How much of a picky eater is your child? Should you be worried? Take this picky eating test to find out!
Think you have a picky eater? Everyone seems to have their own definition of what qualifies as a picky eater. But, there’s a wide range of picky eating and in some cases, it can be very stressful for the child and the whole family.
And, in some cases, it’s a normal part of development. Most parents don’t really know when to worry about their child’s picky eater or when to get them more help.
As an occupational therapist that specializes in picky eating, I’ve been trained in identifying specific red flags for the different types of picky eating. This info can be hard to find. This isn’t your average picky eater quiz with a silly list of foods that you circle to see how many your kid eats.
This picky eater test covers the main factors of your child eating that feeding specialists look at! Knowing which type of picky eater your child is can put them on a path to eating new foods. Let’s get started!
This Picky Eating is Based on Research!
When it comes to picky eating, there’s a lot of gray area. The questions below target the most common red flags I see, and are based on research in the field of feeding from folks like Ellyn Satter and Kay Toomey. There are many other, more unique signs though as well. Think of the results as a general ball park target that will give you a good starting place for what you can do next to help your child eat well.
You can also grab a printable version here so you can share the results with spouses, family, and doctors!
The Picky Eating Test Designed for Kids
This picky eating test is specifically designed for kids and toddlers from 15 months old through early teens. However, it will apply to older teens and adults as well. To begin, read the questions below and keep track of how many yes responses you have to the questions. Each time you answer “yes”, you’ll give yourself a score of 1. Each time you answer “no”, it’s a score of zero.
For example, if you answer yes to 5 questions and no to 13, your total score at the end is 5.
Take your time to answer the questions and look for the results at the end.
(Remember: Yes = 1 and No = 0)
Question #1: Does your child eat less than 30 foods?
Question #2: Does your child eat less than 20 foods?
Question #3: Does your child eat less than 10 foods?
Question #4: Does your child refuse to eat all types of vegetables?
Question #5: Does your child refuse to eat any type of meat or protein? (not due to a desire to be vegetarian)
Question #6: 6 Does your child refuse to eat any fruit?
Question #7: (Only for children 2 years of age and older): Do you have to physically feed your child in order for them to eat?
Question #8: Will your child only eat with the distraction of a tablet, TV, toys, books, etc.?
Question #9: Does your child gag, cry, throw food, or vomit when they’re asked to eat a new or different food? Or, when a food is placed on their plate?
Question #10: Does your child gag, cry, throw food, or vomit when they see a new or different food? (i.e.: They witness someone else eating a food, see it in a restaurant, or from across the room.)
Question #11: Does it feel very stressful to provide your child with a variety of foods at meals throughout the day?
Question #12: Does your child tend to eat only one texture of food, such as crunchy or soft foods only?
Question #13: Does your child tend to eat only 1-2 colors of foods, such as white, yellow, or beige?
Question #14: Does your child never seem interested in eating or appear to have no appetite at all?
Question #15: Does your child require food that’s different from the what the rest of the family is eating at meals?
Question #16: Are birthday parties and holiday meals stressful for you or your child because they are limited in the type of foods they eat?
Question #17: Do one or more of your child’s foods have to be a specific brand or prepared just right or they’ll refuse to eat them? (i.e.: your child will only eat Dino chicken nuggets, but won’t eat any other type of chicken nuggets.)
Question #18: Does your child have a food they used to eat everyday that they now hate and will no longer eat?
The Picky Eating Test Results
If you haven’t already, count up all the yes responses, 1 point for each of them. What’s your total number? Look at the four different categories below and find the range that your number fits into!
Type #1: The Typical Eater (0-2 points)
Your child is showing natural preferences if they’re eating at least some types of foods from all the food groups and have more than 30-40 foods in their diet. It’s also a great sign if they willingly try new foods, even if they don’t continue to eat them. It takes the average child 12-15 times of trying a food before they know if they like it or not.
