Why do children have sensory food aversions? And, how can you help them overcome sensory issues with food? Get the answers and 8 simple strategies…
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From the very beginning of Your Kid’s Table, I have always wanted to help parents better understand sensory processing and anything related to kids and eating. Over the last few years, I have answered many comments about how the two things are related, and often result in a sensory food aversion.
I wanted to dedicate a post completely to sensory issues with food, to help you understand if sensory processing is playing a role in your child’s picky eating and, perhaps more importantly, what you can do help!
I first noticed my son’s sensory issues with food when I introduced food to him.
Knowing the red flags (you’ll read about those later), I also knew if I hadn’t introduced specific sensory strategies to help him learn to eat foods, we’d likely still be struggling, years later, because a sensory food aversion is on a whole different level than just your average “picky eating”.
Why Do Kids Have Sensory Issues with Food?
To understand food related sensory issues, we’ve first got to talk about sensory processing, which is our ability to interpret smells, tastes, sounds, touches, sights, and movement from our environment.
Although most of us process this information in similar ways, it is completely unique to every individual, to every child. We are bombarded all day long with various sensory input, and eating, which many of us do 5 or 6 times a day, is a huge sensory experience that most of us take for granted.
As adults, we have been quite desensitized to the textures, flavors, and smells of food, but many of our kids have not. In the first few years of life, mealtimes are all about processing the sensory input they are receiving from various foods.
Often, when kids display picky eating, especially those with food aversions/extreme picky eating, the touch, taste, or smell of a food is being processed in their brain as dis-pleasurable in some way.
And, by dis-pleasurable, I mean down-right uncomfortable. Think of something that makes you shudder… nails on chalkboard or touching a slug? That feeling that you have may be just as extreme for your child when they touch an orange.
Their brain is processing it all in different ways than yours does. A strong negative sensory reaction can even result in a sensory meltdown.
This of course can start your child down the slippery slope of a limited diet, narrow lists of favorite foods, and specific foods they won’t dare come near during mealtimes.
How your child responds to foods, may at least in part, be simply neurological. While a sensory overload can seem exaggerated, it is a real experience to your child. I hope that this information helps you as the parent depersonalize the refused dinners, at least at little, anyways!
Here’s the good news, children’s brains are extremely plastic. Meaning they are able to easily learn new things. When a child learns something new or experiences something differently, a new connection is made in their brain.
The more they have that same experience, the stronger that connection gets, and then they are able to react differently than they had previously because their brain is using a new connection to process the information.
Are you following me here? Let me say it another way by telling you about my son who has a long history of sensory food aversions. Isaac gags and shudders every time he touches chicken, but one day he helps me make chicken in a different way.
We cut it into small pieces and serve it with a fun dip in a cool little ramekin. I pretend the chicken is little baby dinosaurs jumping into a pond of ketchup.
Then, Isaac is really motivated and relaxed (because he isn’t being pressured), so he picks up his “little baby dinosaurs” and sends them soaring into his dip without a hint of a shudder or gag.
Guess what? His brain just made a new connection, and then I had a starting point to build from! I promise there is hope for your child who only dreams of eating chicken nuggets.
While I’ve mostly been providing examples of a child who is sensitive to textures because the brain is over processing the input, it is also entirely possible that your child may be under sensitive to sensory input.
Think of sensory processing as a spectrum with being sensitive or defensive to input (food texture, smell, etc.) at one end and seeking input at the other end with a whole lot of variability in the middle.
Not processing input well can also cause picky eating because children may not feel certain soft textures in their mouth well (as if the sensation is dulled), and thus avoid them.
These kids, in particular, will often prefer crunchy foods, seemingly spit out soft foods, or over-stuff their mouths to try and “feel” the food.
*Note that sensory processing isn’t just related to food, head over sensory sensitivities in kids to learn more.
Does My Child Have a Sensory Food Aversion, Sensory Feeding Disorder, or Restrictive Food Intake Disorder?
While there is no specific diagnosis for a “sensory eating disorder” or a sensory food aversion, these terms might be used when your child eats a very limited amount of foods because they have difficulty with how foods smell, taste, feel, or even how they look.
Remember this is because of the way their brain is interpreting the sensations they get from food, which leads to the question.
To help narrow down if your child’s picky eating is related to sensory, it’s first helpful to think about certain groups of kids that sensory processing difficulties affect more than other’s. I’m going to list them here because if your child has one of these diagnoses and has eating difficulties, it is very likely that sensory processing is at least part of the picture.
But, having sensory processing difficulties in general DOES NOT mean that your child has one of these diagnoses.
Kids that fall into one of these groups and are picky eaters, often have sensory based food aversions:
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- Sensory Processing Disorder (Note that many health care providers acknowledge this diagnosis, but it is not in the current version of the DSM, which means some insurances providers will not accept this as a reason to justify therapy).
- ADD/ADHD
- Children Born Prematurely (The sensory system is one of the last to develop in utero, which is why sensory processing difficulties are common. However, this is not a rule. Many preemies display no difficulties in this area.)
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Down Syndrome
- Children Adopted from Orphanages in Eastern European Countries or Russia
It’s also important to note that kids with significant sensory difficulties with food, whether they have one of the above diagnoses or not, could receive a diagnosis of Pediatric Feeding Disorder (PFD), which applies to kids through age 18.
Let’s talk about how these sensory “difficulties” actually show up in our kids when they are related to food, here are some specific red flags to look for…
Red Flags for Sensory Issues with Food
If you child has most or all of the behaviors here, it is possible that sensory issues with food may be part of the underlying reason your child is selective about what they eat.
You will notice some opposite extremes in the list below, which are indicating different ends of the sensory processing spectrum as I discussed earlier. As you’re reading, make a mental checklist of any that you see your child doing regularly:
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- Gags at the sight, smell, touch, or taste of foods. Gagging while trying to eat is a different cause that has to do with the mechanics of eating.
Gagging can also be a learned behavior that may have started from either a sensitivity to sensory input or difficulty chewing or swallowing food at some point. Read more on how to help with Gagging at the Smell of Food.
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- Avoids or dislikes their hands getting messy, and I’m not just talking about at meals. You will often see your child get uncomfortable with crafts or digging in dirt/sand, etc. (This is an important point, learn more about it in Everything You Need To Know About the Tactile Sense)
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- Over stuffs or pockets food excessively and/or frequently. Pocketing food can also be the cause of poor coordination and/or difficulty chewing.
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- Never went through an oral stage as a baby/toddler where they mouthed and chewed on toys and other objects.
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- Excessively mouths and chews on various toys past the age of 18 months.
Find more sensory red flags that cover all the senses, not just related to eating. And, if you’d like to dive into understanding sensory as it relates to picky eating, head over to oral sensory processing, you’ll find more tips and activities there!
Are My Child’s Eating Difficulties all Related to Sensory?
I realize I just wrote over 800 words describing how sensory processing may be the cause of your child’s picky eating, but it is rarely the sole cause.
Picky eating is a complicated animal that often has many layers to it. Even if sensory processing is the major player, learned behavior, routine, and other hidden reasons could be at play too.
Check out 5 reasons why your child isn’t eating to uncover any other factors that could be contributing to your kids difficulty eating.
How to Get Help for Picky Eaters With Sensory Food Aversions
I want to provide you with some solid strategies to begin to improve your child’s processing of sensory information (and I will in the next section). However, there are more specialized techniques that may be appropriate under the guidance of a therapist.
It is important to seek medical advice with your provider before making any changes in your child’s diet or health plan.
If your child is under 3 and you live in the US, you may qualify for free in home services. Another option is, a private evaluation from an occupational therapist that specializes in feeding and sensory processing may be appropriate, and can result in feeding therapy.
Whether you seek out further in person help or not, I’d also highly recommend our free workshop: 3 Keys to Turning Around Picky Eating. You’ll learn more about the basics of addressing picky eating and see so much more success with your sensory efforts if you put in.
8 Strategies for a Sensory Food Aversion
With that said, these few tools can be very powerful when used consistently over a period of at least 4-6 weeks because they help to desensitize the sensory system and can be foundational as you make a picky eating plan. Come back to these strategies as needed.
1.Play in a variety of sensory bins at least 5-6 times per week. This is often the first thing I suggest to sensory kids and picky eaters because it helps to break down the overall sensitivity at the brain level.
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- 2. Use a vibrating toothbrush two times a day. My kids use these all the time, but for smaller toddler mouths or those that are really sensitive, this brush is a great option.
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- 3.When brushing teeth, encourage your child to allow you to help, and brush the sides of the tongue top of the tongue and inside the cheeks as well.
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- 4. Build off of textures that your child is preferring. Think about making small changes to the foods they already like by changing up the brand, flavor, etc. This will help build a bridge to new foods in a way that is comfortable.
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- 5. Encourage them to interact with the food in some way. Take baby steps. They may need to spend some time just touching the food to get used to the texture, for example.
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- 6. Cook together. This is a no-pressure time that allows kids to explore new foods. They will often feel brave enough to try something new in the fun and relaxed nature of the moment. Again, the key here is breaking down some of that sensitivity through the exploration of food.
