Montessori Education for Children With Sensory Processing Disorder

This is the first of a four-part series. We hope that it will be of value to our Montessori community of readers.

One day, when my son was two years old, he suddenly announced that he didn’t eat meat anymore. “I’ll eat it again when I’m a man.” My husband and I were pretty shocked, but thought it was just a phase he was going through and pretty much laughed it off. After all, we weren't vegetarians and toddlers explore and exert their independence through the things they can control, like choosing which foods to eat. As a Montessori mom, I decided to follow my child, and to carefully observe as he made this choice.

Almost overnight, his once wide range of tastes became very narrow. He cut off most food with the exception of foods with sharp, pungent tastes (extra sharp Cheddar and Parmesan cheese, natural peanut butter, and ketchup) and crunchy textures (bell peppers, cucumbers, carrots, grapes, romaine lettuce hearts). We thought he was experiencing the “picky eater” stage and would soon outgrow it and become the grazing omnivore once more.