How to Fill Your Child’s Sensory Needs To Reduce Big Behaviors

Inside: Every child has a unique set of sensory needs. This post will help you understand your child’s sensory needs and how to fill them throughout the day, reducing big behaviors and emotional meltdowns. This post includes affiliate links.

Our coffee station is filled with mugs of all different sizes and shapes that we have bought from all the places we have camped – some tall and slender, others short and wide, a few with delicate handles, and others with sturdy bases. 

This diverse collection perfectly represents your child’s unique sensory processing systems. Just as no two people have identical fingerprints, no two children have the exact same sensory cup sizes – and this diversity is what makes each child wonderfully unique.

You can dive into all 8 sensory systems in this blog post: “The Ultimate Guide: Understanding Sensory Processing Systems in Kids”. I describe each system using a cup analogy to determine how much input your child needs. 

The Variety of Sensory Needs: Your Child’s Sensory Profile

Your child’s collection of sensory needs might include “cups” that look like this:

• A giant movement cup that needs constant filling through jumping, spinning, and climbing.
• A tiny auditory cup that overflows easily in noisy environments. 
• A medium-sized visual cup that handles most input well but occasionally needs a break.
• An extra-large tactile cup that’s always seeking more hugs, touches, and textures.

This unique combination creates your child’s sensory profile, influencing how they experience and interact with the world around them.

Understanding Your Child’s Unique Sensory Needs

It’s important to look at the sensory needs of each of your individual children because everyone is unique and special!

Sensory Seekers: Kids with “Big Cups“

Children with bigger sensory cups often:

• Seek out intense experiences.
• Need more stimulation to feel regulated and comfortable.
• May constantly appear “on the go” or “turned up to maximum volume”.
• It might take longer to feel satisfied with sensory experiences.

Sensory Avoiders: Those with “Small Cups“

Children with smaller sensory cups typically:

• Process sensory input more intensely.
• Need frequent breaks from stimulation.
• May become overwhelmed in environments others find comfortable.
• Require more time to recover after sensory-rich experiences.

A Mix of Both (or Neither): Those with “Just Right” Cups

When my oldest was in a traditional school, he had an OT evaluation for how much he moved his body and for his behavior challenges. The therapist said the results of his eval showed he was both sensory seeking and sensory avoidant depending on the environment. 

Kids may also have a balanced sensory system across the board and may have neurotypical behaviors and regulation skills. 

Embracing Your Child’s Unique Pattern

It’s crucial to remember that there’s no “perfect” set of cup sizes. Each combination brings its own strengths and challenges:

• A child with a large movement cup might excel in sports and physical activities.
• One with a small auditory cup might develop exceptional focus in quiet environments.
• Someone with a big tactile cup might show natural talent in arts or crafts.
• A child with a small visual cup might develop strong listening and memory skills.

Read Next: The Secret to Building Your Child’s Strengths While Decreasing Weaknesses

Sensory System Support

The key to supporting your child lies in understanding and accepting their unique sensory profile. 

Observe and respect their natural preferences and avoidances. 

You can create environments that match their cup sizes when possible, teach them strategies to manage when environments don’t match their needs, celebrate the advantages their unique cup sizes bring, and help them advocate for their sensory needs as they grow.

The Power of Acceptance

When we embrace our children’s unique sensory profiles, we:

• Build their self-confidence and self-understanding.
• Help them develop effective coping strategies.
• Create stronger, more supportive parent-child relationships.
• Encourage your kids to advocate for their needs.
• Show them that different isn’t wrong – it’s just different.

Remember, your child’s unique combination of sensory cups isn’t something to fix or change – it’s something to understand and celebrate. By accepting and supporting their natural sensory preferences, we help them develop into confident individuals who understand their needs and can navigate the world effectively. And their needs will change as they grow. I’m blown away at how much more stimulus my one son can handle now that he’s older than he could when he was a preschooler.

The goal isn’t to make all cups the same size but to help our children thrive with the wonderful variety of cups they possess. After all, it’s these differences that make each child uniquely equipped to experience and contribute to the world in their own special way.

How to Fill Your Child’s Sensory Systems Throughout the Day

Just as we need to eat regular meals throughout the day, our sensory cups need consistent attention and filling. Creating a sensory-smart daily routine helps your child stay regulated, engaged, and ready to tackle life’s challenges. 

