Free printable for parents
Food Sensory Descriptors
Give your child the words to describe what they see, smell, feel, taste and hear. The more your child can talk about a food, the more comfortable and curious they become at the table.
Does this sound familiar?
Neutral, descriptive words help children explore new foods without pressure. Instead of “Do you like it?”, try “Is it crunchy or soft?”
Take a peek inside
Almost 60 words for exploring food
Tap the page to see it up close.
Ways to use it
- Pick one food and explore it together with all five senses
- Make a sensory word chart during meals or play
- Turn it into a game: guess the food by sound, smell or feel
- Let your child invent their own words or draw what they notice
- Keep it on the fridge so the words are always handy
What's included
A simple tool for pressure-free food talk
- 1Almost 60 describing words for how food looks, smells, feels, tastes and sounds
- 2A simple question for each sense, like “How does it look?”
- 3The “describe, don't judge” tip for calmer conversations
- 4One printable page to keep on the fridge or at the table
This printable is for you if…
- Your child is 3 or older and cautious with new foods
- You want new ways to talk about food at the table
- You'd like to build your child's food vocabulary
- You're looking for a quick printable you can use today
Argie Karakalpakidis, MS, CCC-SLP, TSSLD, CLC
Founder, Kids Feeding Wellness · Practicing since 2018
Pediatric feeding specialist and speech-language pathologist helping families understand why feeding may be hard — and what to do about it.
“When children have words for what they notice, new foods feel less scary. Describe, don’t judge.”
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Send me the free printablePair it with play: Food-Based Play for Sensory Exploration is free too.