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7 Ways to Help Your Child Cope With Taste Sensitivity

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Kids with sensory processing issues can be oversensitive to taste and smells, from cooking spices to minty toothpastes to scented shampoos. An occupational therapist can help your child develop coping skills. There are also activities you can do to help at home.

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Keep a log of your child’s food reactions.

Your child’s reactions to foods can change from day to day. Taste sensitivity as well as his ability to cope with unpleasant sensations can be affected by such factors as having a rough day at school or not getting enough sleep. Keeping a log can help you look for patterns. It can also help you predict trouble spots.

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Understand the connection between taste and smell.

Taste and smell are closely connected. Your taste buds can identify basics such as salty, sweet, sour and bitter. But your sense of smell provides the rest of the input to notice flavor. That’s why smell can make a difference to kids with taste sensitivities.

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Encourage “snake tastes.”

It’s important to take it slowly when introducing new tastes. Occupational therapists sometimes start by having children simply be near the food and look at it. Then the goal is to get comfortable handling the food, perhaps using it in an art project. The next big step is to do a “snake taste”—essentially a quick lick. Help your child work up from snake tastes to letting the food sit on his tongue for 10 seconds. Then you can encourage him to swallow a small bite. This may take weeks or even months, so don’t rush it.

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Set and stick to limits.

Set limits you can all agree on. If you want your child to take a “snake taste” and he does, don’t push him to swallow a bite even if he likes it. If you want him to take one bite, don’t ask him to eat more. Showing that you know this is hard for your child will help build his trust.

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Present foods in new ways.

Taste and texture issues go together, so using a different form of a food may help. For example, your child may not like the wet feel of fruit. But he might not mind the taste if the texture is different. Instead of fresh banana slices, give crunchy banana chips a try. Instead of a whole apple, offer dehydrated apple rings. Plan on some trial and error, though. Those textures and tastes may not work consistently either!

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Introduce new foods over time.

Asking your child to try too many new foods at once can be overwhelming. And keep in mind that it can take 10 to 15 tries before kids decide if they like a new food. Pay attention to how your child is responding. If he doesn’t like a food, try other forms of that food before giving up and moving on to a new food. For instance, try a banana smoothie instead of a whole banana.

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Set up “no scent” zones.

Have you ever smelled something so strongly you can taste it? Kids with taste sensitivities can have a lower tolerance for it. Try keeping areas you eat in free of air fresheners, perfume and other strong smells.

View the tips again

6 Ways to Help Your Child Cope With Visual Sensitivity

Kids with sensory processing issues can be over- or undersensitive to visual stimulation. This can make everything from studying to falling asleep a challenge. Here are some ways to help your child cope with visual sensitivity.

6 Terms to Know If Your Child Has Sensory Processing Issues

You might come across these terms as you learn more about sensory processing issues (sometimes called “sensory processing disorder”). Understanding terminology can make it easier to talk to teachers, doctors and specialists about sensory processing issues.

About the Author

Amanda Morin

A parent advocate and former teacher, Amanda Morin is the proud mom of kids with learning and attention issues and the author of The Everything Parent’s Guide to Special Education.

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Reviewed by Vanessa Pastore, MA, OTR/L Mar 30, 2015 Mar 30, 2015

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EricM California 1 year ago

determine if I can tolerate a larger sample to try. The problem with giving a child with taste or texture issues a larger sample is that they feel compelled to test it all, which may leave them extremely unhappy (even if the parent doesn't encourage or force the child to try the whole sample). The problem with offering a larger sample but allowing the child to just tap it with their tongue is that the flavor, if repulsive, is still contacting a large part of their tongue, and can trigger a bad experience. By first offering the smallest piece possible, you give the child the control and confidence to test it without any feelings of being forced into something very unpleasant.

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EricM California 1 year ago

I agree with all of the points you present here, but I feel I need to add something that a lot of people who don't have sensory processing issues don't understand about taste and texture in food. I have extreme sensitivities to certain flavors and textures in food, and while the idea of "snake tastes" is not horrible, a much better idea is to give "pinhead samples". When I was growing up, my mom would often have me try new things by giving me what she considered a "tiny amount" - typically a pea-sized piece, or a half-teaspoonful. What she never understood until I was much older was that doing so gave me quite a bit of anxiety. If I eat anything more than a pinhead-sized speck of anything that I really am unable to eat, not only do I risk throwing up, but I also may end up tasting that bad taste for hours afterward. If however I am only given the smallest possible speck of that food to try, I may not be able to determine if I really like it, but I can definitely (continued)...

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