It’s also common for kids to shy away from vegetables, in fact, they’re predisposed to do so because of the bitter taste. And, children’s taste buds are much more sensitive than ours. Many American kids are also sensitive to spicy or strong flavors.
In other cultures, such as Indian, children are often consistently exposed to spicy foods while in-utero and through breast milk. In this case, they may tolerate and even prefer these strong seasonings.
How to help The Typical Eater continue to eat well: Eat together as a family and cook together too. Avoid labeling food as bad or forcing your child to try anything that they don’t want to. Your child is eating well, keep up more of what you’re already doing, but always be on the lookout for signs of increasing pickiness.
Type #2: The Average Picky Eater (3-5 points)
If you scored in this range, then your child is most likely an average picky eater, showing some strong preferences and possibly ignoring a food group. Most children go through a picky eating stage between 1 and 5 years old and naturally grow out of it as long they are given a variety of foods and maintain a mealtime routine.
Making special meals for the average picky eater that only include their favorite food can cause eating to snowball into extreme picky eating (the next category), which may require more intervention.
The average picky eater knows what they like and what they don’t. They usually have about 20-30 foods in their diet, but aren’t overly particular about brands or styles of food they enjoy. They also don’t have a total freak out if a different food is on their plate, but will often ignore it.
How to help The Average Picky Eater Eat Better: Make sure you always serve one food at a meal that they typically eat, but don’t give them food that’s different from the rest of the family. Avoid making negative comments about food and don’t tolerate your child making those remarks either.
Read more in The Complete Guide to Picky Eating
Type #3: The Extreme Picky Eater (6-12 points)
Extreme picky eaters (sometimes called problem feeders) typically eat less than 20 foods and throw a tantrum or gag when a new or different food is on their plate. The extreme picky eater drains parents and stress levels at meals are usually high. It seems there’s no way out of short order cooking and the thought of them eating a new food is like a pipe dream.
These kiddos often food jag and may only eat foods cooked a certain way or at a certain temperature. If the slightest thing is “wrong” with the food, they won’t eat it.
This is one of the reasons that parents feel so stressed, you never know if your child is going to eat.
One other key element of this type of picky eater and the next is that there is an underlying cause that’s making it difficult for your child to eat which can range from sensory issues to oral motor weakness.
How to Help the Extreme Picky Eater: First of all, read the strategies listed for the average picky eater and the ultra picky eater because those will be important for you too. In addition to those, focus on getting meals on a schedule so that your child has a good 3 hours in between meals. This helps adjust their appetite and makes them hungry when they sit down to eat!
Make sure that you only give them water in between meals because even a little milk or juice can affect their appetite!
Type# 4: The Ultra Picky Eater (13 -18 points)
The Ultra Picky Eater is a term only I use, and it’s basically an extreme picky eater that’s highly limited. Kids in this category only have a few different foods that they eat day in and day out. Parents might serve the same 2, 3, or 4 foods every single day.
Birthday parties are stressful either because they can’t stand to watch others eat different food or can’t stand to be so close to other foods.
A child in this category may also have low-weight and growth because they aren’t eating enough.
If you’re a parent of an ultra picky eater, you likely feel like your kid is so severe that nobody can relate because their picky eating is on a whole other level.
It’s also possible that they would qualify for a Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD) diagnosis. It’s a long overdue diagnosis to differentiate kids in this category from average picky eaters, but was only officially created in the fall of 2021 so you might not have heard of it.
How to help The Ultra Picky Eater: First of all, take a deep breath and realize that there are many layers to picky eating. And, that no matter how limited your child’s diet is, it can improve. I’ve seen it happen over and over again in the most extreme cases. Start by not pressuring your child to eat and use a small side plate to start serving family style, see if they can serve themselves a small amount.
If that’s too big of a leap, then start by having them pass the food. Any interaction they have is a step in the right direction.
The key is to begin to associate eating with something positive. For more on this important strategy, and several other’s I highly recommend watching our free 3 Keys to Turn Your Picky Eater Around workshop!
Are You A Therapist Helping Kids with Picky Eating?
