Messes That Matter: The Role of Sensory Processing at the Table and Beyond
By Samantha Breuninger, OTR/L, MSOT
Sensory processing is the brain’s ability to understand and respond to what is happening around you. We often think of the five senses–sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. There are also internal senses related to movement, body positioning, and how our bodies interact with the environment.
Eating is a whole sensory experience that can, at times, be overwhelming. More than just taste and texture, sitting down to eat a meal requires a child to regulate their entire sensory system. Nearly 2 out of 3 young children seen in outpatient therapy clinics for feeding evaluations also have underlying sensory processing and regulation difficulties.
The sounds from a busy kitchen and talkative dining table may put a sensitive child over their tolerated sensory threshold. Food colors can be bright or bland, and presentation on a plate matters to some children. Strong smells from cooking or steam wafting from the plate can be enticing or off-putting.
Children may respond to the sensory-based stress of mealtimes by throwing food, intentionally spitting, refusing to eat, and other undesired behaviors. Caregivers and children often come away from meals frustrated.
To guide you through this complex landscape of sensory experiences, we have a freebie waiting for you at the end of this blog post, featuring practical and engaging activities designed to support your child’s sensory exploration at mealtimes. Stay tuned!
Benefits of Messy Eating
Children with feeding difficulties may have a restricted menu or eat very little at mealtimes. They may avoid certain textures, tastes, or even colors of food. Children may self-restrict entire categories of food from their diets. Children with limited diets face health concerns like slow growth or malnutrition.
Some children have specific sensitivities, such as not liking food on their hands or faces or not wanting their faces wiped. Different utensil types like metal, plastic, or silicone can impact the mealtime experience.
For children without significant underlying sensitivities, constantly wiping their hands and face during meals or scooping food dripping on their chin can create or worsen a sensory sensitivity. Supporting messy eating can reduce restrictive behaviors and increase acceptance of a broader menu.
Supporting messy eating can reduce restrictive behaviors and increase acceptance of a broader menu.
Encourage, but don’t force, your child to touch, squish, crunch, kiss, lick, bite, and even spit different foods during play. The goal is not to swallow, but to willingly and playfully explore without pressure to actually eat. Over time, you can see reduced anxiety and stress around mealtimes with more positive food experiences.
Like messy play, messy eating promotes skill development and regulation, including:
Acceptance of foods is perhaps one of the most significant benefits of allowing your child to play and explore foods of different types, textures, smells, and flavor profiles. The more diverse the menu, the more a child will be open to trying new foods. They’ll have more chances to identify preferences and have more positive mealtime experiences.
Sensory exploration of different food types with various tastes, textures, smells, and appearances is the most obvious benefit. Even sounds, like food wrappers or a sizzling pan, can be part of the meal experience!
Fine motor skill development translates to a child’s ability to use utensils, pick up finger foods of different shapes and sizes, and bring food and cups to their mouths.
Independence and confidence grow over time with multiple successful experiences and reliable support. Beyond feeding yourself, autonomy also includes making appropriate decisions about when, what, and how much to eat.
Emotional development, positive mental health, and self-regulation are the direct result of providing encouragement, support, and a safe place to explore complex sensations and challenging experiences. Young children cope with stressors by co-regulating with their trusted caregivers before learning to self-regulate. Exploring messy foods without pressure to eat them builds confidence in trying new things and reduces feelings of fear or anxiety around mealtimes.
Don’t underestimate the power of leading by example! Show your child that messes are normal and can even be fun. Eat spaghetti with your hands, use your fingers to draw pictures in the ketchup on your plate, and slurp your soup straight from the bowl. There are no rules–and the messier, the better!
There are no rules–and the messier, the better!
Benefits of Messy Play
Sensory self-regulation is a skill learned over time. Some children will struggle with it. Not every child with difficulty with sensory regulation will have an associated diagnosis.
Messy play exposes children to various sensory experiences and helps them develop essential skills.
Motor Skills
There are two components to motor skills. Gross motor skills include large body movements, like limbs and trunk. Fine motor skills are small body movements, like fingers. These foundational skills impact a child’s ability to manipulate objects and their body.
Cognitive Skills
These are the mental and thinking skills. You may have heard that a child’s brain is “like a sponge”--it is constantly learning, growing, and changing!
Messy play stimulates their brain development, especially sensory integration, problem-solving, and creative thinking. These skills develop as they adapt and manipulate their environments while playing.
Emotional Regulation
Messy and sensory-based play provides a safe and controlled environment for children to explore and understand their emotions. Children experience so much during play, including excitement, happiness, stress, and frustration.
When children are engaged in a sensory experience that they enjoy, it can have a regulating effect. Effective sensory regulation can improve a child’s mood and ability to listen and participate in or transition between activities.
Empowerment Through Play
The best way to guide your child’s growth is to make messes! During mealtimes and regular play, allow your child to explore different sensory experiences in a way that encourages– but doesn’t force– both independent and cooperative play (with caregivers or other children).
The critical factor in sensory exploration is that the child is free to choose how and when they engage. It may take multiple play sessions before a child is willing to try something new. Like with feeding, the more opportunities a child has to engage in sensory play without pressure, the more comfortable and willing to participate they become. You can also incorporate favorite toys or activities into new or challenging sensory play to help your child feel safe in the face of something new.
Some things to remember if your child struggles with sensory processing:
Every child is different, and they each have unique preferences and sensitivities. As a result, a child may seek out specific experiences and avoid others. You may notice a child does not like touching certain textures, always wants to wipe their hands or mouth, or prefers jumping and crashing play.
A child can be overstimulated in one area and understimulated in another. For example, noise, bright lights, and light touch can often be overstimulating while seeking hugs and snuggles to help them regulate and focus.
Sensory processing skills develop and change over time. Individual learning differences or developmental delays can impact a child’s ability to regulate.
Trauma and stress can heighten a child’s response to stimuli. A child who struggles with mealtimes expects dinner to be challenging and will already be primed (waiting in a heightened state, anxious) for a battle at the table.
Some signs a child may need some extra help developing useful skills related to self-regulation, sensory processing, and feeding include:
Being resistant or reluctant to participate in meals or messy play
Becomes distressed during meals or sensory play
Wants to clean their hands or face constantly
Prefers a limited number of foods
Gagging or spitting food out
If you feel you and your child are struggling at meal times, contact your child’s medical providers and ask for a feeding evaluation.
Feeding therapists are typically speech or occupational therapists. Sometimes, feeding therapists work as part of multidisciplinary teams with other providers like nutritionists and developmental psychologists. The team will assess sensory regulation, behavior, feeding skills, and more.
An occupational therapist can also help you develop a sensory diet program and provide appropriate interventions. Look for therapists who have experience with behavior-based feeding problems and sensory integration.
The Short Story
Messy eating and play are not just about making a mess (or having to clean it up). They play a crucial role in your child's development.
The benefits are endless–from sensory exploration to fostering creativity and promoting independence, you can expect to see great things happening behind the scenes!
So, the next time you see your child dive into a pile of paint or explore their food with their hands, embrace the mess while knowing you are supporting their growth and learning journey.
For fun food play ideas, check out some easy at-home activities in our Food-Based Play for Sensory Exploration guide below!
