Helping the Picky Eater

Parents often express concerns about how picky of an eater their child is. There can be many reasons for a child to be a picky eater. For many children this is just a stage and a typical part of the child’s development. Many children will want to stick to “peanut butter and jelly on white bread only with the crust cut off”, “pasta with butter only”, “McDonald’s chicken nuggets and fries”, etc. for weeks or months. Many children will be resistive to condiments, sauces & gravies, meat, and most of all – the dreaded vegetables. However, there may be other causes for a child to be a picky eater such as: • Food allergies and sensitivities • Oral/sensory difficulties • Lower muscle tone Food allergy symptoms range from uncomfortable to life threatening.  The most common symptoms of food allergy may include: vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, hives, itching, swelling, eczema, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and lowered blood pressure For more information click on the following links to learn more:

Pediatric Food Allergies

Bariatic Services–Food Allergies

If you have concerns about your child having potential food allergies or sensitivities you should discuss this with your pediatrician.

Oral/sensory difficulties usually manifest themselves by a child’s intolerance to the properties of foods such as taste, texture/consistency, smell, temperature, etc. A child with oral/sensory difficulties may choke, gag or cough while eating a food that he/she finds offensive or just being in the same room that the particular food is in. The child may need a more gradual approach to just tolerate being in the same room with the scent of the food, and work towards having the food on the same table, same plate and eventually eating it.  There are programs that help systematically desensitize a child to the properties of a food that the child finds so offensive. The success of these programs is directly hinged to the consistency in following the systematic steps of the program. If the child is only asked to comply with the steps of the program at school he will not progress with his diet at home and vice versa. Some children will even attempt to limit their parents to cooking only one specific brand of food or purchasing a food at only one particular restaurant or fast food chain. This degree of rigidity may be part of a larger behavioral/control issue that goes beyond just oral/sensory difficulties.

Social stories that emphasize the pleasure related to trying new foods can be of assistance for helping some children to rethink the idea of trying a new food. Graphing a child’s progress on a kid friendly graph can be very reinforcing for a child who is working on tolerating particular foods as well. For more information click on the following links to learn more:

Cautious Eaters Tips

Oral Sensory Input

Lower muscle tone can impact a child’s ability to suck, bite, chew and swallow food. This is generally fairly evident from infancy – sucking a bottle or transitioning to solid foods. Physicians generally diagnose children with lower muscle tone early on and intervention begins either through Birth to 3 or outpatient services. Speech Pathologists, Occupational and Physical Therapists generally work with children who have lower muscle tone to help the child develop better postural control, jaw stability, sustained biting, rotary chewing, sucking and efficient swallowing skills.