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- 7. If your child falls into the over-stuffing/seeking texture category, you will want to alternate crunchy bites of food with soft food. You can also give the cheeks a firm, but gentle squeeze if the stuffing or spitting out starts, or briskly stroke from the ears to the mouth a few times. This is not meant as a punishment, but to give input to help them process the sensation of the food better.
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- 8. Maximize the foods you are serving your kid. Oftent foods that have a uniform shape and even texture are more likely to be eaten. And, it’s very common for kids with oral aversions to have a strong preference for a specific type of texture.Use that to your advantage! For instance, I would serve a small cube of cheese instead of a slice of cheese that I had randomly torn into pieces. Or, if a child preferred crunchy foods I’d serve meats that veggies that had a crunchy texture. Want more specific examples? Head to picky eater friendly foods for inspiration and motivation!
I believe in these strategies, not only because I’m an OT, but also as a mom. I’ve used these food aversion tips with my own son. See the plan I used to help my son, who now eats a wide variety of foods, including salad!
By implementing these strategies in combination with a solid routine, you will likely see some significant changes in your child’s eating.
If you’d like a little help getting your routine rock solid so you can build on these other sensory specific tips, then grab our FREE 9 Tips to Improve Your Child’s Eating Printable.
Have a question about your child’s sensory food aversions? Ask below!
More for Kids with a Sensory Food Aversion
The Best Picky Eating Strategy
Are Food Jags Affecting Your Picky Eater? What You Need to Know…
When Has Picky Eating Gone Too Far… Is it Something More?
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Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 20 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.
I’m trying to get my Autistic grandson to cut down on his sugar intake. He’s three & only eats fruit & chicken nuggets. He doesn’t like the feel of most foods, he won’t touch anything that is green & still doesn’t use utensils so I’m limited with handheld foods. His parents enable him & I’ve taken it upon myself to offer nutritional choices, teach him to eat with utensils & actually sit at the table to eat. I make him yummy smoothies with greens in it, quinoa patties, quesadillas, little sandwiches, grilled cheese so I can sneak veggies in but he won’t try them. I’m at a loss on what to do. I’m worried he has a yeast overgrowth from all the sugar.
Sabrinia,
Your grandson is so lucky to have you working so hard to help him with his eating. Have you taken our free picky eating workshop? It has a lot of valuable information that may help you!You don’t have to watch it live, so signing up will get you the time and a replay if you need it.
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table OT
Do you have any recommendations for an occupational therapist that specializes in this field in IL? Willing to drive any where!
Hi, I have a 4 year old son. When he was a baby he would eat all of his meals with no difficultly. As he has got older he has now started to refuse nearly all foods. He will only eat around 15 foods and these are mostly snacks. We have always sat at the table as a family and made meal times a nice environment. I also put foods on his plate which I know he will eat alongside a new food in hoping one day he will try it. He will also smell his foods when given to him. If he does not like his food, he gets very emotional as well. He is on track with his development and I have spoken with his school but his teachers say he is developmentally okay. I am really struggling now and just want him to have a well balanced diet and to eat meals. Do you have any advice you could give me please. Thank you.
Hi Louise,
Have you taken our free picky eating workshop? I always have people start there if they aren’t familiar, and then I can point you to other specific resources from there. Please let me know what questions you might have after watching!
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table team member
Hi there,
My son was born with a tongue tie and lip tie. His tongue tie was posterior and severe so we got it clipped but it reattached. We went to an intake specialist and chiropractor for a while before we had it revised. At 13 months old he started feeding therapy because it was like his tongue thrust reflex never went away. Feeding therapy helped expand his food choices some but still even after we were discharged he refuses to eat fruits, vegetables, or anything with a wet sticky texture (mac&cheese, mashed potatoes..etc) I feel like recently he’s had a big regression again (for example he used to eat cheese on his pizza and even pepperoni and now wants all toppings pulled off). I feel like every time we get into a routine it’s disrupted by illness, or surgeries. He’s had 3 oral surgeries not including the tongue tie and lip procedures and most recently had his adenoids removed. He also has acid reflux. I just feel so discouraged and like maybe I caused all of this by having his tongue tie clipped and then revised. I don’t know where to go from here.
Hi Courtney,
first of all, do not blame yourself at all. It sounds like he may be having an oral aversion going on. Check out this post and see if it offers any insight onto ways to help. The underlying sensory issues you described CAN be addressed!
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table team member
Hi my son is 14 months. He gags when given solid food, he throws up on even pureed food that has lump. He doesn’t even swallow before gagging or throwing up, he does it immediately after feeling the food from his mouth.
I only given him pureed food and I’m worried that he won’t know how to chew proper food.
what could be the problem? Please assist!
Hi Vuyo, Have you read this article on gagging? It may offer some insight.
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table team member
My son is picky also goes on a hungry strike doesn’t eat for days at a time . He’s currently having speech therapy and a home teacher they think he was traumatized from something involving eating and yes he’s two already had hand foot and mouth stuffy nose makes it hard to eat or drink fevers sick vomiting food so after those events he’s scared to eat and prefers to not eat
Hi Sabrina,
This is tough and sounds like he’s created a connection between eating and being sick. I’d try working on some oral sensory input to break down some of his aversions to things in his mouth. Let me know if any of these work!
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table team member
My son is 14 months old and refuses any type of solid foods. I’ve consistently tried giving him every food I can think of since he was 6 months old. I’ve tried mashed potato’s, Mac and cheese, puffs, pasta, you name it – I’ve tried it. I believe my son has sensory issues with textures. Once a solid gets to his mouth he freaks out. So right now he is only eating about 2-4 ounces of purées and has about 25 ounces of milk a day. I’ve also tried water and juice and he hates those too. His pediatrician doesn’t seem to worry but I am for sure. His weight is fine but I feel that since I’ve been trying for 8 months he should be progressing in some way.
Please help!
Hi Paige,
We have many resources available for some of these concerns you describe, but I always first point people to our free baby/toddler table food workshop as a starting place. Once you watch this, let me know if you have more specific questions and I will happily direct you to our other resources.
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table team member
Hi my Son is 16 and dislikes foods that are chunky for e.g if I make a chicken roll for lunch I cut the chicken up in tiny pieces he also won’t eat veg or fruit because of the texture
I’d love guidance on how to help my 8.5 year old son with his eating. He was adopted from China at 3.5 and spent 1.5 years in an orphanage and 2 years in foster care. He was only my 2.5 pounds at birth. He has no interest in any food, will not eat anything unless forced, eats almost nothing at school, and we still struggle to get any meal completed in under 1 hour. He cheeks his food, constantly fidgets, and gags several times per meal. He was less than the 1% in both height and weight until we started him on pediasure shakes three times a day at age 5. He almost immediately shot up to the 7th percentile and he stays on the shakes 3 times a day. We tried to scale back the shakes to twice daily, and he literally didn’t gain an ounce for over a year. We’ve done the feeding therapy, treated his ADD with atomoxetine, and none of his physicians can provide us any solid advice. Meal time has become a daily struggle, coming down to timers, and consequences, because he eats so slowly, he makes us late to work/school and he barely finishes in time to get to bed. We feel like we’ve tried literally everything and he’s missing out on so many activities because he eats so slowly it consumes the day.
Hi Leah! Thanks for reaching out! So sorry to hear about your son’s difficult journey with eating. You are not alone. Here are some tips:
Explore underlying causes! Extreme picky eating can sometimes be linked to sensory processing issues, oral motor difficulties, anxiety, or other underlying medical conditions. Working with healthcare professionals who specialize in these areas, such as occupational therapists, psychologists, or your pediatrician, can help identify and address any contributing factors.
Foster a positive mealtime environment! Create a relaxed and positive atmosphere during meals. Though it may be difficult, do your best to avoid pressuring your child to eat, as it may increase their anxiety and resistance. Instead, focus on creating pleasant and enjoyable mealtimes, where your child feels supported and encouraged to explore new foods at their own pace. Have him help you in the kitchen, prepare food, and even engage in food play. Sensory bins and other sensory activities may also help!
Is he still in feeding therapy? Perhaps trying another feeding therapist or occupational therapist to see if you can get better results. We do have a free sensory workshop that may help— check it out here!
Best,
Kalyn
Hello
My daughter was born as a pre mature. She has serious food aversions, she does not like eating chicken, fish or beef. Although I have always tried to introduce various and different varieties to her. She use to eat okay but ever since she turned 19th months she started throwing her food away and has become very picky lately due to which she is not getting enough nutrients and under weight. please help me and suggest something that could ease the whole process. Thank you.
Hi Bushra! Definitely consult with your pediatrician, since her weight is an issue. Your doctor can potentially refer you to a feeding therapist for some hands on help! In the meantime, keep offering a variety of foods, without force or pressure. Try softer textured foods and try serving very small bites/portions at a time, so that it limits how much she can throw and will also make her feel more comfortable. Also, make sure she isnt drinking too much milk or eating too many snacks during the day— this can affect her appetite at mealtime. We have a free picky eating workshop that can offer more help, check it out here!
