Sensory Play Ideas

Here is a cool handout that I put together to help parents get some ideas for sensory based play. Reminder: this may be hard for your child, make sure he his happy (well rested, fed, clean diaper, etc.) Also, if your child has sensory difficulties that affect eating you probably will want to do these activities in an area he is not expected to eat in, like outside or at a water table so that he doesn't make any negative associations to eating or food. Keep these activities fun and stress-free. It is ok to get messy!

Let’s broaden your child’s sensory input with activities that are S.A.F.E. (Sensory-motor, Appropriate, Fun and Easy). Let’s provide tactile sensations of dough, water, clay, glue, rock, mud, sap, earth, paint, feathers and fur. Children thrive when their eyes, ears, skin, and whole bodies ingest and digest all kinds of sensory stimuli. They may develop to their greatest potential if they have opportunities to feel rain on their faces, leaves in their hair, goo on their fingers, and mud between their toes.

SOME S.A.F.E. TACTILE EXPERIENCES

• Finger-painting on a tray with chocolate pudding. This open-ended, hands-on activity feels as good as it tastes. Next time, offer shaving cream and enjoy the smell and easy clean-up.

• Digging for worms. Handling worms is about as tactile as you can get.

• Going barefoot, lakeside. The differences between firm and squishy, warm and cold, dry and wet are worth investigating.

• Forming rice balls or rolling cookies in sugar.

• Kneading playdough or real dough. Make shapes, people, pretzels, or blobs.

• Ripping paper. Strips of newspaper are useful to line the hamster cage. Strips of construction paper or tissue paper make beautiful collages. Remember the process, not the product, is the goal.

• Discovering treasures in a Feely/Sensory Box. (Cut a hand-sized hole in a shoebox lid. Fill the box with lentils, cotton balls, packing peanuts, or sand. Add buttons, shells, uncooked macaroni, or small toys.) The idea is to thrust a hand through the hole and let the fingers do the seeing. No peeking!

• Collecting seeds, pebbles, or shells in an egg carton. Loading up the receptacles and dumping them out is great fun for a very young child. The ability to sort and classify the items comes later. *watch for choking hazards

• Petting the pet. Drying a wet dog, stroking a kitten, providing a finger perch for a parakeet, or hugging a baby are tactile experiences that make a child feel good, inside and out.

taken from Kranowitz, C. (2004), In Praise of Mud, S.I. Focus

Rigid Eaters

Sometimes kids find specific foods they like and are hesitant to try anything else. This can be trying for mom (who does not want chicken nuggets for dinner every day) and it can be nutritionally hazardous for a child. How can you get your child to branch out? What happens when they become entirely tied to a routine and will not bend?
Here is one idea that I have seen work, you might want to give it a try...
Expand on the familiar routine. Instead of taking a complete U-turn and really throwing your child stay with what he is comfortable with and add a little something new.
Example: "My child loves to eat mac-n-cheese for dinner. When I try something else he flings it on the floor or just spits it out if I put it in his mouth. Sometimes I can get him to eat spaghetti noodles or other starchy foods but he will only eat a little. He eats best when it is mac-n-cheese"
So to try my idea this parent could cook up a box of mac-n-cheese and give her son a little in a very small bowl next to whatever the family is eating for dinner. Then her son will have his staple favorite to help ease him into whatever the new food is. Mom is expanding by adding new foods next to his familiar mac-n-cheese.
Another way to expand...cook only the macaroni noodles and serve them with a new sauce...maybe Mom's homemade cheese sauce with pureed carrots or sweet potatoes added, maybe a new Alfredo sauce, whatever goes along best with what the family is eating.
One more idea: Mom could give her son macaroni noodles plain and let him dip them into several kinds of sauces (his favorite cheese sauce and others).
The whole idea is to show your child that his routine is ok and that adding new things doesn't have to replace his routine, instead they can compliment it. (This is not the end target of being a flexible eater but it is a good way to take a beginning step towards that goal)

Foods - Getting Dirty

Last week I attended a class on feeding and swallowing taught by one of our occupational therapists. The kids that she was helping were struggling to try new foods or to eat enough food to meet their nutritional demands. I was very impressed at how important it is to integrate all of the senses when introducing foods to young children. Here are some of the technique tips that I learned from watching the class...

• Messy food = more sensory input - A good way to introduce new foods is to put some on the tray in front of your child and let them see it, smell it, and touch it. This allows your child to gather more sensory information about the new food before they make the commitment to taste it. Yes, your kiddo will get dirty hands but maybe then he will try to lick his fingers...
• Mix and match foods - It is easy to get into a routine and offer the same foods over and over to your child. You know they'll eat it, they know they'll like it. BUT it is a good idea to try to offer something new along with the old familiar favorites. You don't have to force your kid to eat it, but if you make the new food available to see, smell and touch long enough (don't just offer the new food once, it make take several exposures) then your child will be more willing to try the new food.
• Encourage independence - Yes, when you feed your child it gets in faster and there is generally less to clean up. However, when you are feeding your child they miss out on the fine motor skill practice self-feeding encourages. You can help your child learn to feed himself by starting with only a little water in his cup, or a child size plastic spoon. Things will be messy but fostering his independence will help him to feel successful.

Personal note: I have tried to incorporate these tips during my son's meal and snack times. We go through a lot more bibs these days. Being ok with the mess he makes has been hard, but he has started using a neat pincer grasp that he didn't have before...so maybe the mess is worth it!