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Play with Your Food!
Hi Everyone
Did you ever tell someone not to play with their food? Well be careful before you do! When working with kids who have feeding difficulties, playing with food can be a great way to desensitize them. It may not seem like it is helping out your child right now, but linking food with a pleasant experience is an important step when overcoming food aversions! Plus it exposes them to new sensory experiences they may have not experienced yet! Here are some ideas:
1) Use rigatoni pasta to blow cotton balls or other small objects across the table. This lets the kids play with pasta while desensitizing their mouths!
2) Make a picture/design using food. Last week I used bananas, m and m’s, and cheerios to make a face. This activity has the child pushing down food into the banana, desensitizing them to a new “feeling.”
3) Cut foods into the shape of a mouth and make silly faces! Take pictures! This has the child lifting food to their lips without them even knowing it.
These are just a couple of ideas that I have used before. Anything that gets a child interacting with a new food in a positive way is a great option!
Happy eating everyone!
–Steph
