Snack Boards and ARFID

I know every single content creator out there has some version of a snack board they make for their kids, but since my daughter has ARFID I wanted to share ours because it is actually a really big deal for our family.

I've done a previous more in-depth blog post about ARFID, so I will just give you a brief overview now. ARFID is Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. It is classified in the DSM-5 as an eating disorder similar to anorexia, it just doesn't have the body image aspect to it that anorexia does. We've been working through Jackie's ARFID for the last three years. In our case, ARFID really impacts the kinds of foods she eats and the amount of food she eats. Through a lot of trial and error, therapy and an amazing medical team, we have expanded the kinds of food she eats a decent amount, but she still has struggles with the quantity.

Recently I discovered if I make her a snack tray, and call it a snack tray with safe foods she absolutely loves, she is much more likely to eat a lot more. I'm not trying to get her to eat anything new because that is not the goal here. The goal is to just make sure she's fed. I have found that if I make one of these snack trays for her, give it to her at the table and make sure she has either a show or a book, she will sit and eat the entire tray.

This is a huge deal because the trays have a lot of food for her, but I make sure there is no expectation of her eating the entire tray. I don't always fill the tray completely full of food. It just depends on when dinner is, if I'm expecting that she will actually even eat dinner or what is happening the rest of the day. What we're doing the rest of the day definitely plays a part in what I'm going to put on her tray, but she almost always eats everything on it. This is SUCH a big deal for her.

I often take requests from her, but for the most part she just tells me to make the tray because she knows I'm going to put stuff she likes. I also make one for myself because most of the time I haven't eaten lunch and it's a great pick me up for me as well.

I just wanted to share this because it's just a little bit different than some of the other like snack trays or snack boards I've seen for kids and they have been a huge hit in our house.