My husband and I were out the other week with our 3 kids and we were excessively praising our 4 year old daughter for eating a hot chip that actually had some potato inside it (AKA a fat chip) and it got me thinking how weird we looked to other people at the club…
Why do parents praise their 4 year old for eating hot chips? ….. When their child has oral hypersensitivity that’s when!
So here are my 10 Things only parents of oral hypersensitive kids will understand
- Making a child sit at the table till they finish their dinner can feel like a night out when you were 18… it turns into an all nighter and probably ends with vomit!
- Eating hot chips (wide ones) is a HUGE accomplishment and you congratulate your child with every bite while other parents tell their kids to slow down!
- You have an uncanny ability to peel strawberries & grapes and you can de-seed a passion fruit!
- You know that even flat soft drink has bubbles and they feel like a thousand needles sticking into your child’s mouth yet they persist 1ml at a time showing you their pain with a squinched up face and shake of the head – because they want to be like all the other kids!
- Going to someone else’s place with no food is the biggest gamble you make!
- Teeth brushing is a speed skill – and toothpaste is a thing you wave over the toothbrush without actually touching it.
- You encourage your child to try junk food like ‘jubes’ and ‘jelly beans’ and ‘cake’ because you just want your child to be able to eat at parties like everyone else!
- You know that food entering your child’s mouth is an accomplishment ….. you feel a sense of accomplishment and success but you know not to celebrate too soon… it can always end in gagging and spitting out no matter how long they chew for.
Getting a bit more serious now….
9. You wish your child saw food as something exciting and pleasurable instead of every meal being a chore and them viewing new food like a witches curse
and finally….
10. It is NOT your child’s choice to be fussy it is a reaction they can’t control and you wish that others would understand that forcing them to eat is not the answer.
You may have had a bit of a chuckle, a bit a sigh or a bit of a tear at these – please share it so others can understand your child’s eating behaviours.