Best,
Kalyn
My daughter just turned three. She started eating baby food at the age of four months. As she got older we tried introducing table foods to her, but every time we tried she would gag and throw up. She still does when we try to give her table food. She likes baby food with banana, but if I purée a fresh banana she knows the difference and refuses to eat it. She only drinks milk from a bottle. She has recently started taking some water from a sippy cup, but mainly still takes milk from a bottle.
Hi Jenny! Thanks for reaching out! We know how stressful eating issues can be. Due to her age, we definitely recommend consulting with your pediatrician if possible, since they can refer you to a feeding therapist for some hands-on help. Since she’s still stuck on purées, she may need help with chewing/swallowing. In the meantime, practice with some sensory and oral motor exercises by using sensory bins, food play, and allowing her to touch/feel/play with her food. Try using a toothbrush to brush the insides of her mouth before mealtimes. Other oral motor exercises include making silly faces, blowing bubbles, sipping from straws, and licking lollipops/popsicles. These exercises will help strengthen her oral muscles, which are what she uses to chew/swallow her food. Try food play, where you have her feed you or feed a doll/toy. Also, if she is drinking a lot of milk in her bottle throughout the day, that can also affect her appetite and eating habits. Try to start gradually decreasing her milk intake, which should then help with both bottle weaning and eating. Lastly, we have a free workshop that can help more with eating solids- save your seat here!
Best,
Kalyn
I am a first time mom from the Philippines and I am terrified my 16 months baby won’t eat food with textures. She will just eat puree or cerelac but gag everytime I introduce another food especially crunchy foods please help me what will I do I am concerned she might nor get the nutrition she needs at this age thanks a lot
Hi Kim! Thanks for reaching out! Because of her age, we always recommend consulting with your pediatrician to make sure there are no underlying issues or weight concerns. In addition, it sounds like she has some oral aversions related to sensory sensitivities. Utilizing some oral motor exercises may help! Try using a toothbrush to brush the sides of her mouth, or use sensory bins to help get her more comfortable touching different textures. We have an entire blog with different types of exercises you can check out, here!
Best,
Kalyn
My son also gags/ vomits when someone chews and open their mouth, or if he sees someone chokes.
Hi Neshar! We have a blog post that can help with this! Check it out here!
Best,
Kalyn
Hi
A midlife adult here. I have spent my entire life with picky eating and selective eating issues. I just recently started seeing a dietician. As a child, my mom would introduce foods, she said many of them I would spit out, gag on or eat them and then later vomit. So she tried to “hide” them in meat loaf and other foods. She would blend them up so I could see them and the results were the same. My mom did her best. I was always small and petite. As an adult, I have managed to learn how to eat a few of those things by blending and boiling to take out the “crunch” (carrots and celery) and can now tolerate those in soups and stews. I don’t eat anything raw or completely smooth (pudding and yogurt I have to add something like nuts or seeds or fruits.) It’s long list of textures as well oranges, cant stand the texture. Onions and iceberg lettuce are among the worst offenders with taste and texture. With help from dietician, I now will eat kale if added to soup and boiled like crazy. I am now overweight and it’s frustrating if only I could just eat that salad. I haven’t seen any websites that covers adults with life long picky eating or adversions for suggestions. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi there!
First of all, it sounds like you’re doing an incredible job of knowing yourself and accommodating your own sensory needs while still challenging yourself to improve. Do you have any other sensory difficulties outside of food? The reason I ask is because sometimes there is more connected and working on your sensory processing in other areas can actually help improve processing in eating. My other suggestion, since you’ve found a method that works for you at this stage is looking at other factors like portion sizes and physical activities. I completely understand the frustration, especially as you have been battling this picky eating all your life. Personally, I would start a food chain from soup and the kale and gradually work toward less cook time until you can tolerate massaged kale in salad (massaging changes the texture a ton). I know it’s easier said than done but with the progress already made, I think you can do this with a plan!
Best,
Laura
Your Kid’s Table OT
Hello. I have a 7 year old that won’t eat anything but chicken nuggets and pasta, nothing else, he won’t even try hamburgers or pizza! I am at the point of giving up now. I have tried what you mentioned but he’s terrified if trying new things.
Please help
Hi Carolina! Thanks for reaching out! This is such a common issue— you are not alone! We have a blog post dedicated to this. Check it out here and let us know if you have any questions!
Best,
Kalyn
Hello,
I have a big concern with my 3 yr old. And I’m not even sure if any of these issues fit the category.
My son has some mild sensory issues, been in OT for a year. His feeding issues is not so much picky eating, but it is almost behavioral. He won’t feed himself. Never has, never will. The only foods he eats himself are any fruits (any texture), all snacks, fries, crossaint, peppers, tomatoes, beets and avocadoes. He will NEVER use a utensil to feed himself unless it’s apple sauce. Nor does he like finger foods much. It’s as if he has no motivation to eat. But if he’s distracted and I feed him myself, he will eat for the most part anything. No therapist has been able to help us on this. It’s been purely frustrating.
Hi there! Thanks for reaching out! So sorry to hear about his feeding troubles. Have you tried sensory bins? Also, maybe try some outside of mealtime play, where you have him play feed a toy; this may inspire him to want to feed himself when it’s mealtime.
Best,
Kalyn
These are great strategies for young kiddos! I’m wondering if there are more targeted tips for older kids (10-12)? The family I’m working with is very distressed about how little their daughter is eating, but the play-based strategies are inappropriate for her at this age.
Hey Erin,
We have an article for teenage picky eating, you can check out. There is a book at the end we recommend as well!
Best,
Desiree
Your Kids Table Team Member
Hi I don’t know if it’s appropriate to leave a question here or if you’ll answer it, but here goes . My son is 2 anything that he feels isn’t crunchy he will not eat . It won’t even get to his mouth he’s at risk of being under weight because of his very poor diet but I cannot get him to eat anything that isn’t fried can I ask any strategies to overcome this ? Thank you
Hi Alexis! Thanks for reaching out! Sensory related picky eating can be so stressful. Definitely try the strategies listed above to help- sensory bins, vibrating toothbrush, build off textures, interact with food, cook together. For more in-depth tips, check out our free picky eating workshop. Save your seat here!
Best,
Kalyn
Hi
I have a 11 months baby who is still not having solids. Only foods he eats are baby cereal, bread, banana (from the peel, not chopped or mashed), pancakes, grapes, and munches on apple, pear. He also eats pizza, which is strange. We have consulted a paed and a nutritionist who say to cut out night milk feeds completely but that hasn’t solved the problem. Can tou help please, I do ‘t know what wlae to do. He doesn’t eat any fish or meat and I’m worried with iron and omega 3 levels. He also refuses all vitamins thank you
Hi Ana! Thanks for reaching out! It sounds like he’s doing pretty good with some foods and textures! Keep practicing and offering different foods/flavors/textures without any pressure. Allow him to touch/feel/play with his food so that he becomes more comfortable with it. You can always discuss feeding therapy with your pediatrician. In the meantime, we do have a free table foods workshop that can offer additional tips and information- save your seat here!
Best,
Kalyn
My babe is exactly the same. How are things going for you ?
Hi!! I so appreciate reading your content. Our son is 6 months old. He was showing all signs of being ready for solids (including taking great interest in our food) so we started him on oatmeal with breast milk two weeks ago. He was so excited to eat off the spoon! Did that for a week & it went well. Then I tried some purées & mashes – sweet potato, avocado & apple. He gagged on everything. Lots of gagging. Then I let him hold a piece of watermelon & he gagged even holding it. I went back to oatmeal – more gagging but then ate a little. He crews on all his toys and is fine with a bottle. I got nervous cause he even gagged on his breast milk popsicle he usually loves which he’s never done before (although he eventually ate it) but I’m nervous he’s developing a negative association to food. I’m not sure if I should go back to oatmeal for a while? Or just take a break for a few weeks and try again? Thank you for any thoughts!!!
Hi Gina! Thanks for reaching out! Keep practicing with those toys and allow him to mouth those! Keep offering the oatmeal, since he originally did well with that! Don’t force or pressure, and if he gags, try to act casual- babies can pick up on any tense reactions and then associate feeding with that negative energy. Overall though, gagging is very normal, as babies have a strong/sensitive gag reflex to help them learn to properly chew/swallow and prevent choking! Working those oral muscles and continuing to practice helps to desensitize that gag reflex. We have the perfect blog for everything you described (offering more tips/info!); read more here!
