Food Language & Body Neutrality
Turning the Grocery Shop Into Food Play
Food play doesn't have to happen at home. The grocery shop is one of the easiest, lowest-effort places to build a child's comfort with food, because the food is already right there in front of them, and there's no expectation to eat any of it. Let them choose one thing. Hand your child the job of picking one fruit or vegetable for the trolley each week, including ones you don't normally buy. Choosing counts as engagement, even if it never gets eaten. Go on a colour hunt. Ask them to... Read more...
Turning Snack Time Into Sensory Play, Without the Mess
Sensory food play has a reputation for ending in a food fight and a mop. It doesn't have to. These are the low-mess versions I actually recommend to the families I work with. The dry sort: dry pasta shapes, rice, or oats in a tray, with cups and spoons for pouring and scooping. No sauce, no stick, easy to sweep up. Frozen fruit play: frozen peas, berries, or banana coins are far less messy to handle than fresh, and the cold temperature adds a new sensory element kids often find... Read more...
5-Minute Food Play Ideas for Busy Weeknights
Food play doesn't need to be a Pinterest-worthy sensory bin to be worth doing. On a weeknight, five minutes of playful, no-pressure contact with a food is still doing real work, it's just smaller and quicker than a weekend activity. Food faces: arrange whatever's already on the cutting board (cucumber eyes, capsicum smile, cherry tomato nose) into a face on their plate before serving. Ninety seconds, zero extra ingredients. The taste-test challenge: cut a very small piece of one new or "still learning" food and ask them to rate it... Read more...