SENSE-ATIONAL MEALTIMES
It is likely that you are interested in this program because you know a child who struggles to enjoy family mealtimes. You are not alone, as nearly half of families with young children experience difficulties around mealtimes that are often accompanied by feelings of frustration, confusion, annoyance, worry, distress and anger.
Sense-ational Mealtimes is an approach to fussy and picky eating issues that help parents and caregivers to understand their child’s sensory feelings and experiences at mealtimes. The approach breaks down the sounds, smells, sights, types of touch, movement, temperatures, tastes and textures in foods that the child avoids, is bothered by, tolerates, loves and seeks. It also provides parents and caregivers ways to meet their child’s sensory preferences whilst working towards nutritious food for the whole family.
MEALTIMES IS FOR YOU, IF YOUR CHILD:
- eats few foods
- refuses entire food groups
- will not eat family meals
- becomes anxious, has tantrums or gags when presented with new food
- finds security in a particular food being present at every meal.
When typical strategies for managing tricky mealtime behaviours, fussy/picky eating, a fear of new food and feeding problems do not work, Mealtimes might be helpful.
Using your expertise in relation to your child, we hope this book helps you SENSE-itively tune in, acknowledge, empathise with and label your own and your child’s feelings and sensory preferences around mealtimes. These insights will help you think of new possibilities for increasing the range of nutritious food your child accepts and enjoys.
IS THIS RELEVANT FOR MY FAMILY?
Do you experience tricky mealtime behaviours and concerns, such as:
- “My child only eats white foods…hot chips, yoghurt, bread,crisps…”
- “He doesn’t eat any fruit or vegetables”
- “She eats sand and constantly puts everything in her mouth”
- “He overstuffs his mouth when eating”
- “I can’t get her to eat meat. I’m worried about her iron intake”
- “He rejects my home-cooked purees but will eat crackers and apples”
- “I get stressed before mealtimes have even started…”
- “I feel so scared when I see her gagging”
- “She has meltdowns at dinnertime”
- “How can I just get him to taste the food?”
The Mealtimes book helps parents and caregivers like these, and many more, understand what they and their child are experiencing.
Mealtimes explains that the sounds, smells, sights, types of touch, movement, temperatures, tastes and textures we avoid, are bothered by, tolerate, love and seek are based on our genetics, the sensory thresholds in our brain, our feelings and interactions, our surroundings and our previous experiences and memories.
Parents and caregivers can use Mealtimes to help them continually tune in to and empathise with their child’s SENSORY experiences and feelings at mealtimes. Parents and caregivers will discover ways to meet their child’s unique SENSORY PREFERENCES for mealtimes and work toward nutritious food for the whole family.
Mealtimes will bring delight and pleasure to the most difficult of family mealtimes and the fussiest of eaters!