Best,
Kalyn
I wish I had found this website when our daughter was 2.5 years-old. She is now 10.5. Our daughter’s transition from breastmilk into regular food went really well. We had an organic garden, and I would freshly puree all kinds of vegetables for her meals. She loved it all. Purees, fruit smoothies, baby biscuits, small crunchy crackers, blended soups, and small bites of any item or texture. Then, at around 2.5 years old, everything changed. She suddenly rejected ALL fruits and vegetables. We then realized it had to do with textures. Whereas before she had no issue with blended fruits and vegetables, all of a sudden, that texture in her mouth caused her to gag and vomit. All kinds of other foods were labeled as “slimy” in her mouth and she rejected them. We tried rewards, we tried having her favorable foods along with re-introducing ones she had rejected, we made it light hearted, etc. None of this changed her behavior though. We tried to address the issue w/ her pediatrician, who semi dismissed us. We kept at it, and eventually he referred us to a food therapist or OT. Unfortunately, in our area, these specialists were full working with kids with food disorders that jeopardized their health and life–Because our daughter would eat other foods, just not any healthy ones, we were not prioritized and placed on a long list. As parents, we kept trying to reintroduce fruits, vegetables, soups, yoghurts, and all foods our daughter found “slimy”, but it proved frustrating and not very effective. We knew it was important to address this issue as early on as possible for fear our daughter would cement her eating habits, but unfortunately it seems like that’s what’s happened. She is now 10.5 and will not eat any pieces of fruits or vegetables. This is unbelievably limiting. It also is isolating her socially as she’s at the age where they have sleep-overs, etc. and she is embarrassed by her eating habits. She states it still has to do with the slimy texture of these items in her mouth–they make her gag. I will note our daughter also had sensitivity on her feet and used to refuse all socks for years until I found ones without the seam on the toes. She also refused all pants for a long time and will now wear them, though not that often. She has such sensitivity on her legs she thinks even the plushest of sweats are “too scratchy”. We beliee our daughter may also have an executive function disorder and possibly a learning disability. We believe this because she tested as a junior in high school for her reading level and comprehension when she was in 2nd grade. Despite this, our daughter has had difficulty learning to write, and cannot spell. It’s not dyslexia, because she reads voraciously and she reads many many levels above her grade. The disconnect between her reading and ability to spell is super frustrating, as well. The school psychologist said it’s common for gifted kids to be more sensitive and have sensory issues? Anyways, wanted to provide a full picture unless these school challenges are somehow related to her sensory challenges and issues with food sliminess and gagging. Thank you for any insight you can provide, and for pointing me toward any learning opportunities.
Thanks so much for sharing with us and reaching out, we truly know how hard it is! However, it’s definitely not to late to work on the feeding and for sure sounds like she has other sensory difficulties going on in addition to the feeding. We do recommend a no pressure environment as well as working on the underlying cause of the picky eating! Our free workshop does walk you through that to get started in the right direction! You can save your seat here!
Best,
Desiree
Hi there, My 6.5m old son has some sensitivity to food textures despite showing all other signs of readiness. He often will touch food but won’t taste it (all toys, rusks and anything else goes straight in his mouth but he isnt a fan of wet/soft/slimey). We have been trying for about 3 weeks now. Question is – should I keep giving him the same say 10 foods on different occasions for repeated exposure? Or give him more and more different foods? We currently do a mix of finger food and purees. Thank you!
Hi Nicole! Thanks for reaching out! We understand how you feel and it’s hard to not feel worried sometimes, but he is still young, so you have some time to work it out! I’d first start by getting him engaged in play with the food, touching is the first step to eating. So getting his hands in the puree can be really helpful. Also providing a spoon for him to hold while you are utilizing another spoon to help feed, can be great. I would keep trying, but also making sure he has opportunity to touch and play with the textures as well, this can help with them eating it! We do have a free workshop that walks you through some tips as well. You can save your seat HERE.
Best,
Kalyn
Hello there,
My son is 5 years old and will only eat “blue” cookies from Walmart, mint Oreos, chips and protein shakes. He gets extremely upset if you try and offer him anything else. We finally started to get him to start taking chewy vitamins but I am afraid he is still not getting all the nutrients he needs. The doctors say he is not bellow weight for his height and as long as he’s drinking the protein shakes he should grow out of it. Any advice you can give would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you,
John
Hi John! Thanks for reaching out! Sorry to hear that your kiddo is a picky eater, but that’s great news that he’s at a healthy weight/height! While doctors like to say they’ll grow out of it, we always encourage being proactive with tackling picky eating, since sometimes it can get worse. Keep serving food variety, pairing meals with at least 1-2 of his preferred foods, and utilize a no-pressure environment. We have a free picky eating workshop that goes over many more tips! Save your seat here!
Best,
Kalyn
Hi my son is 8 years old and won’t eat anything new his diet consist of pizza, chicken nuggets, fries, white rice, chips and noodles. He will eat pizza but won’t eat bread or cheese if not in pizza form. He will eat chicken nuggets but won’t eat regular chicken. He would rather go to bed starving than to eat anything new I’ve tried so many tactics. I’ve tried a reward system I also tried having him help me cook In the kitchen. He drinks an ensure in the mornings and he takes vitamins but I’m worried that he’s not getting the proper nutrients his body needs. I will take any advice !!
Hi Isaac! Thanks for reaching out! We understand how stressful picky eating can be, but you are not alone! First, here’s a post about picky eating for older kids that may be helpful. Next, we always recommend promoting a no-pressure environment with mealtime. So continue to serve a variety of foods, but don’t force or pressure. Allow him to choose how much he eats. Keep cooking together- that’s great! Frequent exposure to different foods is very helpful. Try including 1-2 of his preferred foods with each meal, so that he feels more comfortable. Lastly, we have a free picky eating workshop with tons more tips! Save your seat here!
Best,
Kalyn
I have a client who has a set of 3 year old twins. The twins will only eat applesauce, crackers and milk. This has become a struggle at daycare and home. What are some things that the parents can try to assist the twins in this area.
Hi Lisa! Definitely recommend sensory bins, food play, vibrating toothbrush, cooking together, building off food preferences, and as always, utilizing a no-pressure environment! Depending how much milk they’re drinking, they made need to gradually decrease their milk intake, to allow for more room in their tummies to want/eat more foods. Our free picky eating workshop is a great place to get started with more ideas!
Best,
Kalyn
I’m sorry, I did not read this entire thing, but the part about “no diagnosis for sensory eating disorder, got my attention and I see absolutely no mention of ARFID. ARFID is very much a sensory eating disorder. Sometimes it is caused by other issues but for many it is sensory based. I’m just shocked in 2022 that I didn’t see this mentioned anywhere in your article. Please research Avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder as this will help you help others I’m sure. If you mentioned it and I missed it, I apologize. I just skimmed it looking for the term but didn’t see it. Thank you for reading this.
Disclaimer: I have ARFID myself.
Hi Meagan! Sorry about the delayed response- thank you for reaching out and sharing your feedback! We definitely agree- ARFID is in fact an eating disorder! We do have a post that talks about this, as well as PFD, in detail here.
Best,
Kalyn
Hi. My daughter is 4.5yrs old. She won’t try any new foods and basically lives off fruit, salad, pasta and noodles. She is often sick with any strong smells. In fact today we went to a party and when we walked in, the fat smell from the fried chips made her throw up. It’s not just food smells though, it’s any strong unpleasant smell… Fish, chlorine, dustbin lorries etc. She also suffers from nerves so I find it hard sometimes to understand whether she’s being sick because of smells or because she’s nervous. I don’t know how to help her and it makes me nervous that she’s going to be sick everywhere.
Hi Sharon! Thanks for reaching out! That sounds stressful, for both you and your daughter! Having a sensitivity to smells could also be a clue that there are some other sensory red flags in play. When one of our senses is hypersensitive, it can throw the others off too. We have a free sensory challenge coming up that you may benefit from! It will help identify the root cause of these sensory issues. Join the waitlist here! In the meantime, be patient, supportive, and try not to react when she has these episodes. If possible, remove the source of the smell further away from her (within reason) and open a window. Give a warning, letting her know that a strong smell may be present. Have her use a towel, handkerchief, or her shirt to cover her nose. Put essential oils on her wrist or give her something else to smell- this can help with desensitizing her smell sensitivities. More here. Hope that helps!
Best,
Kalyn
hi im having trouble with my 11 year old son to try any kind of food, right now he only eats chips(lays) baby goldfish(cant be the big ones) oreos has to be double stuffed, and cocoa puffs and fries from mcdonalds, has to be mcdonalds fries,and chocolate milk i give him the breakfast essentials which has vitimans and protein we had him try some soup (broth) and had to feed it to him with a medicine dropper, and had to be in the bathroom incase he puked it up, what can i do ?? im afraid he is going to get really sick and they will have to put in a feeding tube.
Hi Jennie! Thanks for reaching out! We are so sorry to hear about your son’s eating challenges. Hang in there- you are not alone! Try to promote a no-pressure environment with mealtimes. This means that he gets to choose how much of his food he eats- even if he doesn’t eat any of it. The less pressure you put, the more comfortable he will feel with different foods. We have a post with more tips, which you can read here!
