10 Ways to Use Food Shape Cutters to Improve Picky Eating

by Thriveable Therapies

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For many picky eaters, mealtime can be a source of stress and frustration, both for the child and the caregiver. One effective way to break down these barriers and encourage a positive relationship with food is through sensory food play. Sensory food play involves engaging children with food in a hands-on, interactive way, allowing them to explore textures, colors, and shapes at their own pace. This type of play helps children become more comfortable with the sensory experience of eating, reduces food-related anxieties, and encourages them to try new foods. By turning mealtime into an exploration of sight, touch, and even smell, sensory food play can improve feeding skills, foster independence, and reduce picky eating behaviors, all while making the process more enjoyable. Using tools like food shape cutters is a simple and fun way to incorporate this sensory experience into mealtime, turning each bite into an opportunity for growth and exploration.

Here are 10 creative ways you can use food shape cutters to help improve picky eating and encourage the development of feeding skills:

1. Puzzle Time

Food shape cutters aren’t just for cutting; they can also be used to create fun, interactive puzzles. For example, after cutting shapes from fruits, vegetables, or sandwiches, encourage your child to piece them together like a puzzle. This activity can help improve fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, all while building positive associations with new foods.

2. Matching Game

Make mealtime a learning opportunity by turning food shapes into a matching game. Cut out shapes from different foods and ask your child to match the shapes with the corresponding food. You can even increase the difficulty by using multiple shapes or introducing color-based matching. This playful activity builds cognitive skills and fosters a connection between food and fun.

3. Cover and Find

Food shape cutters can turn eating into a game of hide-and-seek! After cutting shapes from a soft food like apple slices or vegetables, use a spoonful of applesauce or another dip to "cover" the shapes. Then, encourage your child to "find" the hidden food shapes beneath the sauce. This sensory play encourages exploration and can help ease sensory sensitivities to food textures.

4. Build a Tower

Encouraging your child to touch and interact with food through activities they enjoy, like building a tower, can help improve their feeding skills. Stacking cut-out shapes from fruits, veggies, or sandwiches allows them to explore different textures in a fun, low-pressure way. This hands-on activity not only desensitizes them to new foods but also strengthens fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, making mealtime more enjoyable and less stressful.

5. Make a Face

Food shape cutters can be used to create fun, expressive faces out of fruits, veggies, and other healthy foods. For example, cut a few shapes from cucumber, cheese, and fruit to make eyes, noses, and mouths, and then assemble them into a face on the plate. Making faces with food can encourage your child to try new textures and flavors in a playful, non-threatening way.

6. Play Pretend Scene

Turn mealtime into a pretend play adventure! Use food shape cutters to create little scenes on the plate, such as a "farm" with animal shapes made from carrots, cheese, and fruit, or a "space" scene with stars and planets made of melon and berries. Allow your child to interact with these edible creations, encouraging them to taste the food as part of the imaginary world they’re building.

7. Food Shapes as Stamps with Dips

Dips and sauces are a great way to make eating more enjoyable, and food shapes can turn them into an art project! Cut fruits, veggies, or sandwiches into fun shapes and let your child "stamp" them into a dish of dip, such as hummus, yogurt, or guacamole. This interactive way of eating allows them to experiment with new foods, while the dip provides a familiar, comforting texture.

8. Create a Food Garden

Food shape cutters can help create a "garden" of colorful, bite-sized vegetables and fruits. Cut cucumbers into flower shapes, use apple slices for petals, and make carrots into little leaves. Presenting food this way can intrigue children, making them more likely to try a bite of the colorful garden they've "created." Plus, this encourages them to appreciate the variety of colors and textures in their meals.

9. Sorting

Introduce a fun sorting activity during mealtime. After cutting various foods into different shapes, ask your child to sort them based on shape, color, or even texture. This not only improves fine motor skills but also helps children become more familiar with different food types in a low-pressure, enjoyable way.

10. Food Shape Storytelling

Use food shape cutters to create characters or elements of a story that you can use to tell an imaginative tale during mealtime. For example, create a "pirate ship" using cheese, apple slices, and cucumber, then tell a fun pirate story while you both take bites. This storytelling aspect can make mealtime feel like an adventure and encourage your child to interact with food in new ways.

Incorporating food shape cutters into mealtime is an easy and effective way to make eating more enjoyable for picky eaters. By using these fun, creative activities, you can help improve your child’s feeding skills while fostering a positive attitude toward new foods. Whether it's through building, matching, or pretend play, these tools can turn mealtime into a fun, engaging experience that will ultimately encourage your child to expand their palate and develop healthy eating habits.

Try out these 10 ideas next time you sit down for a meal, and watch your little one transform into an eager eater!

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