Texture and Food Aversions in My Child
Learning about new foods takes patience.
Did you know that many children have sensitivity to textures or aversions to foods at one time or another?
Texture and aversions are rooted in your child’s sensory system. Your child is not refusing food on purpose. Understanding your child’s unique sensory preferences is the first step to decreasing your child’s food refusals.
Learning about new foods and accepting different textures takes time, patience, and practice.
Understand that your child’s texture preferences and aversions are linked to their developing sensory system. It may feel like your child is refusing certain foods just to frustrate you. Issues with textures and specific food aversions go beyond that. During childhood, the sensory system undergoes significant development. A child’s tactile (touch), gustatory (taste), and olfactory (smell) senses collectively influence how a child experiences and perceives food. Additionally, your child’s taste preferences can be influenced by their developing taste buds and olfactory receptors. These flavor sensors guide your child towards or away from certain flavors and aromas. Food diversions, such as picky eating or aversions to certain foods, may also stem from sensory processing differences. Your child may find certain textures or flavors overwhelming or unpleasant due to their sensory thresholds. Understanding this interplay between your child’s sensory development and their food experiences provides valuable information for accommodating your child's individual sensory preferences.
Introduce new textures to your child slowly.
Try starting with a thin smooth puree, then slowly advancing to a thicker puree. One example is to thin some yogurt with water (or breast milk). This gives your baby or child a consistent and familiar taste while offering a change in texture. A thicker puree is a texture that is dense, smooth, and uniform in consistency. Cooked and pureed carrots or butternut soup (both blended until entirely smooth) can be offered. To obtain the desired thickness add water (breast milk) or cream. Allow your child to advance from a thin consistency to a thicker consistency at their own pace.
Start introducing new textures by incorporating them into, or alongside, familiar dishes.
For example, if your child likes mashed potatoes, gradually add small pieces of cooked vegetables like carrots or peas into or alongside the mashed potatoes. If your child likes tomato pasta sauce, gradually add some cooked and softened red lentils into the pasta sauce. These examples help introduce new textures without overwhelming your child.
When to Seek Help?
It is time to seek help if your child is refusing whole food groups, you are worried about your child's growth or development, you are worried that your child does not have enough variety in their diet, you are feeling stressed, or you have questions about what to do next.
Dr. Bonnie can help!
Reach out for individualized guidance to help your child overcome their texture and/or food aversion issues now.
You have the unique ability to help shape your child's relationship with food.
Remember, every small step counts on your child's flavorful journey with food!