Suggestions for Breaking Out of the White and Beige Food Cycle
Children on the spectrum are five times more likely to experience selective eating habits than neurotypical children. Limited diets can result in poor health outcomes for children and cause stress to parents as they try to provide proper and more varied nutrition. Autism Parenting Magazine recently looked into this challenging and aggravating situation, focusing on some children’s insistence for eating white, bland, and typically processed food day-after-day. According to their article, selective eating goes beyond the often mentioned sensitivities to taste, texture and smell. The report states that children with autism may prefer these foods due to chewing or swallowing difficulties, the desire for predictable meals, the reliability of taste that these highly processed foods provide, or even due to discomfort from indigestion. However, the article maintains that these are not reasons for parents to abandon their quest to have their children tolerate more varied and colorful food. The article’s author gives several suggestions to encourage better eating habits. These recommendations include introducing extremely small portions of colorful foods on children’s plates, praising the child for any steps they take towards the new food (touching, smelling, licking, tasting, etc…), putting a tiny bit of new food on top of a preferred food, and using a positive language to inspire the child to try the new food. Additionally, the author suggests offering the child a reward for bravery for trying a new food.