If the concept of sensory needs is brand new to you, this may feel like a lot. I invite you to take it in small chunks, and apply one or two things every week until it becomes part of your daily life like it has for us! 

To best understand what your child needs, it’s easiest to create a sensory profile. I took out the guessing work for you and created this easy-to-fill worksheet so you can figure out what activities will fill each of your kids’ sensory buckets. 

Obviously, if your child has zero issues with regulating and seems fairly balanced with all of his or her sensory needs, you probably don’t need to change anything. It still may be nice to fill out a sensory profile as sensory needs can change as the child grows. 

The sensory profile can be best used for kids who may be overly hyperactive, struggle with big tantrums or meltdowns, or struggle with behavior and if in a school that uses behavior charts, they are often on red.

P.S. I’m very against behavior charts for so many reasons but that’s a topic we can tackle on a different day! 

Then once you have this information, you can use it at home and in other environments such as school, church, and for sports. 

Creating a Sensory-Smart Daily Routine

Since every child is so unique with all the different-sized cups for every sensory system, I’m going to give a quick run-down of when you can include sensory activities throughout the day to help integrate the brain for more calm, regulated, and rational behaviors! 

Morning Reset

What a great way to start the day than to give your child the input or output they need. By knowing what system needs the most input, you can have a daily routine of doing that activity as soon as your child wakes up or before they leave the house. 

Here are a few examples: 

• Deep-pressure activities like bear hugs or weighted blankets to wake up the body.
• Calming music or quiet time for those with sensitive auditory cups.
• Gentle stretching or morning yoga for movement seekers.
• Predictable morning routines for children who need vestibular regulation.

How to Support Sensory Needs

If your child is at home, this may be a little easier to do. We have laminated sheets of proprioceptive and vestibular exercises that my homeschooled child is empowered to do on his own. We use these printables! He is quick to grab the sheet when he feels crabby because he now knows it’s connected to his large proprioceptive cup. 

If you’re a stay-at-home mom with littles under the age of five years old, a GREAT place to get lots of input is the park or an indoor play place. 

Lastly, for kids who go to school, make sure their teachers understand that your child has different sensory needs. My kids have had incredible teachers who were very open to me providing everything from little fidgets and routine cards to rocking desk chairs and elastic chair bands. 

And a few of them were willing to give sensory breaks or create a quiet corner. When I needed to, I went above the teacher and requested a 504 plan or IEP meeting to ensure my kids got what they needed and it was required by law that the teacher followed through. 

Late Afternoon

I’ve heard this time of the day referred to as witching hour. Ha! This is because it’s the most common time that the cups will overflow. 

Here are my top tips for helping with the before-dinner or after-school (if your kids go there!) meltdowns: 

• Have a nutritious snack ready as soon as school ends. You can also empower your kids to plan by preparing their own snacks. You can use my free lunch list for kids. 
• Offer immediate movement breaks for physical release – we like to go to the park or take the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood if it’s not 120 degrees. Oh, the joys of living in the desert!
• Provide a calm, dim space for visual reset.
• Allow time for proprioceptive activities like jumping on the trampoline, spinning in a sensory swing, or climbing. 
• Include heavy work activities like taking the garbage out or carrying you around. Totally kidding about the second one even though we do that! 

Evening Wind-Down Routine

Once dinner is finished, the kitchen is clean, everything is ready for the next day and the kids are ready for their bedtime routine, it’s the perfect time to have a few more sensory activities to help your child’s brain process the day. 

I also LOVE reading Conscious Stories books to my youngest because that’s the whole concept of the series – to breathe together and do a little mind-body exercise that helps the child process what happened that day so the brain can truly rest during the night. 

Here are some example activities that help create a calming routine to prepare for sleep:

• Joint compressions for proprioceptive input – doing these completely changed our evening routine from a battle to go to bed to no battle at all. 
• Brushing for tactile input.
• Gentle swinging or rocking for vestibular regulation.
• Quiet activities, story podcasts, or an evening guided meditation made for kids for auditory processing reset.
• Dim to no lighting for visual cup management.

Reading Your Child’s Cup Levels for Sensory Input 

It’s very apparent when my kids’ cups are empty or full. However, if this concept of sensory needs is brand new to you, it may take some time to figure out what kind of input your child needs.