Best,
Kalyn
Jennie, I wish we could get in touch! I have an 11-year-old daughter who is exactly the same! She will only eat fries from Jack in the Box with a chocolate shake, Oreos (!), either Lays chips or Lays Stax chips!!! It’s been like that for awhile now. She used to drink only water but decided no more water and now drinks fruit smoothies, which is great but she won’t eat anything with protein in it. She used to drink juice, milk, and eat such good, organic foods. When she turned 6 years old, it all stopped. She was diagnosed with Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome, but with medication it (CVS) went away. We don’t know what to do. I too fear a feeding tube. I have had to beg her to drink and eat for fear she would end up in the hospital. I’m so stressed and upset; her OCD has gotten so badly. She was diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum because of all of this but no one can seem to help her! She will take gummy vitamins but gets hardly any nutrition. Do people judge you for giving him the chips and Oreos? They judge me, but I’m afraid for her to not eat at all. If she can’t eat what she likes she won’t eat at all! Believe me, I have tried! I’m really learning a lot from these articles, and I have no doubt a processing issue is at fault. What do I do though?! The doctors here in Bakersfield CA don’t seem to know what to do. Health care here is not great. Please, if anyone reads this, and wants to get in touch, I am on Facebook!!!! Thanks, Lesa Kay
Hi my son is 5 years old & he is still on purees. He used to vomit many times a day till 2 years finally after begging doctors sent him for allergy tests & he was allergic to multiple things. His vomiting isn’t that frequent now but still he cannot tolerate even a little bit of texture. Even on some pureed foods he will gag & vomit. I’m totally helpless. Don’t know what to do to help him. He vomits very badly & cries alot at that time. No1 understands what the actual problem is. Please help me with this. I’m in total loss. Every1 thinks I’m doing something wrong & now I also blame myself that I’m not a good mother I cannot do anything for my son. Please please help me.
Hi Soni! First of all, I’m so sorry to hear about the challenges you’re facing with your son’s eating. We understand and you are not alone! Second of all, please know that you are not doing anything wrong. You are a good mother and should not blame yourself! Because of his age and his history of food allergies and vomiting, we would recommend asking his pediatrician for a referral to an Occupational Therapist or Speech Language Pathologist, who could help him with feeding therapy. You can read all about feeding therapy here! In the meantime, you can also help him by practicing some oral motor exercises, like using a toothbrush to brush the inside of his mouth. This will help to desensitize his gag reflux and strengthen the muscles inside of his mouth- which are used for chewing and swallowing. There are more tips to conquer oral aversions here in this post! Be patient, promote a no-pressure environment at mealtime, and take it one day at a time!
Best,
Kalyn
Soni, did they say anything about Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome? It sounds like he might have it? Every time my daughter had an episode, she would be in the hospital once a month for 3 to 4 days at a time. It was so painful to watch her vomit so violently. I started to worry that they would think she had Munchausen by proxy, because when she arrived at the hospital and was admitted her vomiting would always get better immediately with IV hydration! The docs think she might not want to eat because she’s afraid she will throw up. I don’t think that’s it. Feel free to contact me too!
I have a 9 month old who absolutely will not eat anything other than breastmilk. I believe some of it is sensory (she really hates purées) but for the most part, we can’t even get food anywhere near her mouth. She purses her lips, turns her head, and refuses everything. We went to a feeding therapist (SLP) who found she has a lip and potentially tongue tie that could be contributing. We are going to get those revised, but how can we help overcome the extreme reactions and refusal of any sort of food? I am getting concerned (and tired of pumping 😩) and hoping to get her eating some foods within the next few months.
Hey Kayleigh,
Thanks so much for reaching out to us, we know how hard it can be to make the transition to eating table foods! I do think you are on the right track with there being a sensory component with her not wanting anything near her mouth food wise. I would initially start with just trying to get her accepting of a toothbrush in and around her mouth (outside of mealtimes) so that she start to get some input. We do also have a free workshop that will be helpful in walking you through steps on transitioning to table foods as well. You can save your seat here.
Best,
Desiree
Hi my son is now 5 years old since 2 years old we been having trouble getting him to eat. At first I thought it was a phase but now it’s still happening. He only eat a few things like chicken but only if it grilled or stove cooked, French fries, tortillas, anything junk food, pepperoni but won’t eat the pizza, and most things that are bbq, and also spaghetti pasta but just the pasta no sauce, and bacon. He is very stubborn to the point that he wont even try new foods like even take one bite to see if he even likes it and it’s fraustrating at this point. I pack his lunch everyday with food I listed above but most of the time the school says he never even eats it there so I’m very confused on what to do now and just want him to at least try eating more things that I know he would probably like but he wont taste it.
Hi Taylor,
It can be so stressful dealing with picky eating! You’re definitely not alone. We always like to suggest including at least 1 preferred food on the plate along with the new foods. Modeling can be a great way to encourage eating. Our free picky eating workshop is a great place to get started with some new no-pressure ideas! You can save your seat HERE. Reach out with any questions!
Best,
Andrea
Hi Alisha,
I am so thankful to find your website and I would really appreciate any insight. I have a 3 year old son and I’m very confused if we are going through normal picky eating or there’s something more/sensory issue related and if I should seek help. The reason I am confused is because I feel that although he likes very few foods, they are all varying/different textures. He likes all kinds of chips: (Doritos, Cheese Puffs, Pretzels, Cheetos, Sun Chips). He likes popcorn, biscuits/cookies, and french fries also. He also loves fruit snacks (soft and chewy!) And he likes pizza and things like doughnuts, cupcakes (he eats both the cream part and cake part), ice cream (he has a sweet tooth!) and eats waffles too. He does eat things from varying brands/restaurants especially the pizza/french fries so no rigidity there. Besides this, he likes drinking homemade yogurt smoothies throughout the day and calls it his “milk”. What do you think? Please help me out.
Hey Mahi,
Thanks for reaching out! It sounds like your son seems to like crunchy-cracker type foods and softer foods. This could still be sensory related, for sure. You haven’t mentioned too many chewy foods or mixed textured foods like soups or casseroles. We have one day left on our mini online course. It would be a great thing to check out, especially the second lesson where Alisha talks about underlying causes for picky eating! You can get the replays HERE. Reach out if you have any questions!
Best,
Andrea
Hi there I have a 2.5 year old and they are picky to the extreme. Still eating the baby food pouches because he won’t eat any actually fruits or vegetables. I got him to eat a banana one day just a few bites and he didn’t gag or puke but he hasn’t done it again since . He refusing to try anything new . The only meal things he eats are rice o roni, tomato soup , macoroni (sometimes most of the time he refuses to even take a bite ) waffles , muffins, toast and everything else is pretty much snack foods and the pouches . He never wants to try anything new he just flat out says no. Sometimes when I ask him to try something he says “‘no puke” so I’m not sure if he’s afraid he will gag or puke on the new food but day after day I make things for him to eat and he never tries it and ends up with a pouch instead . He’s eaten pizza before and took a bite with pineapple while he was watching tv so he was distracted, ate it no problem , did that a few times until he looked down and saw what he was eating and then refused to eat anymore . A few weeks ago is when he had the banana and I got him to eat a few other meal things to but then he just started refusing everything again .We have been to a feeding specialist a few times but I’m still having issues . I’ll take any advice you can give because I am out of ideas . Thank you so much
Hey Rachel,
That sounds really challenging! You’re definitely not alone. We hear from families all the time with similar struggles. It can be helpful to place small bites of new food on his plate along with the foods he usually does eat when first starting off. If that’s too much- you can place them on a separate plate and work your way up to keeping them there for the entire meal. This is great exposure for him! I’d also recommend our free picky eating workshop. It’s really a great place to start, even if he’s been to therapy before. You can save your seat HERE. Please let us know if you have any questions at all.
Best,
Andrea
This is a great article! My 6 year old son has had quite a few aversions and textural issues over the years but we’ve easily dealt with them in the home. Now he is in his first year of in person school and he comes home with his lunchbox full everyday because the cafeteria and other kids are bothersome to him and he just can’t get any food down. He says he sits there trying not to throw up.
He recently got diagnosed with ADHD and is on a stimulant which also suppressed his appetite somewhat.
Any ideas on ways we can help him get some food down at lunch? I’m thinking about asking his teacher if there are other places he can eat but I hate to ask for too much from the school.
Hey Kelli,
Thanks for reaching out! School cafeterias can be really overwhelming for some kids. It might be helpful to talk to him about what is bothering him most- the smell of all the different foods? The noise? all the other kids? That might help you figure out how the school can best support him. Some solutions might be providing him with a smell he likes to bring to school or having him sit at a smaller table. You can also check out a few other ideas for packing lunches HERE.
Best,
Andrea
I have a 16 year old step son who will eat just about anything but when he eats he only has a very small amount eg 4 onion rings a pie and a spoon of beans when hes eat not all of it he ends up borking a lot or been sick. For his age he only weighs 7st 10lb. And in a morning he will have only one weetabix which he doesn’t eat all of the one weetabix and I dont know what to do about it the doctors have said he should be having more then 3 meals a day but small and often I cant every get him to do this hes no energy all he dose 24 / 7 is lay on the sofa on his phone or hes on his xbox or layed on his bed on his phone he moans if we have to go anywhere if we take him to see his nanny who he supposed to love dearly hes on his phone she speaks to him and he reckons that he’s listening but his not because he never answers her. His nanny did all sorts with him when he was young but now theres no getting through to him about his eating or anything I really do need so help
Hey Shirley,
We’re so sorry that you’re having these challenges! We know that can be really hard on everyone. It sounds like he may be feeling full as soon as he has a few bites. You might take a look at our interoception article and see if there is anything that may be helpful! Please reach out with any questions.
