected. When a child’s gut is inflamed or imbalanced, it can affect everything from their skin to their sleep to their ability to focus and regulate emotions. GAPS works by removing the foods that damage and inflame the gut, and replacing them with deeply nourishing foods that rebuild it.
“We have seen so much improvement with our 5 year old! He used to sleep terribly and now sleeps 11 hours straight a night. His eczema went away, and he started talking way more and wants to play and interact. He even sings songs. He was considered nonverbal severe. But not anymore.” — Marisa’s coaching community member
Step 1: Decide Where to Start (Baby, Toddler, or Older Child)
How you begin depends on your child’s age and what you’re working through.
Babies
For babies who are just starting solids, you can begin with baby GAPS: meat stock, well-cooked vegetables, egg yolk, and animal fats introduced gently alongside breast milk or formula. I have a full guide on introducing solids on GAPS for babies here, and a guide on how to make a GAPS diet baby bottle here.
Toddlers
Toddlers can do the GAPS Introduction Diet in a gentle, flexible way. I wrote a dedicated guide on the GAPS intro diet for toddlers here that walks through how to adapt the stages for little ones.
Older children
Older kids can follow the GAPS Introduction Diet or Full GAPS much like adults do, just with extra attention to making foods appealing, involving them in the process, and keeping the emotional experience positive. The food is the same; the approach is what changes.
All of my kids, except for my oldest, started introducing solids with baby GAPS. My second child stayed on GAPS for a total of four years. Since my oldest didn’t begin with baby GAPS, she spent some time on the protocol later on.
Step 2: Get Your Kitchen (and Your Mindset) Ready
Preparation is everything with kids, maybe even more than with adults, because when little ones are hungry, you need nourishing food ready right now.
Have these on hand:
- Soup bones and whole chickens for meat stock
- Fresh, additive-free meats
- Plenty of animal fats (butter, ghee, tallow)
- Easy-to-digest vegetables (zucchini, carrots, squash)
- Homemade fermented vegetables, started early so they’re ready
- Foods your child already likes that happen to be GAPS-legal
The mindset piece matters just as much. Going into GAPS with kids, expect that it will be a gradual process. Some days will go smoothly and some won’t. That’s completely normal. Start tiny, stay patient, and remember that going slowly is the whole point.
“My boys have been asking for healthy snacks like Russian Custard or kefir smoothie, more sauerkraut, yogurt, tea, carrot sticks, boiled eggs. This month, their attitudes and emotions have also changed and they are such cheerful boys.” — Tiffany G., Ancestral Gut Reset community
Step 3: Start with Meat Stock (the Heart of GAPS for Kids)
Homemade meat stock is the foundation of GAPS for kids just like it is for adults. It’s gentle, deeply nourishing, and rebuilds the gut lining. Most kids actually love it once they’re used to it, especially in a cozy soup. Here’s my meat stock recipe.
Remember the key distinction: meat stock is not bone broth. Meat stock is made from raw, meaty bones (a whole chicken, drumsticks, thighs, wings) cooked for a shorter time, about 1.5 to 3 hours for chicken. It’s gentler and easier on a healing gut than long-simmered bone broth, which can be too strong for little ones early in healing.
Ways to serve meat stock to kids: as a warm sipping cup with a little sea salt, as the base of a simple soup with soft veggies and shredded meat, or cooked into their food so it’s there without being obvious. Many kids who won’t drink it plain will happily eat it in soup.
It’s so fun to see how much my kids enjoy meat stock. Earlier on, when they were having larger amounts of it per day, we would make up different games, like sticker charts that they would fill up when they had their daily amount of meat stock, and then they would get a prize at the end. Today they all love drinking up meat stock from soups or just in a mug with straws.
Step 4: Add Fermented Foods, Start Truly Tiny
Fermented foods restore the good bacteria in your child’s gut. With kids, start even tinier than you would for yourself: literally a few drops of fermented vegetable juice (like sauerkraut juice) stirred into a cool bowl of soup. My simple sauerkraut recipe is here.
Work up very slowly, a little more every few days, watching how your child does. Going slow helps minimize die-off, which is the temporary yucky feeling (fussiness, a skin flare, looser stools, disrupted sleep) that can happen as the bad gut bugs die off. With kids especially, slow and gentle is the way.
Step 5: Handle Picky Eating with Patience, Not Pressure
This is the part parents worry about most, and I understand why. Picky eating is real, and it can feel discouraging. But I’ve learned, with my own kids and with the families I coach, that pressure backfires and patience wins.
A few things that help:
- Offer without forcing. Put the food on the plate, stay relaxed, and let your child come to it in their own time. It can take many gentle exposures before a child accepts a new food.
- Start with the foods they already like. Build from your child’s existing favorites that happen to be GAPS-legal, then expand slowly from there.