Signs of Empty Cups – Indicators that more sensory input is needed:

• Increased irritability or emotional outbursts
• Difficulty focusing or sitting still
• Seeking intense sensory input
• Becoming withdrawn or shutdown
• Changes in coordination or balance
• Resistance to transitions or changes

Signs of Overflowing Cups – Indicators that less input is needed

• Covering ears or eyes
• Becoming overly excited or dysregulated
• Avoiding touch or movement
• Showing signs of anxiety or stress
• Becoming aggressive or defensive
• Shutting down or having meltdowns

Remember that filling sensory cups isn’t about following a strict schedule – it’s about creating a flexible framework that supports your child’s unique sensory needs. Some days will require more frequent filling, while others might need more careful monitoring for overflow. The key is staying attuned to your child’s signals and responding with understanding and support.

By thoughtfully planning sensory activities throughout the day, you create an environment where your child can thrive, learn, and grow while maintaining comfortable sensory cup levels.

Celebrating Your Child’s Individual Sensory Profile

I’m going to reiterate this point one last time – every child’s sensory profile is unique. Sensory profiles are a beautiful combination of strengths, challenges, and extraordinary potential. Celebration isn’t about changing who they are, but about embracing their distinctive way of experiencing the world.

What might seem like a challenge can be a remarkable gift. 

A child with a sensitive auditory system may develop into a talented musician. High movement needs could lead to a star athlete. Intense tactile awareness might create a future artist or architect. Careful visual processing could result in remarkable attention to detail which can be used in so many fields. 

Creating a “sensory proud” family culture means displaying artwork that highlights their unique processing, using positive language about their sensory differences, and sharing stories of successful neurodivergent individuals. 

You can help children name and understand their sensory needs, teaching them to communicate their requirements confidently.

Something we have done over the years is to help our kids build self-advocacy skills. They understand how to listen to their bodies and use the necessary tools to regulate them. We taught them a rich emotional vocabulary so they could connect their sensory needs to their emotions. Life feels so much more enjoyable since our kids have developed these skills! 

When we celebrate our kids as unique individuals with just as unique needs, we:  

• Boost their self-esteem
• Validate their experiences
• Reduce shame
• Empower them to embrace their uniqueness

The most important message is simple yet profound: Your child isn’t broken. They’re beautifully, wonderfully different. Each way of processing sensory information is not a deficit, but a distinct lens through which they will view, interact with, and ultimately change the world.

Your child was never meant to fit into a predetermined mold. Your understanding and support are the most powerful tools in helping them thrive exactly as they are.

Next Steps for Parents

As you read through this and you are unsure where to start, email me >> adriane@raisingkidswithpurpose.com.

If your child struggles more than others, it may be time to look into getting professional help. I waited too long because I didn’t know where to go for one of my sons. The other two didn’t need therapy, but instead, they needed some understanding from me and my husband. Once I knew what my kids’ sensory needs were, I could support them and their brains in productive and helpful ways!

Here are additional next steps you may want to take:

Professional Support:

Consider consulting an occupational therapist specializing in sensory processing integration if you notice significant challenges in your child’s daily functioning or if you need expert guidance in understanding their sensory profile.

Resources for Learning:

• Books on sensory processing
  • The Highly Sensitive Chlid
  • The Out of Sync Child
  • Raising  Sensory Smart Child
  • Raising a Highly Sensitive Child Guidebook
• Online workshops and webinars
• Nonprofits with free resources that support your child
  • Understood.org 
  • The Child Mind Institute
• Brain support clinics like Brain Balance Centers
• Professional consultations with an Occupational Therapist near you

Advocacy Tips:

• Communicate your child’s needs clearly with educators.
• Create written sensory support plans.
• Educate family and caregivers about your child’s unique sensory profile.

Help Your Child Understand How He or She is Wired: 

Use our sensory profile worksheet (download below) to: 

• Map out your child’s unique sensory cup sizes.
• Identify specific strategies for support.
• Create personalized sensory regulation plans.
• Build confidence in understanding your child’s experiences.

Sensory Profile Tool

Observe your child’s sensory cup sizes this week. Notice their reactions, sensitivities, and unique ways of processing information. Pay attention to what fills or empties their different sensory cups.

Download the free Sensory Profile Worksheet to track and understand your child’s individual sensory needs. This tool will help you map out their unique sensory landscape and create targeted support strategies.

Join our supportive community of conscious parents. Connect with other families, share experiences, and learn from experts who understand the beauty of neurodiversity.