If you want a detailed screening tool to use over and over again with the feeding kids on your caseload check out the Picky Eating Hierarchy: A Screening Tools for Feeding Difficulties in Kids. It includes a self reported assessment that you guide the parents through and the results show potential underlying causes and which type of picky eater they are.
You’ll also get a Feeding Therapy Observation Form, the one I wish I always had as a therapist! Click here to check it out in the shop!
More on Picky Eating
How to Be Patient with Picky Eaters (Even When They Don’t Eat)
When Has Picky Eating Gone Too Far… Is it Something More?
Will Your Child Outgrow Picky Eating: The Surprising Truth
How to Get Kids to Eat New and Refused Foods
Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 18 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
My son is a picky eater, but he’s not as picky as some kids. He’ll eat a lot of different things, but he’s not a big fan of vegetables or meat.
That’s very common! A lot of kids struggle with meat and veggies, usually because they take longer to chew. It’s great that he seems to like most other things, though! For meat and veggies, just keep offering and exposing him to variety. Utilize no pressure and have him help you prepare them in the kitchen.
Best,
Kalyn
Average for 3y old, but it went to extreme during our 2 weeks vacation (all inclusive resort). So still not relaxing myself around the topic. BTW, the link to “Read more in The Complete Guide to Picky Eating” doesn’t work.
Hi Julia! Thanks for sharing your results! Vacations can typically cause some flare ups with picky eating. And here is the link for that guide!
Best,
Kalyn
Hi! I have read your article and mine son comes under Type 2 following your tips.
Hi there! Glad you found this quiz helpful in terms of finding out what kind of picky eater you have! We have a free picky eating workshop available that can help! Save your seat here!
Best,
Kalyn
I’ll be honest, the question ‘Does your child gag, cry, throw food, or vomit when they’re asked to eat a new or different food? (i.e.: when the food is placed on their plate)’ was a disturbing question to find on here, without what feels like any appropriate response to it.
Which is: this is a sign that something may be going on that you need to keep an eye on, and explore WHY the child acts this way.
This is not the behavior of a child who is ‘picky.
This is not normal behavior for a child of ANY species, to have such an extreme reaction to something they literally need to stay alive, and that also leaves them with negative consequences if they do not eat (hunger pangs, for example).
So here’s some information that it feels to me parents really need.
Allergies can be mild, and when they ARE mild, sometimes, they don’t cause rashes or hives or anaphylaxis. Instead, what they can sometimes cause is burning in the mouth, burning or pain in the throat, nausea or pain in the stomach or guts.
Guess what kids tend to do when that happens? Cry, gag, vomit, or try to get that food as far from them as they can. There can literally be no visible sign of the sensations caused by the food, but if we as parents just assume ‘picky eater’ and do not talk with our kids about this, we can miss this type of thing.
Sensory issues with food are also a problem, more common with kids on the spectrum or with ADHD. Sensory issues – imagine how unpleasant nails on a chalkboard are…then translate that to a sensation in your mouth. That, too, would make a child do a whole heck of a lot to get away from that food.
This WAS my childhood. I had foods that burned, that made me vomit, where the smell alone would make me gag and dry heave. I had foods where the texture alone would make me rather not eat for days, if that was the only food.
My allergies weren’t even diagnosed until my own child was in their teens, but I was sickly my entire life because of them. My own child had allergies as well that weren’t diagnosed for years, but because of what I went through, if they truly hated a food, then we avoided it, and every single one of those foods turned out to be a mild allergy (OR it was something that was IN all those foods, like an additive to many cereals, for example).
I had a good friend when I was diagnosed who, after listening to me describe what it felt like to have your mouth burn from an allergic food, asked me, ‘Are eggplant spicy?’ Because she, it turns out, is allergic to eggplant and it made her mouth burn her entire life, but she assumed it was just that eggplants were unpleasantly spicy.
Her own toddler would always fuss and cry over squash baby foods – since she’d just gone through the eggplant thing, she had him tested. He’s allergic to squash and melons.
