The thought of 'sensory food play' is enough to make parents across the UK shudder, as new research from WaterWipes shows that almost half of parents (40%) have never engaged their baby with food play at home and over a third (34%) even feel stressed or anxious by it.
With an endless list of do's and don'ts, many parents may feel overwhelmed throughout the weaning phases of their babies, especially if they have a fussy eater on their hands! However, it is very important for parents to allow their babies to interact with food, either when they are being fed or feeding themselves, or when playing away from mealtimes.
Why is Sensory Food Play so important?
Babies are highly sensitive to stimuli around them, they react to taste, smell, touch and sound, with sensitivity to touch having the biggest impact in the acceptance of new foods. Just like some children do not like the sensation of sand or having their hair washed, foods with new slimy or stringy textures can feel very uncomfortable at first, and result in a baby refusing contact.
However, a reaction becomes less extreme the more it is experienced. This is known as desensitizing, and where sensory food play can help. This desensitisation of the baby's senses will encourage them to get used to the experience of smells, tastes and the feel of foods in the first months as you introduce new foods to them. Babies who haven't had sensory food play experiences are more likely to be 'fussy' eaters. They are more likely to be worried about different food tastes and the feel and look of different textured foods. This reluctance to touch and taste will carry on through childhood; making it easier to desensitize a baby than it is to desensitize an older toddler or child.
How can you encourage Sensory Food Play?
Sensory food play doesn't have to be a daunting experience for parents, but can be encouraged with these handy tips!
Provide as many different food tastes as possible. This will help encourage your baby to try new foods at an earlier stage, leading to more foods being accepted as your baby develops and grows.
It may not seem like a contributing factor, but cooking meals at home will allow your baby to get used to the smell of different foods that you are feeding them. This is due to babies reacting sensitively to smell as well as to taste and texture, meaning they are more likely to accept new tastes.
Add a healthy range of different textured food to your baby's meals, including lumpy solids or mashed foods. This will help reduce their sensitivity to touch - increasing willingness to try more textured foods.
If you are spoon feeding your baby, give them a spoon of their own to hold and play with and dip in the bowl. Also, allow your baby to dip their fingers in their food, give them some soft cooked vegetables to hold and mush, or some nice squashy fruit pieces. Don't be too quick to wipe their faces and hands clean, even if you are a little worried about them being messy; distract them for a little while and then wipe later.
Dr Gillian Harris and Sarah Schenker are working with WaterWipes to encourage parents to have fun with sensory food play during the weaning phase. For further tips and to play sensory food games at home visit www.waterwipes.com