Very picky eater - 5 yrs old

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Forum -> Children's Health

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Tue, Apr 25 2017, 10:20 am

I have a daughter who is 5 and has a very limited food repertoire - pizza, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets, cereal, a few more things. No fruits and veg at all. I would really like to work on this somehow, but not sure how to begin. I took out some books on sensory integration issues, and while she does get finicky about her clothing sometimes, I don't think she truly has any other symptoms besides for the eating....

I am not clear who to contact for this - would a speech therapist deal with this, or an OT? Is there such a thing as feeding therapy, and how effective is it?

If there is someone in Lakewood that you can recommend, please let me know as well. Smile

I would really love some advice on how to proceed with this!
Thanks in advance!

lfab

Tue, Apr 25 2017, 10:57 am

I can definitely sympathize as I have a 7 year old who is a very picky eater (she doesn't eat any of the foods you listed besides cereal!). As far as I know though feeding therapy is meant for children who have limited diets due to sensory issues (ie. they only eat foods with 1 texture or only eat 1 color, etc.). My daughter eats all different textures (crunchy-cereal, smooth-yogurt,) and was therefore not a candidate for such therapy. If you think she may have feeding issues it's worth pursuing. Look for a speech therapist or OT who specialize in feeding. Otherwise, you have my sympathy. Unfortunately I don't have any real advice.

Tue, Apr 25 2017, 11:02 am

Hmm...my daughter will eat yogurt sometimes too (I.e. on Pesach), but otherwise definitely leans towards carbs....Anyone have any experience getting a kid like that to eat vegetables/fruit? My other kids all do, so I don't know why she doesn't try to emulate them.....Thanks in advance!

CEF

Tue, Apr 25 2017, 11:51 am

I hide vegetables (in crepe batter for example), I try smooth soups, I arrange fruit or veg into a face or pattern on the plate or even get them to make a face with chopped fruit themselves. Non-pressured environment helps. Children can get 'interested' and surprise you when they suddenly want to taste something - its a slow process.
Out of desperation I often use items they like (eg dessert ) as a reward but this can backfire because the item (usually unhealthy ) becomes even more desirable.
I have also tried 'you don't need to eat it but must give it six licks' - they get used to the smell and flavour that way. Repeat a number of times, regularly, so they become accostumed to the taste ...
Hatzlocha !

amother

Floralwhite

Tue, Apr 25 2017, 2:00 pm

Hide pureed fruits and vegetables - in muffins, in pancakes, in cakes (zucchini bread or pumpkin bread with extra sugar and cinnamon is like cake, or just carrot cake or banana cake), in cookies, in pasta sauces.

I would also think about an OT for this.

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