Our kids are often picky for a reason. And if they are having an extreme response to the foods, then it seems silly to not assume that there may be, perhaps, a very good reason for that. And that it might be important to figure out what that is.
Thanks for sharing Shauna,
Yes, we do address all of these reasons for a child not eating food or having reactions. We do provide some information after the quiz and provide families a ton of other resources so that they get to the “root cause” of picky eating as we are true believers in that helping all individuals with eating.
Best,
Desiree
Hello
My 19m old DS falls in 4th category.
His food items should be only sweet but in that too he will have only 1-2 type of fruits in a day and only milk on all 3 time of meaL.
every meal time is nightmare for us and it feels like our life is living hell.
Can you pls help me on this ?
Hey Ankita,
We know how hard mealtimes can get!! So happy you are looking for some info to help out!! We are starting our free workshop series this week, packed full of great information and great starting tips to working with your picky eater!! Save Your Seat Here
Best,
Desiree
Mine comes under Type 2 following your tips. Thanks for sharing
Of course!! Keep us posted how it goes!!
Best,
Desiree
How does this food counting part work? Is it counted in terms of meals or individual food items (i.e. almonds, grapes, bananas)?
Hey sarah,
We are looking for individual foods!!
Best,
Desiree
My Kid falls under Type 2 – The Average Picky Eater. Following your tips will reply again after seeing the results.
Awesome, yes!! Please keep us posted!
Best,
Desiree
My child falls under ultra picky eater. He’s 8 now and mealtimes have been a nightmare since I started weaning him from puree to solids, textures etc. We are at our wits end. When he started nursery at age 4 I put him on school meals hoping that seeing his friends eat the food and being hungry would help him out of a phase. I got a message from the dinner ladies at the end of the term to please send my son in with packed lunches, he wasn’t eating a thing, or drinking as they only offered water.
I’ve never ever forced foods on him. My method was to put a meal in front of him and he had no pressure to ear it but there was nothing else. My OH would cook 4 or 5 meals to get him to eat. For years it was turkey dinosaurs. Then it was chicken nuggets but they had to be asdas own brand. When I told my GP he scoffed at me and said he’s just having you on. I didn’t know what to do or who to turn to. So chicken nuggets was all he ate. He was always small for his age but thriving and following his curve for growth. There are about 10 foods he’ll eat. He really wants to try and eat other foods but he’s terrified when he puts something new near his mouth. I really don’t know what to do. At the moment I’m just letting him dictate when he’s ready to try anything new. Praise him for trying but to never ever punish him for not eating something. I get so much criticism from family and friends who have kids who eat smoked salmon and olives and you name it.
Ps my child will gag if you sit next to him with a meal. So we can never have a family dinner. He eats in front of the TV and we eat later once he’s in bed so the smell of our food doesn’t make him feel ill.
My toddler falls into average picky eater, what should I do when they refuse the food I have served? Do you offer an alternative or keep offering it until they eat it?
I took the test and my three year old daughter falls in the extreme picky eater range. Cannot give much time to remove this picky eating due to my hectic work timings
Hi Neha, You took the time to take the test, so kudos for you for recognizing there is an issue!! Life is hectic and it can be hard!! Here is an article that will have some tips for you!! Check it out here
Best,
Desiree
Hi Sally! My daughter used to have severe feeding issues since she was a premature baby. From age 1-5 she was in the Extreme category (7 to 9 points). Today she is 9 and after hard hard work she became pretty much a “Regular eater”. Even though she is not particularly into experimenting with new and unknown food. I´m trying… but I´m sure she will be a good eater as an adult. Thank you so much for all the help. I just wanted to share hope. It does get easier.
Thanks for sharing with all of us!! Great to hear the success!! 🙂
Best,
Desiree
Can you share what have you done to achieve? I feel so desperate to get my boy eating but if I try, no success but stress both him and I…
Hey Anni,
I’d recommend starting with our free workshop for picky eating! This helps you get set up with removing all pressure from meals, how to structure meals and what to provide. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree