TikTok psychologist Miriam Sandler shares a picky eater test for kids

The mum-of-three revealed how her own parenting experiences led her to become a go-to resource for millions of parents–sharing her tricks and activities for kids.

Miriam Sandler first turned to social media to help empower others and share tips for children to develop skills through communication and play.

In six years, the 31-year-old has built an impressive fanbase of nearly 2 million followers across TikTok and Instagram (mothercould).

Myriam’s journey began when her first child, Nicole, reached the age of one and only drank milk, refusing to eat any solid foods.

The influencer, who is also mom to Emma, ​​five, and 17-month-old Ariana, who she shares with Mark, 37, claims doctors brushed off her concerns and simply said her daughter was still growing.

But Miriam’s guts told her something was wrong.

“We tried literally every type of solid; yogurt, soup, baby food, it didn’t matter,” the mom who lives in Miami, Florida, told JamPrime.com.

She would have rejected all of that. It was very stressful.

“Although Nicole was healthy, we were very concerned that she would not eat and would even refuse to touch the food.”

With a degree in psychology and experience helping children with disabilities, Miriam realized her daughter had a fabric allergy.

Over the next few months, I used sensory play to expose Nicole to various substances in a low-stress environment.

She said: “Having worked with children with ADHD, I realized that sensory play is an effective way to introduce texture and engage a child.

“I knew her favorite texture was water because she loved the bath, so I started with water-based toys and slowly introduced new textures.

I made the water blue using food coloring and added some toy ducks to make it a ‘pond’.

“I change textures every three to four days to keep up the fun and new gameplay.

“I created recipes in my kitchen, making play dough and clay that was edible, colorful pasta so you get used to the texture through play, not at the dinner table.”

Eventually, Miriam’s hard work began to pay off.

“Kids put everything in their mouths,” she said, “so she quickly got used to these textures, and by the time she got to the dinner table, she was trying real pasta and really enjoying it.”

Within a few months, Nicole was eating all kinds of foods like salmon and quinoa.

Myriam said: “We were very happy to have come out of this difficult phase.

“Nicole enjoyed mealtimes, which meant we all started to enjoy meals together as a family.”

Buoyed by her parental win, Miriam created Mothercould, where she shares her recipes and ideas for sensory play with videos made in her own kitchen.

She said: “Sensory play will capture a child’s imagination for long periods of time because they use all their senses and it is an open-ended game.

“The moment I realized sensory play was working for my daughter was the ‘mom can’ moment.”

The mum also shares cleaning hacks for parents, tips for traveling with kids, and products to make life easier.