How to Help a Child Who's a Picky or Unhealthy Eater
Are you worried about your child's eating habits and nutrition? Picky eaters can be frustrating for parents, and children who lack a nutritious diet can develop unwanted health problems. Many parents give up trying to get their children to eat a healthy variety of foods and hope they will simply grow out of it, but there may be underlying issues for the child that cause them to be picky about what they eat. If your child is struggling at mealtimes, a pediatric feeding therapist can help them overcome their barriers and improve their relationship with food. With specialized techniques to develop your child’s feeding skills, a feeding therapist can help mealtimes become more peaceful for your family.
What Causes Children to Have Feeding Trouble?
It's a common misconception that only children with developmental delays experience feeding difficulties. There are many physical, emotional, and developmental reasons why children might struggle with eating a variety of nutritious foods, such as:
Cleft lip or palate
Tongue or lip ties
Sensory processing disorder
Autism
Anxiety
Developmental delays
Many factors such as environment and emotions can make it difficult for a child to eat, which means they may not be getting enough calories or vital nutrients to help them grow and be healthy. With proper support and intervention from a feeding therapist, children can overcome feeding problems and thrive.
What Is a Pediatric Feeding Therapist?
A pediatric feeding therapist is a healthcare professional who helps children overcome their barriers with eating, drinking and exploring new foods. Feeding therapy is often a specialization that occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists get trained to deliver. A feeding therapist can address a variety of unique feeding struggles, such as:
Picky eating
Inability to chew well
Pocketing foods
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Poor hand-eye coordination
Pickiness due to sensory processing
What Are the Signs That My Child Needs to See a Feeding Therapist?
If you are worried about your child’s eating habits, you should bring them to a pediatric therapy clinic to be assessed by a feeding therapist. In addition to the assessment, the therapist will want to know if your child has experienced any of the following troubles:
Choking or gagging when they try to swallow
Getting upset or throwing fits at mealtimes
Slow weight gain or growth for their developmental curve
Refusal to eat certain types or textures of foods
Coughing when they drink
Refusal to try new foods
Throwing up during or after meals
Will only eat one type of food consistently
Taking a long time to finish meals
Struggling to chew their food
Examples of Specific Techniques Used in Feeding Therapy
Your child’s feeding therapy program will be tailored to their specific challenges. Some examples of the techniques a feeding therapist might use include:
The Sequential-Oral-Sensory (SOS) Approach, which gradually exposes your child to new foods and textures in a playful and encouraging way to help them overcome their aversion to certain textures, smells, colors, temperatures, or tastes.
Beckman Oral Motor exercises to strengthen your child’s ability to properly chew and swallow their food and drinks.
Sensory based feeding strategies to resolve underlying sensory sensitivities.
Behavioral techniques like positive reinforcement and desensitizing to new textures.
Family coaching to help you develop strategies that will support your child’s feeding development at home.
Mealtime Doesn’t Have to Be a Battle
Parents understand why it’s important to eat vegetables or have a variety of proteins, but children often don’t. So when your child refuses to eat anything more nutritious than chicken nuggets or their favorite snack, it can make you feel frustrated and worried. Many parents try demanding, bribing, punishing, and begging to get their children to change their eating habits. Unfortunately, these methods usually lead to more stress for your whole family. And when that stress gets too much, some parents give up and let their child eat whatever they want.
Instead of battling with your child at every meal or giving up and hoping they grow out of their picky eating phase, you should seek the help of a feeding therapist. Our trained pediatric therapists can help identify any underlying issues that may be contributing to your child's picky eating habits. We’ll work with your child to develop safe, healthy, and positive relationships with food and eating so you can enjoy peaceful family mealtimes.
Schedule Your Free Pediatric Therapy Screening
Feeding therapy offers children relief from feeding troubles so they can enjoy a healthy, happy relationship with food. If your child is a picky eater, or if they’re struggling to feed themselves efficiently, Metro Therapy can help. Call us at (763) 450-9400 to schedule a free pediatric therapy screening today. We’ll work with you and your child to handle their feeding struggles so they can thrive.
