Is your child a picky eater or a problem feeder?

Mar 8, 2012 by Anna Migeon

Could your child benefit from professional therapy to solve her eating problems?  Did you know such therapy exists? Some children are just picky, but others have more serious problems that can be related to physical development or medical issues.  These problems can be addressed through special pediatric therapy.

Toomey & Associates of the SOS Approach to Feeding (Sequential-Oral-Sensory) provides these signs that your child’s problems are bigger than just pickiness:

Red Flags

• Eats less than 20 foods, especially if she stops eating certain foods and never accepts them again
• Not gaining normal weight
• Choking, gagging or coughing during meals
• Vomiting
• Nasal reflux
• History of traumatic choking
• History of problems coordinating breathing and eating
• Crying at meals
• The child doesn’t eat any better anywhere or for anyone
• The child avoids all foods in a texture or food group
• The child is unable to:

1.  Transition to food purees by 10 months

2.  Accept any table food solids by 12 months

3.  Transition to a cup from breast or bottle by 16 months

If you think you have a problem eater, ask your doctor about options for therapy.

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Related posts:

Serious Reasons Not to React to a “Picky” Toddler

Three Bad Tips for Feeding Hypersensitive, Orally Defensive or Sensory Processing Disordered Children

Another source for solving feeding problems: Food Chaining: The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop Picky Eating, Solve Feeding Problems and Expand Your Child’s Diet