Is your child a picky eater or a problem feeder? Picky eaters should be monitored, but problem feeders will benefit from professional intervention from a speech-language pathologist or occupational therapist that specializes in working with children who are problem feeders.
Picky Eaters versus Problem Feeders
Picky Eaters
-decreased range or variety
of foods; will eat at least 30 different foods
-foods lost due to ‘burn out’
because of a food jag are usually regained after a 2 week break
-able to tolerate new foods
on plate; can touch or taste a new food (even if reluctantly)
-eats at least one food from
most food texture or nutrition groups (purees, meltables, proteins, fruits)
-frequently eats a different set
of foods at a meal than the rest of the family
-will add new foods to
repertoire (even if it takes exploration and/or multiple exposures)
-sometimes reported by
parents as a ‘picky eater’ at well-child check-ups
-struggling with your child
about mealtime is common
Problem Feeders
-restricted range or variety
of foods, usually less than 20 different foods
-foods lost due to food jags
are NOT re-acquired after taking a break, often resulting in a decreasing
number of foods in a child’s repertoire
-cries and ‘falls apart’ when
presented with new foods; complete refusal
-refuses entire categories
of food texture or nutrition groups (meats, vegetables, soft cube textures)
-almost always eats different
foods at a meal than the rest of the family (often doesn’t eat with the family)
-adds new foods but takes
several exposures and extremely slow progression with exploration of the foods
before ingesting
-persistently reported by
parent as a ‘picky eater’ across multiple well-child check-ups
-family meals are a daily/continual
struggle
