FOOD PLAY IDEAS Information Leaflet Your Health. Our Priority.
Page 2 of 5 Food Play Ideas General Advice This should be messy do over a laminate floor or plastic sheet You and your child should not wear your nicest or whitest clothes! Even if you find the activities unpleasant, don t let your child see how you feel Keep it fun! Have these activities separate from mealtimes, they are play times Put no pressure on your child to eat the food Gradually extend what s/he will accept move from drier to wetter or stickier textures, move from getting the food on his/her hands to dabbing it on his/her face/lips (and yours too!) Use a range of activities at each level before moving on to the next level Put clean plastic toys in with the foods to encourage your child to dig right in and find them. With dry food you could hide inset puzzle pieces, shapes for a shape sorter, fridge magnets, etc inside to find and then use If your child is very reluctant at any stage, give them a spoon or paintbrush to stir, chop or paint with the foods. S/he will probably end up with some food on His/her hands anyway Of course, avoid any foods you or your child is allergic to Dry Food Explore dry pasta, rice, popcorn (popped or unpopped), lentils, pulses, dry breakfast cereals in a bowl or on a tray Avoid these activities if your child is likely to put these things in his/her mouth as they could be a choking hazard Dry Powdered Food Explore textures like flour, sugar, instant coffee, drinking chocolate, oats or powdered soups/sauces. Crisps also leave a powdery (and greasy) coating on the hands Soft Food Give pieces of bread, tortilla wraps, kidney beans, meat, well-cooked egg white or cake to tear or squash Stretch and squash jelly sweets (e.g. wiggly worms, Haribo jellies) Dry but Sticky Food Explore marshmallows, meringues, dried fruit, cooked rice, pasta or pulses.
Page 3 of 5 Wet Food Explore jelly, meat paste, mash, cereals with milk, cheese spread, whipping cream, cooked fruit Stick small pieces of raw or cooked spaghetti or pulses onto paper to make a picture using honey as glue Play with soft fruits like banana, pear, berries or melon or cooked vegetables squash them and mash them up Paint with jam, sauces, cold coffee, yoghurt, etc either with a paintbrush or finger painting (or even face painting!). Make hand or footprints on paper. Use raw vegetables or other objects to print shapes Paint with cold wet teabags. Try fruity ones for different colours Other Challenges Play with dry Weetabix, add milk gradually to make it wet, let it dry out so it is sticky. At the right texture you can roll it and cut it out Put juice or milk in a bowl blow down a straw to make bubbles, float bath toys or other foods on it. Hide plastic toys in the liquid for your child to find with his/her hands. Make a face on a tray or plate with spaghetti hair and fruits or pulses to make up the face. Play with roll-out icing, pastry or marzipan (as long as there is no nut allergy risk) as if it were play dough roll it, cut it, etc. Add water (or juice or milk) to it to make it gooey. Play with corn flour. Add water to it to make it sticky. Other Food Tips Eat together as much as possible Go shopping for food together. If your child is able, encourage her/him to choose some of the foods you buy Cook together. Perhaps give your child some of the ingredients to play with while s/he watches you cook Look at picture books that show people eating Pretend play around eating feed teddy pretend or real food.
Page 4 of 5 Contact us Speech and Language Therapy Team Integrated Service for Children with Additional Needs (ISCAN) Rowan House, Grange Road South, Hyde SK14 5NU Telephone: 0161 366 2050 Fax: 0161 366 2080 Email: snt-tr.iscanrowanhouse@nhs.net If you would like to make any suggestions or complaints please contact our Patient & Customer Services: Tel: 0161 419 5678 Fax: 0161 419 5296 Email: pcs@stockport.nhs.uk Website:
Page 5 of 5 If you would like this leaflet in a different format, for example, in large print, or on audiotape, or for people with learning disabilities, please contact: Patient and Customer Services, Poplar Suite, Stepping Hill Hospital. Tel: 0161 419 5678 Information Leaflet. Email: PCS@stockport.nhs.uk. Our smoke free policy Smoking is not allowed anywhere on our sites. Please read our leaflet 'Policy on Smoke Free NHS Premises' to find out more. Leaflet number TG54 Publication date January 2014 Review date January 2015 Department ISCAN Location Tameside and Glossop