Sensory Sensitivity and Picky Eating During the Holidays
Your Basic Guide to Surviving Holiday Meals
It all starts with picking our battles for that day. For those of us with the sensory sensitive kids holidays can be overwhelming for your kid and you! You are probably already feeling anxious for this time of year and worried about how your kid is going to handle the holidays. We all want our kids to look nice, act perfect and so on. But the reality is if we want our sensory sensitive kids to have a “good day” then we’ve got to give a little! Starting the day off on the right food means picking your battles at the beginning of the day. Our typical battles include things your kid feels they can control: the clothes they wear, the times they wake up, go to sleep, take a nap, times they eat, what they eat and so on. So we as parents need to give them some control.
Let’s start with clothes for the day. Yes we all want to match and look festive. But sometimes making accommodations such as ditching the traditional dress code apply for our sensory sensitive kids. Give your child control by giving them two options of clothing for the day. Let them decide which outfit they want to wear from the two options. If you are wanting matching outfits then plan ahead. Take your kid shopping and pick out two options that match the family. Tip keep the tags on both until the child chooses the option that day. This way you can take back the other option and you aren’t out a ton of money on clothes for the day. Remember to keep clothing simple. Fancy clothes can be overwhelming.
Meal times on holidays do matter. Plan ahead. Try to feed your child at their typical times. Give a good breakfast followed by snack, lunch etc. The mentality of “oh we are going to eat a big meal at 2pm so we don’t need to eat lunch” is a terrible mentality for our children. They are going to get “hangry” and then add in the sensory portion with a picky eating portion and you just created a recipe for disaster.
Sleep is important even on the holidays. No we may not need our rest for school but our kids thrive off schedules and getting their Zzzz’s. Stick with your typical wake times, nap times and
bedtimes. If your child still naps then DO NOT SKIP that nap! If nap time is going to be while you are at grandma’s house then make sure there is a room where your child can take a nap.
Prepping for Holiday Dinner
New and unfamiliar foods can be overwhelming along with new places and people. Introduce your kid to holiday foods ahead of time. Try serving one holiday food at a time with dinner each week. This will help familiarize your child with these foods. Food options are also helpful. Giving them options between choice A and choice B can help them feel in control. Talk with your family in advance if any accommodations need to be made for your child. Offer to have the holiday meal at your house or offer to bring a dish that you know your child will eat.
Introducing holiday foods early with typical meals at home can help your child when they see these foods at a holiday dinner. Pick a new holiday food each week to try with a dinner as a family. When serving this food for the first time give your child a small portion. Be sure to serve it with foods they prefer and love. They are typically more accepting of a food if it’s on a plate with other foods they love. When at the holiday meal let your child choose what foods they want on their plate. Keep their plate to 3 or 4 foods and serve small portions. Your child will ask for more food if they are still hungry. Holiday meals can be overstimulating and suppress your child’s appetite.
Ok So...Great advice but my child is extremely picky!
Tip: Give yourself and your child grace! You both deserve it. If all else fails then bring your child their own separate meal! The holidays are all about having fun with family so let’s make it fun!
For those extremely picky eaters get them hands on and involved with new foods. Have them go to the grocery store with you. Have them help with meal prep. Have the plate that new food on their plate at meal time.
Grocery shopping with your picky eater can help introduce new foods. Touching foods, leads to exploration and eventually to eating/trying them. Have your child put the food into the cart. This gets them touching that food. Once home have them wash the food if it requires washing. Have them help chop, cut etc (with an age appropriate knife) if they are able. If not have them mix, mash, pour etc.
Serving new foods can be difficult. As mentioned earlier serve a small portion with preferred foods. Your child does not have to eat the new food during the meal. Have your child take baby steps. Encourage them to touch the new food. Have them feed the new food to someone or a pet. Have them lick the new food. Then try to have them take a bite. Sometimes creating a game with the new food can help. Have them count it if it is a food that can be counted. Have them describe the food. Talk about the texture. Play Simon says: Simon says take 3 bites of chicken, take 2 bites of carrots and Simon says take 1 bite of “new food.”
Don’t give up! Your child will eventually try new foods. It may not be in time for that holiday dinner and that’s ok.
