When a child refuses to to eat or will only eat a limited selection of foods they are usually labelled ‘fussy’. There are three main reasons that a child is a selective eater and here we help you to tease out the different issues to identify what is affecting your child’s appetite for food.
Could there be issues with digestion?
- Is your child ever sick after eating?
- Do they ever need to have a bowel movement within moments of eating?
- Do they gag or retch on food?
- Do they burp frequently?
- Do they have bad breath?
- Does your child wake during the night or struggle to get to sleep?
- Do they complain of tummy aches?
- Do they complain of a sore throat or sound like they are losing their voice?
- Do they struggle with constipation or diarrhoea?
Does your child have sensory issues that affect their food choices?
- Does your child struggle to stay still to eat?
- Are they less likely to eat if the environment is busy, noisy or has strong smells (e.g school dinner halls and noisy restaurants)?
- Does your child smell food before eating it? Especially if it is an unfamiliar food?
- Do they avoid foods that require a lot of chewing (e.g meat) or generally not chew their food well?
- Does the child prefer certain textures of food (e.g crunchy) and dislikes ‘lumps’ in sauces, etc?
Is the issue related to motor development?
- Is their speech delayed?
- Were there any breastfeeding difficulties or problems with aspiration?
- Do they grind their teeth?
