Why your child should definitely play with their food!
Eating is not just about chewing and swallowing. You’ve probably heard the expression “eating with your eyes”? Eating can be described as a staircase where the child must first accept how the food looks, how it smells, how it feels with their fingers before the child is ready to climb the stairs, put the food in their mouth, chew and swallow. Actually, it’s quite logical, the mouth is a sensitive part of the body!
Play is an effective method for helping children approach new foods. Through games and crafts, the child uses all of their senses and gets time to familiarize themselves with the food on all the steps of the eating ladder. Sometimes the child spends extra time on certain steps before they are ready to take a step up to the next step - and that's completely OK!
If your child has neophobia, it is important to be patient and encouraging. Let the child set the pace and praise the child for their efforts.
Playful tips if children don't want to taste the food
Cooking & preparation
Let your child help you cook or bake. This helps them learn about different foods and how to prepare them. This allows them to use their senses of touch, sight and smell, which prepares them for tasting.
Food games & play
There are many different food games that can help children learn about different foods and flavors. The Taste Expedition activity book is one example!
Food crafts & transformations
Let your child help transform ordinary foods into something more exciting, such as turning a cucumber into a dinosaur or a banana into a car.
Food on skewers
Popular with most children, especially picky eaters. A craft that is both fun to do and looks festive and appetizing!
Paint with food
Use cream-based foods like yogurt, fruit creams, smoothies, nut butters, salsas - only your imagination sets the limits. Painting with food is a super fun activity for kids that also helps them practice texture, smell and taste in a casual and creative way. Paint a picture on the plate or use as edible face paint!
Dinner fun
Let mealtimes be a playful time where a few carrot sticks suddenly turn into a pair of walrus tusks or lettuce leaves into elephant ears. Pretend you are dinosaurs taking big dino bites or nibbling on your food like a little mouse! Maybe you play games like close your eyes, take a bite and guess the food or "I never have"? See mealtimes as an opportunity to have a special time together, light candles, play music, maybe even read a story to the child sometime now or then?