- Involve them. Let kids help stir the soup, crack the eggs, or pound the sauerkraut. Kids eat more of what they help make.
- Keep mealtimes peaceful. A calm, happy table matters more than any single bite. Protecting your child’s relationship with food is part of the healing.
Don’t give up just yet when something new might not taste great at first. Tastes change, especially as the gut heals and cravings shift toward nourishing foods.
“Our 2-year-old was struggling with a skin rash on his face. His skin has cleared up and he is now devouring meat and veggies. He loves kefir and asks for meat stock once in a while.” — Ancestral Gut Reset community member
If picky eating is your biggest worry, my Picky Eating Blueprint (included in The Ancestral Gut Reset coaching program) is built exactly for this. It helps parents transform a child’s relationship with food, gently.
Step 6: Watch for Die-Off and Go Gently
As your child’s gut heals, you may notice a few days of die-off: fussiness, a temporary skin flare, changes in sleep or stools, or more emotional ups and downs. This is normal and usually a sign the protocol is working. The key is to slow down when you see it.
If die-off shows up:
- Stay on the foods your child is already tolerating, don’t add anything new
- Offer extra meat stock
- Try a warm Epsom salt bath before bed
- Rest, snuggle, and keep things low-key
Huge improvement usually comes long before complete healing, so watch for the small wins along the way: a better night’s sleep, a calmer afternoon, a patch of skin clearing. Those are the signs you’re on the right path.
A Gentle Word for Mamas
Doing GAPS with kids can feel like a big undertaking, and some days you’ll wonder if you’re doing it right. Please hear me: you’re not failing, and you’re not alone. The fact that you’re here, learning, trying to nourish your child from the inside out, means you’re already doing something beautiful.
The people who heal the deepest are the people who go the gentlest. That’s true for your child’s gut, and it’s true for you as a mom. Start tiny, stay with it, and give yourself the same grace you’d give your little one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. GAPS was originally developed by Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride for her own son, so it was designed with children in mind. It can be done safely with babies (baby GAPS), toddlers, and older kids. Because children are growing, it’s especially important to make sure they’re getting plenty of nourishing fats and calories, and to work with your pediatrician throughout.
Babies can begin a gentle baby GAPS approach when they start solids, usually around 6 months. Toddlers and older children can do the GAPS Introduction Diet or Full GAPS adapted to their age. The approach changes with age, but the nourishing foods stay the same.
Go slowly and without pressure. Start with GAPS-legal foods your child already likes, offer new foods gently and repeatedly without forcing, involve your child in cooking, and keep mealtimes calm and positive. It can take many exposures before a child accepts a new food, and tastes often change as the gut heals.
Homemade meat stock, soups with soft-cooked vegetables and tender meats, eggs, plenty of animal fats, fermented foods introduced slowly, and as healing progresses, a widening variety of meats, vegetables, fruits, and nut-flour baked goods. The diet avoids grains, refined sugar, starchy vegetables, and processed foods.
Many parents report improvements in eczema, skin rashes, sleep, focus, mood, and behavior when they heal their child’s gut with GAPS, because the gut is deeply connected to the skin and brain. Results vary by child, and GAPS is best seen as one supportive part of a bigger picture. Always involve your pediatrician.
It varies by child and by what you’re working through. Dr. Natasha generally recommends following the protocol for a meaningful stretch of time (often up to around two years for full healing), then transitioning to a broad, nutrient-dense traditional diet. Many families see significant improvements much sooner, long before they finish.
Not necessarily, but many families find it’s easier (and healing for everyone) to cook GAPS meals for the whole household rather than making separate food. In my own family, cooking nourishing GAPS-friendly meals for everyone has been the simplest and most peaceful way to do it.
Three Ways to Get Started
If you’re ready to begin GAPS with your kids, here are three ways I can help:
🌿 Free: Gut Wellness Getting Started Guide, a simple, beginner-friendly place to start.
🌿 GAPS to Go, my done-for-you 30-day GAPS Intro meal plan with recipes and stage-by-stage guidance, perfect for busy families.
🌿 Coaching: The Ancestral Gut Reset, my step-by-step coaching program, which includes my Picky Eating Blueprint for parents.
Related Posts You’ll Love
The GAPS Diet Explained: Stages, Foods, and How It Heals
Introducing Solids to a Baby on the GAPS Diet
How to Make a GAPS Diet Baby Bottle
Meat Stock Recipe for the GAPS Diet
GAPS Diet Before and After: How the GAPS Diet Changed Our Lives
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GAPS™ and Gut and Psychology Syndrome™ are the trademark and copyright of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride. The information in this blog post is my personal experience and opinion as a Certified GAPS Coach. It is for general information purposes only, may not apply to you as an individual, and is not a substitute for your own physician’s medical care or advice. Always seek advice from your physician or another qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding nutrition, medical conditions, and advice. Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical care because of something you have read on this blog.
💛 Marisa