Best,
Andrea
I am writing because my 8 year old granddaughter licks her food before trying it. I have told my son and daughter-in-law that this doesn’t seem normal. I have stayed at bay, not to offend, but, it is always a battle, her eating. When she was just about 6 months old or so she was in the hospital because she was making little click noises which were worrisome. They tested her and she was out on medication, liquid, don’t remember name of it, but, I am concerned that maybe happened in her brain to cause this behavior. My son took her to be tested for food allergies, but, there are none. PLEASE, help! It’s not fair that she is always pushed about her eating when in reality it isn’t her fault. She is getting older and I pray help for her. And if nothing show up with her eating and it’s just naturally the way it is, then, at LEAST we tried.
Hey Charlene,
It sounds like eating has been a challenge for your granddaughter! The behavior of licking the food before eating it might seem a little odd, but it can be really helpful for some kids who have sensory challenges. It lets them try the food out before committing to an entire bite. Our free picky eating workshop is a great place to start! It will give you and her parents some ideas on how to work though some of those challenges. You can save your seat HERE.
Best,
Andrea
My daughter is 12 months old and food is such a struggle. She was never a fan right from when we started food at 6 months. I did purées and sometimes she’d open her mouth for a bite but usually she’d turn her head and didn’t want it. I never did super thin purées, I’d add oatmeal to thicken them and when she did accept it she didn’t have a problem with the thicker texture. Sometimes I’d add some ground up chicken or turkey into some purée bites and that would usually make her gag. She doesn’t like to try foods like at all, except puffs, teething crackers, and melties, she took to those with no hesitation and will eat a bunch. The one food she loves and will eat almost every time is broccoli. I cook it until it’s pretty soft and break it up but the pieces are decently big and she eats them with no problem and will eat a ton. If I put other green things in front of her to try, she’ll try them (probably thinking they’re broccoli) but promptly spit them out. Most things she won’t try at all. She did touch a blueberry piece to her tongue the other day but made a disgusted face and threw it before it barely touched her tongue. I have veggie muffins that she’s tried and for awhile she would actually eat a few good sized bites, lately she either won’t have any or will take a bite and immediately spit it out. Some stuff that she usually likes (pouches, yogurt, peanut butter) it’s like she forgets that she likes it and will cover her mouth and turn her head and it’s very frustrating because I’m like just take one bite, you like this, and most of the time if I can get her to try it then she’ll start letting me give her some. She won’t let me feed her with a spoon most of the time lately, but sometimes will let me with a pouch, I squeeze a little into her mouth at a time. I wish I could just give her the pouch and let her feed herself but she won’t suck. She never took a pacifier or bottle (though I didn’t push this too hard because it wasn’t necessary for us, though I did try at least 10 different pacifiers, and was a bit persistent for a couple weeks, I got her to suck for a couple minutes but that’s it). She nurses like a champ and is over 97% for height and weight. When I give her water in a sippy type cup she just bites It to get the water out. I’ve tried to teach her to suck on a straw with water in a juice box, squeezing it a little to show that liquid will come out but she just kept chewing the straw. She’s mouthed her hands and just about anything you give her since she was 2 months old. When she was under 6 months old I remember her letting me put my fingers in her mouth no problem, I even used the finger tooth brush and was impressed that she didn’t really seem to care. Now she won’t let me into her mouth like at all, it’s a struggle just to brush the teeth in the front, she clamps her mouth shut. Even when I feed her with a spoon now she doesn’t let the spoon go very far into her mouth at all and she bites it. If I try to get past the tip of her tongue into her mouth she freaks out. She was pretty gaggy sometimes when she was younger, she’d often gag herself with her fingers, and would often gag when she first latched onto my boob, but would relatch and continue without issue. Sorry this comment is all over the place but I feel like there’s no consistency here that’s really telling me what the issue is.
Hi Rebecca,
We know that feeding a toddler can be so challenging sometimes, especially with gagging going on! You might try to rotate the foods she does like and keep offering new ones, it can take many tries before a baby learns to like new foods. Our free table foods workshop is a great place to start. You can save your seat HERE.
Best,
Andrea
Hello Ma’am my 1 year old daughter doesnot eat any food every times i try to feed her kichri or any other food she directly push her tounge outside also she has a hole in her heart
Hey Niki,
Thanks for reaching out. That sounds really challenging. If you’re introducing food with a spoon, it can be helpful to gently push the middle of her tongue with the spoon while you’re feeding her. Another great resource is our free table foods workshop. It’s full of ideas of how to move into table foods. You can save your seat HERE. Please let us know if you have any questions!
Best,
Andrea
Hello. I have been trying to figure out my five year old son and his eating issues for the last 3 years. He was a wonderful eater as a baby. No texture issues. He ate an array of healthy foods, always. We noticed however, that some mornings he woke up just not hungry so we would wait to feed him. Long story short, I noticed hypoglycemic symptoms after a couple of episodes we landed in the ER and we were told he had ketotic acidosis hypoglycemia. He is not a diabetic but basically his reserves get low and he begins hypoglycemia. They claim it’s common and he’ll outgrow it. Which he hasn’t yet. Once these episodes started to happen, he started to have eating issues. It’s worse in the morning, but we go through it every meal. To get him to eat breakfast takes us 2-3 hours daily. Every meal takes the same amount of time. Each day it changes in what he’s willing to eat. One day he hates eggs, the next day he loves them. I’ve noticed he complains the noodles for Mac n cheese had some “hard” pieces in it (undercooked). He won’t eat the undercooked ones. He gags in the morning just looking at food and often gags while eating it and sometimes will throw it up- which then throws us into hypoglycemic episodes because he’s not gotten food in him. We’ve tried everything, various foods, making games out of it, tried protein shakes. Everyday it’s an issue regardless. Sometimes a method works and the next day it won’t. It’s gotten worse now where he just looks like he’s in agony eating anything. Oddly he will eat great sometimes when it’s his timing and what he wants. So I feel like we have multiple things contributing to his eating issue. But when I stumbled across this it made me wonder if he does have some sensory issues with food that are contributing. I know he hates melted cheese but he likes refrigerated cheese sticks (like Colby jack). He hates hard noodles but likes hard pretzels. Some textures of things he doesn’t like and struggles getting down. He also chews his food up to liquid before he swallows it. I don’t think he’s afraid to swallow though. He chews and swallows normally if it’s something he wants.
I do have him help me cook and sometimes that inspires him to eat it slightly quicker.
It has been overwhelmingly hard dealing with this and then having the added layer of hypo episodes when he’s not eaten or because he’s thrown his food up. I have been stumped on why he just won’t eat and just so exhausted from dealing with it. No one seems to have answers or gone through what we are. I’m homeschooling him for kindergarten because he just won’t eat without me sitting there helping him through it and I can’t risk the hypo episodes that follow if he doesn’t eat. I just feel hopeless and lost anymore with it. Does this sound at all like food sensory issues?
Hi Theresa,
Oh it sounds like you guys have been through a lot! We know that can be so scary for everyone. It sounds like sensory issues with food could definitely be contributing. Here’s a good article that might help you determine this. He also might feel a bit scared around eating now all this has started to happen. Our free picky eating workshop is also a great place to start. You can save your seat HERE. Please reach out with any questions.
Best,
Andrea
My daughter never really sucked on her paci. She put it on the side of her mouth n chewed holes in them. She hates brushing her teeth. Took her to 5 dentists before I found one she wouldn’t bite. She was 3 before she gave up her bottle and 5 before she gave up her paci. She loves sour stuff. She can even eat a lemon head with a straight face. Her psychologist said maturity wise she is about 11.
Hi Tori,
It sounds like you’re in the right place! We hope you found the article helpful for your daughter:) If you haven’t seen our sensory workshop, that might be helpful to you! You can save your seat HERE.
