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