Have you come across children who are born trouble makers? Have you felt ‘lump in the throat’ feeling being around children who are pulled like magnets towards taking undue risks?
It is not uncommon or unnatural for certain parents to second guess their ways and means of parenting when, their child responds differently to certain sensory stimuli as compared to others.
Understanding Sensory Processing Disorder
Essentially Sensory Processing Disorder (SDP) is a medical condition in children in which the brain does not receive certain sensory impulses, thereby resulting in lapse of responses from the brain.
Certain children exhibit a hypersensitive response to sensory inputs like, being startled on loud noise or, feeling claustrophobic. Hyposensitivity symptoms are seen in children who are extremely clingy and fail to comprehend the importance of personal space. Essentially, such children are impervious to change and do not take instructions well.
6 ways to tackle sensory issues and picky eating in children
Picky eating in children is every mother’s agony! However, one cannot blame the child for his misplaced sensory responses to certain food smells, shapes and texture. In such cases, patience and perseverance are the keys to help the child adapt to the change in the diet.
- Make a list of vegetables that your child has been cautiously avoiding. Try out recipes with the rejected ingredients and introduce them in a different way. For instance, vegetable cream soup with freshly toasted breads can be a welcome change from the mundane lunch routine of flatbreads and vegetables.
- When you introduce a new vegetable or a protein, make sure that you also keep familiar components in the diet, given that children suffering from SPD are averse to change.
- Include your child in your cooking team. Involve your child in baking cakes and making ice creams. Introduce fruits and vegetables here and, you will find their connection unfolding with colours and textures.
- Make sure the plate is appealing visually. For instance, a vegetable roll with a smiley and, with a catchy name like – Funky Monkey can be more interesting than the regular triangular shaped bread!
- Be honest. Instead of sliding beetroot slices inconspicuously between the sandwich, tell your child that, he has a yummy sandwich with little amount of pickled beetroots that will give him all the Vitamin A and Iron he needs!
- Include your child in your day to day house old chores. For instance, creases disappearing from clothes when ironing and, stains fading from clothes during rinsing clothes can play a crucial role in getting the child to connect with the change. This also aids in building self dependence in children.
Importantly, be an example to your child. Eat as a family. Speak to your child a lot. Engage him in conversations about how good food makes good health. If the child plays with food, do not curb it rudely. Be patient and yet, strict. Set the time limit and, a couple of weeks in discipline will definitely give a positive result, if not on a large scale.
It is important to remember that Rome was not built in a day. So, do not expect instant results. Rewiring nerve impulses with the above mentioned approach requires tonnes of patience and perseverance. And, kindness and sensitivity go a long way in helping the child comprehend the nuances of sensory perceptions.