Best,
Andrea
My daughter has severe sensory processing disorder. She is overly sensitive. We have seen feeding therapists, we spent the day at a feeding clinic to rule out other problems. She was eating pretty good, although never meats or veggies, until she had a stomach bug at 18 months. If it hadn’t been for pediasure I don’t know what we would have done. This went on for years. Her pediatrician even mentioned a feeding tube. I used to crawl around on the floor following her with a spoon of food, crying begging her to eat. In 2nd grade, they had her try steamed broccoli. She threw up. Needless to say she hates broccoli, even hearing the word. She said she wants to try new things but she’s scared n has a panic attack. My Mom made brownies once. She spit hers out n said it had peanut butter in it. Nobody else tasted it and my Mom admitted to putting peanut butter in them. It was horrible trying to give her medicine. We would blow in her face but she just held it in her mouth n spit it out when we stopped. We tried hiding it in yogurt, etc. Nope. She always had to get those rocephin shots because she wouldn’t take the medicine. I’m glad she swallows pills now. She will be 17 in Oct. She’s like in the 9th percentile for weight for her age. She weighs around 100 lbs. Her 7 year old sister weighs 58 lbs. Her diet consists of pizza with olive oil instead of sauce n the cheese can’t be gooey, Nutella on choc chip Waffles, grilled cheese sandwich or cheese quesidilia, yogurt, fries have to be crisp. No meat or veggies. She will eat but rarely does strawberries, grapes, apples, Pineapple. Of course there’s always the junk food. Oatmeal Pies, Moon Pies, reg chips, cheetos, cheese chex mix, etc. She will eat elbow pasta boiled for 6 mins, salt only. My 7 year old was a pretty good eater but is now following in her sister’s footsteps. She doesn’t eat fruits or vegetables. Mostly chicken Fries, Mac & cheese, Doritos, ice cream, chocolate chip Waffles with Nutella, cereal with milk, yogurt. So not too much nutritious food for either one but my 7 year old is over the 5oth percentile for weight and height. She already comes her sister’s shoulder. I always have to make 3 meals at meal time. 1 for me n my husband, I’m diabetic, and 1 thing for one child and something else for the other one because they don’t even eat the same things. My little one used to eat popcorn shrimp. It’s just exhausting. I feel like a waitress. “Can I take your order?” And of course it’s always great when your kids tell you how bad your cooking smells.
Oh Tori! That sounds like it has really been such a struggle for your family. It can be so hard! You might try to serve everyone the same foods as much as possible. You want to make sure everyone has at least 1 food that they consistently eat on their plate at every meal. Check out our picky eating workshop. It’s a great place to start to set up positive mealtimes! You can save your seat HERE.
Best,
Andrea
I can’t her to eat anything without choling besides pureed baby food but she doesn’t like it at all
11 months
Hi Stephanie,
It can be really tricky for some babies to learn how to eat table foods. It can sometimes be helpful to imitate an exaggerated chewing motion, so your little one can see what she’s supposed to do. We also have a free workshop dedicated to transitioning babies to table foods. It might be helpful to you. You can save your seat HERE.
Best,
Andrea
The only way I’ve gotten my child to get nutrients is by putting the puréed baby food in his “morning juice” This is only to help get in nutrients while fighting his food aversions. He’s a big gagger.
Hey Kristen,
Smoothies are a great idea! We have a free picky eating workshop that might be helpful too! You can save your seat HERE! Let us know if you have any questions.
Best,
Andrea
I have two twin boys who are a little over 11 months old. They were premies but have done very well chewing on toys, brushing teeth and eating purées. They even do well eating the teething biscuits. But anytime I change the texture or food or try baby led feeding, one of my sons will straight up start gagging then immediately projectile vomit, and the other will keep his mouth closed refusing and slap it out of my hands. The one who throws up a lot also does not like touching many foods, especially if they are sticky or wet. I’m not sure how to proceed without having to clean up puke and spilled food every meal plus I hate when he gets sick and looses all the food he just ate so I have continued to cater to him. When I react to his gagging I always tell him he’s ok and sometimes it works but more often then not it’s coming out. Please advise thank you
Hi Jessica,
Dealing with vomit isn’t fun for anyone! It sounds like the texture of the foods may be what is causing the problem. Mixed textures (or your stage 3 baby food) are often the most difficult for children to accept. They feel like its a surprise in every bite. This can make their gag reflex act out a little bit! I’m so glad to hear that your little ones are eating teething biscuits. Sometimes slowly changing the texture can be helpful. You might try foods with similar textures such as cheese curls, baby puffs or graham crackers. We also have a post about gagging that might give you some other ideas. I hope that helps get you started!
Best,
Andrea
Your Kids Table Team
My daughter is 18 now and has suffered from this since she was 2. At least, this sounds like what she’s been suffering with. We just thought she’s super picky and hate to say, but lazy because she didn’t want to fix her own plate and wanted me to serve her every meal. She also would do uber eats for every meal if she could so again, just seemed spoiled. She has been hospitalized for depression last year and although I didn’t know it was a sensory issue, I knew that her diet was the cause of her depression and anxiety. She quit school recently in 11th grade and said it makes her too anxious and when she was going, she wouldn’t go to most classes, just hide in the bathroom. She won’t even do online school. It’s put a horrible wedge in our relationship. We are looking into eating recovery centers for her this week and I pray it helps her.
Hello Thankyou for all this help
My daughter is nearly 6
And she’s suffered sinse 2 and half roughly it started getting a little better now it’s got so much worse
She now doesn’t even eat food she used to eat
Up to the age of 2 she was such a good eater
She would eat anything I gave her, I used to feed her to help
It almost stopped when she got out of a high chair or had to do it herself
With her I think it’s a disorder or constipation or it’s a sensory issue like you said .
She refuses to eat anything different that’s on her plate
Any help would be much appreciated
Thankyou
Hi, my baby is almost 9 months old and still not able to eat solid, she refuses puree, finger food, puffs… she does not bite toys either even when she is teething (she sucks her fingers sometimes when teething, not too often). She is taking her bottle fine. Does it mean she has oral aversion? She seems like she is scared of anything touching her mouth not just food 🙁 I stopped spoon feed her and switched to BLW but she only played with food (sometimes she doesnt, and daydreaming, not very interested in sitting in high chair). Im sending her to daycare next month to see if she will copy other babies and start feeding herself (daycare let babies do BLW), do you think it will help because i heard people say babies like to copy each others. Please advise me, thank you.
Thanks for reaching out. If you are noticing that she is avoiding/doesn’t like things in her mouth, it could very well be an oral aversion. I would encourage the play with food, as touching is the first step to eating. Also, if you can work up to her allowing you to brush her teeth/gums, this can be really helpful first step as well. we do have a free workshop that walks you through some other strategies as well you can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hello,
I’m glad I found your articles. I have a 10 month old (in a week) who still refuses solids. If we do BLW he plays with the food, touches it, smashes it, cuts it up with fingers, takes a super tiny microscopic bite and makes a face. But that’s it, just one attempt at a bite. If I place something mushy like mashed beans or puréed soup he will take his spoon to his mouth a few times, he will just lick it and make a face. If we wait forever and I feed him we might get lucky and get two to three decent half spoonfuls in between him being distracted. His pediatrician wants him fully eating and told me to not give him milk if he doesn’t eat. I don’t feel comfortable with that approach as i know that milk is his primary source of nutrients. I do not want him to have a negative relationship with food so I don’t force meals unless I need him to take at least one spoonful for medication (he was on an antibiotic and needed to be with meals). Should I seek private feeding therapy as I see his pediatrician is a bit more old school in that sense or should I continue to wait on my son to decide to eat.
He does take toys to mouth, all textures, hard teethers, soft plush, strings, cloth, cardboard and paper. He also likes to play bite us so I know he doesn’t mind different textures in his mouth. He’s breastfed. My husband thinks he thinks food is medicine because we started him on an antihistamine as needed before solids and we had to force him to take it. He just started opening mouth for it, it has been on and off for 4 months. We attempted feeding at 5.5 months as he was shaking while going more than 3 hours without milk at nights. Pediatrician suggested we start solids early to see if it helped him at nights. But he never took to eating.
Hi Evelyn,
I know it can be to difficult to have a baby who isn’t interested in eating table food! Table food can be overwhelming to some kids because of all the different textures and flavors. Your little one is right in the best age range for table foods (that typically lasts until about 11 months). Keep encouraging him to interact with the foods! You also might want to check out our free workshop dedicated to transitioning to table foods. I think it would be a great starting point for your family! You can save your seat HERE. Feel free to reach out with any other questions!
Best,
Andrea
Your Kids Table Team
So my son is almost 2 – he will only eat stage 2 baby food and yogurt. He plays with some foods and puts things in his mouth but will not swallow anything. He eventually spits everything out even if it’s a slobbery pile of mush. Ugh 🤦🏼♀️
My son is in the same exact boat. He will not swallow much more than purée texture and he is 20 months!! I’m so glad I found your comment. How has your son been doing since you posted ?? Thanks again!
Hello,
I just found you on the Internet and started reading your posts. My son just turned 15. He was never diagnosed with SPD until a few months ago and never benefited from the help of an OT. Long story so I will not take your time. I will start using your ideas for young children and keep lookingbut for more information online but to make it a bit faster 🙂 I would like to ask you if you have any tips for teens like my son. Until now we were managing around his choice of food but he started gaining weight over the last years due to chronic pain and less physical activity and it seriously affects his mental health. Texture, colours, mixing different food are the main issue. I am aware that the fact that his diet didn’t change much over the last 13 years will be a problem but I will be very grateful for any tips on where to find useful information about helping him. Thank you in advance. Best regards
Hey Kasia,
Thanks so much for reaching out we are glad that you found us! We do have a post for teenagers and picky eating you can check that out here There are some great tips in there on where to start as well as some other links to help understand the underlying cause!
