(Courtesy of The Therapy Gym) We may have always been taught not to play with our food, but that can actually have a lot of therapeutic benefits if feeding time is tough for you and your kiddo!
- Reduces Anxiety Around Food
Tip: Allow children to touch, smell, and play with food without the expectation of eating it. This can help reduce fear and anxiety, making mealtimes more relaxed and enjoyable.
Benefit: Decreases mealtime stress and creates positive associations with food.
- Enhances Sensory Exploration
Tip: Encourage children to explore different textures, shapes and colors of food through play. Use tools like cookie cutters, food-safe paint or sensory bins filled with dried pasta or beans.
Benefit: Helps children become more comfortable with the sensory properties of food, which can lead to increased willingness to try new foods.
- Improves Fine Motor Skills
Tip: Use activities that require manipulating food, such as peeling oranges, spreading peanut butter,or threading fruit onto skewers.
Benefit: Enhances hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills, which are essential for self-feeding.
- Boosts Social Skills And Communication
Tip: Incorporate group activities where children can play with food together, such as building edible sculptures or creating food art.
Benefit: Encourages social interaction, turn-taking, and communication skills as children discuss their creations and share ideas.
- Promotes Creativity And Imagination
Tip: Offer opportunities for children to use their imagination with food play, such as making faces on pancakes or creating a “food rainbow” with different fruits and vegetables.
Benefit: Stimulates creativity and imaginative thinking, making food more engaging and less intimidating.
- Increases Exposure to New Foods
Tip: Regularly introduce new foods during play activities without pressure to eat them. For example, let children squish tomatoes or stack cucumber slices.
Benefit: Familiarizes children with new foods in a low-pressure setting, which can lead to increased acceptance and tasting over time.
- Encourages Positive Mealtime Behavior
Tip: Model positive behavior and praise children for participating in food play. Avoid negative reactions to messiness or rejection of food.
Benefit: Reinforces positive associations with food and encourages willingness to engage in mealtime activities.
- Supports Sensory Integration
Tip: Use multi-sensory food play activities, such as making “edible slime” with chia seeds or creating a “food sensory bin” with various textures like cooked pasta and jelly.
Benefit: Integrates sensory processing, helping children become more adaptable to different food textures and sensations.
- Facilitates Learning And Development
Tip: Incorporate educational elements into food play, such as counting grapes, sorting colors or learning about different food groups.
Benefit: Enhances cognitive development and learning in a fun, interactive way.
- Fosters Independence And Confidence
Tip: Allow children to make choices during food play, such as selecting which foods to use or how to arrange them.
Benefit: Builds self-esteem and independence, making children more confident in their abilities to handle food.
Encouraging children to play with their food in these ways can transform mealtimes into enjoyable, stress-free experiences that support their overall development and well-being.
