Some of the best parts of summer are the slower days, relaxed schedules, and fun last minute plans, like picnics, barbeques, and trips to the ice cream shop! But for some kids – especially those with sensory challenges around food – summer can feel a bit less relaxing.
Without the structure of the school year, meals become more variable. Those unexpected invitations where food options aren’t planned or easily accommodated can throw a wrenches in your summer plans.
If you’re a parent navigating sensory feeding challenges, know this: summer might require a different strategy, but it’s absolutely manageable!
Let’s talk about what makes summer tricky for our sensory sensitive friends and what you can do to help your child feel more comfortable around food during these less structured months.
Understanding Sensory-Based Feeding Challenges
Sensory-based feeding challenges are different from typical picky eating. A child who’s a picky eater might prefer certain foods but be willing to try others. A child with sensory feeding challenges experiences genuine distress around food and it’s often based on texture, temperature, smell, appearance, or sound.
These challenges might look like:
- Extreme food selectivity
- Gagging or vomiting in response to certain foods or smells
- Refusing foods based on color or brand
- Anxiety about trying anything new
- Difficulty with foods that touch each other on a plate
- Strong reactions to food preparation sounds or smells
For kids with these challenges, food isn’t just about hunger, it’s about sensory comfort. When we approach new food situations with this understanding, it becomes less about your child being “difficult” and more about them needing extra support navigating seasonal changes.
Why Summer Changes Things for Food Sensitive Kids
Loss of Structure
During the school year, meal times are predictable, menus become more routine, and your child knows what to expect. Summer removes that predictability and for kids with sensory sensitivities, unpredictability creates anxiety.
Increased Social Eating Events
Summer hits and your weekends fill up with BBQs, picnics, ice cream outings, and family gatherings. If your child is expected to eat in new environments with unfamiliar foods, this can feel overwhelming.
Less Control
You can’t always control what’s served at someone else’s home. You can’t predict what smells will be present at a restaurant or what new food combinations might trigger anxiety. It’s this loss of control that can be a source of stress for both you and your child.
Parental Pressure
Family members might make comments about your child’s eating – “Just try it”, “Why won’t you eat that?”, “All the other kids are eating.” These comments, even when well-intentioned, increase pressure and often make for uncomfortable situations.
Strategies for Managing Summer Feeding Challenges
Keep Home Meals Predictable
While summer is less structured overall, keep mealtimes at home as predictable as possible. Your child needs at least one consistent space where they feel safe with food.
- Maintain regular meal times even without school schedules
- Keep familiar foods available
- Use the same plates, utensils, and seating arrangement
- Create a calm eating environment without screens or stress
When your child knows that they can find food structure and predictability at home, it allows them to feel grounded when other parts of the summer may feel more chaotic.
Prepare for Social Events Ahead Of Time
When you know an event is coming, spend some time preparing with your child.
Before the Event:
- Talk about what foods might be there (in a neutral, non-pressuring way)
- Let your child know they don’t have to eat anything new if they don’t want to
- Bring a familiar food or snack your child feels comfortable with
- Plan what your response will be if someone pressures your child to eat
During the Event:
- Position yourself near your child when food is served without hovering
- Don’t make a big deal about what they’re eating or not eating
- Redirect conversations if someone comments about food
- Quietly give positive reinforcement as they navigate meal time
After the Event:
- Debrief calmly and validate any anxiety your child felt
- Focus on what went well, not what they didn’t eat
Plan A Safe Food
Always have at least one food available that your child feels completely comfortable with. This might be their preferred snack, a safe protein, or a familiar side dish.
- At your own events, always have this available
- Bring it to others’ events if possible
- This prevents your child from leaving an event hungry and anxious
- It also reduces pressure because they know they’ll have something they can eat
Manage Sensory Triggers
Beyond just the food itself, summer events present sensory challenges: smells from grilling, loud noise, busy environments, unfamiliar textures.
- Position your child away from kitchen odors if they’re sensitive
- Have a quiet space available if sensory input becomes overwhelming
- Give your child permission to take breaks
- Bring headphones or a comfort item if helpful
Set Realistic Expectations
With a more relaxed, and sometimes unpredictable, summer schedule, consider that it might not be the best time to expand your child’s diet or work through food anxiety.
Pushing new foods during stressful summer events can backfire and actually increase food anxiety or trigger new ones.
Instead, focus on maintaining current work and goals over the summer. Save diet expansion and new goals for a more structured time of year or only during regular therapy sessions where your child already knows what to expect.
How In-Home Feeding & Nutrition Therapy Supports Summer Food Success
One of the biggest advantages of in-home feeding and nutrition therapy is that it truly meets your child where they are and in the comfort and familiarity of their own home. This sense of security is so helpful in working through food challenges!
We use personalized strategies…
A registered dietitian who knows and understands your child and family can help you prepare for specific summer events and develop strategies that actually work for your life
Total comfort and familiarity…
Your child works in an environment where they feel safest—your home. This level of security helps them to focus on the work and also build confidence that carries over to other parts of their life.
You learn along with them…
During an in-home therapy session, your dietitian can help you, as the parent or guardian, navigate the specific challenges summer brings. How can you handle unwanted comments? What do you do at a birthday party? Your therapist can provide real strategies for real situations.
A reduced pressure therapy experience…
In-home therapy happens in a relaxed, pressure-free environment. This is especially important during summer when your child might already feel anxious about food changes.
A continuity of care between school years…
Even if you adjust the frequency of therapy during summer, your child maintains connection with their therapist. This consistency is grounding when everything else feels unpredictable.
Sensory-Based Food Challenges Are Challenging, But We Can Help!
Navigating sensory feeding challenges is hard no matter what, and summer fun can add a level of complexity. It’s okay to feel frustrated and maybe a bit overwhelmed, but you’re doing your best to support your child in a world that doesn’t always understand their needs.
Be gentle with yourself. You don’t have to “fix” your child’s food challenges during summer, you simply find strategies and support that allow you to successfully navigate whatever comes your way!
If summer’s unpredictability is creating some food stress, in-home feeding therapy can provide personalized strategies and support tailored to your family’s needs. At Beyond Speech Therapy Specialists, our registered dietitians work with children throughout Chicago’s southwest and west suburbs, helping families navigate feeding challenges in real-life situations.
Ready for some summer feeding support? Reach out to us here and let’s connect you with one of our fantastic dietitians!
Everyone deserves to enjoy their summer – one BBQ at a time!