https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/news/article/campaign-calls-for-eyfs-to-include-sensory-food-play.
Many providers believe that it’s unethical and morally wrong to encourage children to play with food when there are starving people in the world, some families are currently using food banks, Russia is blocking grain deliveries and there are plenty of other sensory play options that avoid food waste.
Other providers cite the sensory benefits of playing with food, especially for children who avoid food unless they have opportunities to touch it – for example, children with avoidant restrictive food intake disorder (AFRID) whose parents are advised to use food play as part of their treatment.
It is interesting to note that DfE waded into the discussion about sensory food play a while ago with a page, written by TastEd on their ‘Help for early years providers’ website –
https://help-for-early-years-providers.education.gov.uk/get-help-to-improve-your-practice/sensory-food-education.
TasteEd - https://www.tasteeducation.com/
So, the question I am asking here is – is refusal to use food as a play item some kind of middle-class guilt, from the privilege of not being disabled (btw I got that from a Facebook group thread – it’s a genuine question someone asked) or is it a moral choice based on your values and the needs of your community and the wider world?
Only you can decide your own setting’s values and way forwards:
**Should food be for handling or eating?
**Can young children understand if we explain why we can play with this food and not that?
These are some of the very relevant questions that have come up on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram groups over the past few days since the new campaign was launched.
From a practice point of view, I think these are some of the things we need to consider when planning sensory play for early years children:
**The Leuven scales – are the children in your group displaying high levels of wellbeing and involvement during food play that you don’t usually observe when you set out invitations to explore other types of sensory resources?
**Do the children in your setting routinely eat food from all the food groups? If not, some food related play might support them to learn more about food textures, colours, tastes etc that might encourage them to try something new.
**The learning characteristics – are children motivated and engaged equally to explore food and non-food sensory resources? Do they display equally high levels of curiosity and critical thinking?
**The needs of a child with, for example, special educational needs and / or disabilities such as diagnosed AFRID, sensory needs, neophobia (fear of anything new) or children whose parents might have been advised to allow their child to play with food as part of their therapy.
**How children’s schemas – for example, transporting, enveloping etc might be supported using resources other than food – if you decide that food play is no longer to be used in your setting.
**Are children’s senses stimulated equally when playing with food and non-food items? For example, do they smell, taste (when safe), touch, look closely at and listen to the different resources you provide?
**Whether alternatives to food play tick all the boxes for, for example, developing shoulder strength and stability, supporting fine motor play, teaching children vocabulary linked to sensory exploration etc.
As a working practitioner, I’ve had a brainstorm with some colleagues and come up with a big list of substitutes for food, which still allow you to promote sustainable sensory play. Popular resources to use instead of rice, lentils and pasta might include, for example –
**Aloe vera gel – in our setting, we grow our own plants, cut them up and explore inside.
**Aquarium gravel.
**Aromatherapy smells (child safe of course).
**Autumn natural finds – leaves, conkers, fir cones etc.
**Books with a sensory element – for example, ‘that’s not my ...’ series.
**Bottle babies – large bottles filled with water, baby oil and sparkles.
**Bubble bath.
**Button box.
**Cooking with the children – they make their own snack and contribute to other meals.
**Cotton wool – the texture isn’t for everyone.
**Fake snow.
**Feathers.
**Gardening – growing fruit, vegetables and flowers.
**Glass stones.
**Glue.
**Grass – personally causes hay fever but some colleagues love it.
**Kinetic sand.
**Bird food making – food play for a purpose.
**Material and ribbon scraps.
**Paint - various.
**Paper pulp.
**Perfume making from flower petals.
**Pom poms.
**Pumpkin carving.
**Recycled cardboard.
**Sand with shells and stones.
**Sealed sensory bags.
**Shredded paper.
**Silk scarves.
**Slime.
**Soap shavings.
**Sunflower seeds.
**Tissue paper.
**Water in various forms – coloured, static, travelling, ice etc.
You will then need to decide about play resources which include some food items such as home-made playdough (flour, salt etc), gloop (cornflour and water) or using herbs grown in the garden for cutting, pretend tea making etc.
Note that risk assessments must be carried out before any sensory play is presented to the children:
**Does the label on, for example, shaving foam say, ‘keep away from children’?
**Do children have allergies – for example, hay fever (no grass or hay)?
**Is the floor likely to become slippy from, for example, pretend snow?
**If you decide to use sensory play including both food and non-food items, ensure it is the correct size, shape and consistency for the children involved in the play – for example, might babies and young children choke on circles or similar?
Alongside these activities, we should be teaching children about food. In my opinion, formed over many years of working with early years children, sensory food play is not ‘the’ only answer to childhood obesity or getting children to try new tastes.
I am not, for one moment, saying that sensory food play is wrong for all children, if advised by a health professional or suggesting that children with an IEP which includes sensory food play should have it withdrawn. What I am saying is that some of the answers to the current concerns around children and food (not eating vegetables, food pickiness, AFRID, childhood obesity etc) might be found through activities which teach children about food, as part of our continuous provision, for example:
**Making bread and pizza dough – a good alternative to playdough.
**Growing fruit and vegetables – our little ones love digging up potatoes.
**Visiting the grocer, fishmonger and butcher.
**Growing herbs and harvesting them to make drinks and add to food.
**Collecting blackberries and making a crumble.
**Growing sunflowers from last years’ seeds they have dried.
**Making healthy eating fruit biscuits and buns.
**Our older children are interested in reading food labels and finding countries on the globe – we talk to them about the seasons, using our Children's Nature Almanac (National Trust) and, as part of our discussions, they learn about where food comes from, food miles and eating food that is available through the seasons.
One of my values is that I believe that we have a responsibility to advocate for our children – to make good decisions on their behalf. For example, I was asked by a colleague, ‘What about using out of date food?’ and my first thought was - what message does that give early years children – they can play with this food but not that food... can they understand the difference? Unlikely, because it’s still food that they are allowed to play with and then see us throwing away, so my feeling is that it’s still teaching them that we think it's ok for them to play with food.
You might decide, for example, that food play is suitable for some children to support their sensory needs when requested by other agencies / professionals as part of their individual learning plan, but when some families in your setting use food banks, coupled with price rises for basics such as pasta and rice, your setting’s overall practice should be adapted to advocate for a better balanced and more ethical approach.
It's your decision. In this blog I am working through my personal views only.
Chat soon. Sarah.
Picture of children eating from Google images.