Feeding Therapy for Picky Eaters

​Children can benefit from feeding therapy to help learn about new foods. The goal of feeding therapy is to increase the number of foods that your child will eat by increasing their comfort with trying new and non-preferred foods. The foods you try in therapy may not end up being your favorite foods, but will serve as the foundation to trying new foods in the future.
 
Things to know about feeding therapy:

1. It should be fun! By increasing comfort with foods through play, your child will get more comfortable and confident with putting new and non-preferred foods in their mouths.
2. It can feel slow. Your child has built their feeding habits over time, so breaking those habits and trying new foods may take a while.
3. Your child’s feeding concerns may stem from many areas, such as sensory challenges, oral motor challenges, behavior, or previous illness or trauma. Because of this, different approaches may benefit different children.

 
Feeding therapy not only includes the work you do at therapy, but also emphasizes work at home, where most meals occur. Here are a few things you can do at home if you are concerned about your child’s feeding:

1. Develop a sensory warm up before meals. Have your child push a chair or stool to the sink, and wash hands/play in water before eating. Water play and heavy work are two ways to get your child’s sensory system ready to sit at the table.
2. Have everyone try sitting in a new spot at the table. If anxiety becomes associated with mealtime, a new spot might give your child a fresh perspective.
3. During the meal, talk about the sensory properties of the foods, instead of how yummy or yucky a food tastes. Describe foods as crunchy, chewy, salty, sweet, etc.
4. Have each family member be responsible for cleaning up his or her own plates after a meal. During clean up, your child will be interacting with or touching non-preferred foods on their plate. This not only promotes comfort with these foods, but also may encourage them to try a bite or two during clean up.

 
If you are concerned about your child’s picky eating or trouble feeding, talk to your pediatrician and consider making an appointment with us at A2 Therapy Works!