Best,
Desiree
I’m very glad I found your site and am looking forward to exploring it and learning more. I was especially pleased that your article addresses hypo-sensitive kids, not just hyper-sensitive kids. That’s been my biggest struggle to find suggestions to help my 7 yo since most sites that address sensory processing disorder and related issues focus on hypersensitivity. My daughter is hyposensitive to many sensations. When it comes to food, when she was younger we didn’t see any issues really because she loved eating tons of strongly flavored and spicy “grownup” foods and so we didn’t really worry about the things she wouldn’t eat- you don’t really think to worry about a kid who will eat a while veggie platter with spicy jalapeno dip. But as she gets older, her aversions are increasing and the foods she is willing to eat are rapidly decreasing. It is definitely a puzzle and seems like we go forward one step one week and back 3 steps the next week. One thing that I just don’t understand is why she all of a sudden hates things that used to be her favorite. At the moment, the only foods I can depend on her to be willing to eat are ramen and tuna fish and apples. Most days she is willing to at least put a tiny taste of the meal we are eating into her mouth. That’s all we require since we don’t want food to become an emotional battle. We have the added difficulty that her sibling and I have a multitude of food allergies so it is exhausting trying to make meals that everyone can eat. Anyway, I look forward to seeing what I can glean from your site. I have plans to look into therapy for her but with COVID right now, we are waiting for things to calm down.
Hi Alisha,
I found this article very interesting. My nephew is about to return 11 and is the pickiest eater I’ve ever met. And not just typical kid picky, I’m talking PICKY. He eats only a handful of things and has vomited on multiple occasions trying to eat whatever is being served for dinner to the rest of the family. Normally I agree with the whole, “when kids get hungry enough, they’ll eat” approach, but he will literally just not eat. They went to Africa last summer to visit his dad’s family and he lost like 12 lbs. in two weeks because he pretty much fasted the whole time. The foods he WILL eat are mostly lacking in nutrients and he is just pretty unhealthy. His diet is consists of foods that are unhealthy when consumed regularly (pizza, Mac and cheese, tortillas with cheese, chicken nuggets, cheese sticks, ice cream, milk, chocolate sauce, hotdogs, grilled cheese, candy, popcorn, fries, and LOTS of ketchup and ranch on most his meals). He drinks apple juice and is required to eat apple sauce and drink some V8 fusion and Metamucil to keep him from getting totally backed up. Thankfully though, he’s not a soda drinker! Can’t stand the stuff!!
I’m really concerned about his health. I’ve shared this article with my sister in the hopes that she will gain something from it. If you have any further insights, I’d greatly appreciate feedback!! Thank you!!
Hey Hillary,
So glad you shared and resonated with our article. We understand how hard picky eating can be! If you haven’t seen yet, we do have a free workshop that is helpful for parents of picky eaters. Full of some great tips/strategies to start working on the picky eating within the home setting. You can save your seat here
Best,
Desiree
Hi, I have a 35 month old girl who has acid reflux and gags. She still drinks milk and may take small amounts of yogurt. She refuses to eat puree foods unless it’s the same consistency of yogurt and white or a light colour. She will at times drink from a cup with assistants. She refuse to drink her formula from a sippy cup, but will only drinks water from a sippy cup with a straw. If by chance i she is willing to eat solid food she’ll eventually make herself vomit. She will vomit is she drinks water or formula to fast.
When she was 6 months old she started to eat puree foods. Then at 8 months she started teething she didn’t want anything to do with foods. She also would vomit 2/3 times a day, but now she’s on med for acid reflux. She now vomits maybe 2 -3 times a week. She was born a micro preemie and she hasn’t caught up with her height, but she’s caught with her weight. I am currently feeding her from the bottle with puree, oat cereal and tahini paste.
She is delayed with her speech and her left side of her body is more stiff then the right. She also walks on her tippy toes. We were seeing an O.T. in my home bi weekly, and she was being assessed by a speech therapist. Due to the pandemic they have stopped doing home visits, but offer virtual visits. I hope my daughter will learn to eat with us sooner then later. I am very concerned about my daughter development and i hoping for some good advice. Please help!!!
Thanks for reaching out to us! Sounds like you are really on top of working with your daughter through all these struggles! I’d reach out to your OT that have seen her in person for ideas of things you should be doing within the home and before meals. I would be working on brushing her teeth and gums prior to mealtimes, you can do this with a tooth brush (if you aren’t doing so already). But can help the muscles be prepared for a meal as well as help to be more accepting of different textures!
Best,
Desiree
Hi, I have a 2.5 years old son who have both reflux and gagging issues. He is still drinking milk and not taking any solid. He even rejected some of the puree foods and not taking foods directly. He does not know how to suck and drink from a cup even we use various methods to encourage him to do so. One month ago, he started to eat baby biscuits and like to eat yoghurts and bread, but we gave him very small pieces or portion so that he will not gag and vomit.
He will choke when water goes into his mouth and he will vomit thereafter. When he was 1.5 years old, he will vomit 2 to 3 times a day, but now lesser 1 time a day. His weight is ok for his age as we are currently feeding him from the bottle puree when he is sleeping twice a day. He is speaking well and he is hitting his milestones for his age, except for the eating part. We are currently seeing occupational therapist on this and I am not sure whether he will outgrow it when he is older. I am concerned about it and hope whether you have similar experience and can help. Thanks
Hey Rick,
Thanks for reaching out to us! I’m glad to hear that you are getting some help from an occupational therapist. I’d ask them about what they are seeing, from what you are stating it could be some oral motor and/or sensory difficulties causing him to gag. These things can be addressed and worked on. Hopefully you are getting some activities to be doing within the home from your therapist as well. We do have a free workshop that might be helpful for you as well, it helps set up a positive no pressure environment. You can save your seat here
Best,
Desiree
I’m so happy to have come across your page. My 3 year old girl I would say has sensory problem from what you explained. She only takes anything liquid such as juice and purée. I have tried several methods but not working. Hoping to get a better result with the idea you gave. Thank you
Yay, so happy you came across some strategies that are helpful for you!! We do have free workshops too, that can walk you through picky eating. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
Plushy my girl is 2 and only eats puree and liquids. It’s exhausting😫
Hi! My 14 month old baby will only eat plain yogurt or apple sauce. If she gets anything with texter, she will gag and throw up. I‘m at my witts end as to what to do for her. I spoke with her doctor and he said just keep trying, but every time I try she throws up. Please help me, I just don’t know what to do or whom to take her to see.
Hey Emily!
So sorry you are not finding help with your daughter! We’d first recommend working on making sure you are brushing her teeth and gums, a few times a day. This can help increase acceptance to textures as well as help decrease gagging. We also have a free workshop that is perfect fit for what you are going through filled with strategies for helping your child move through eating of foods. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
My child is 6 and is only feeding on milk. When he was younger, he used to eat dry and crispy foods like saltine crackers and wafers, then hashbrowns. He hates the sight of foods and gags at the sight and smell of it. He even hates it when he sees me holding a spoon while approaching him. I don’t know how to feed him. Thank you in advance!
Hey Chris,
We understand how hard and stressful this is to work on feeding your child. I’d first start trying to get him to work on touching of foods during some play activities/food prep outside of mealtimes. Touching is the first step to eating, this can help transfer over to mealtimes for him to be more comfortable as well. We also have a free workshop that will be helpful with great strategies to work on this. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hi, oh man it’s overwhelm and relieving to see so many comments from parents, and recent ones. I’m at a breaking point. My son turned four this week, and has always been a picky eater. We’re exploring sensory issues in general as he has a few indicators of different sensory issues and my husband has auditory processing disorder. From what the OT said that we spoke to, his issues didn’t seem too “severe” but he doesn’t eat. I’ve noticed that he really has his biggest meal for breakfast and after that he doesn’t much, but right now we are down to one food; hamburger bun. That’s all he’ll eat. I’m overwhelmed by this and is making it difficult to make dinner in general. I’m always trying to think of ways to feed him and come up short every time. Of course he’ll eat anything with sugar in it, but that’s it. That and hamburger buns. He removed the fruit from his first birthday cake, he had trouble gaining weight and nursing at first, and refused many of his first purées. I can’t pinpoint a texture he doesn’t like. He wanted ramen noodles everyday two weeks ago and tonight had one bite and said they were gross and started gagging. I can’t tell if it’s a power play/developmental or sensory. He’s constantly asking us to hold his food and drink “for later” and when I try to explain that this is the meal time he just says ok and doesn’t eat. I realize some people eat to live and others live to eat and I can see that he’s the latter but as a mother I’m worried and frustrated. Any advice??
Hey Erin,
Thanks for reaching out!! Typically there is an underlying cause to the picky eating and not just a power play, especially with what you are describing. Extreme picky eaters would rather go without than actually eat a food they do not want. Even if there is “some” sensory it can be helpful to work on it! Doing lots of play in different textures can be helpful. We do have a free workshop that walks you through the first basic steps of picky eating and what to do. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hi! My premie baby is 18 months, 2 months adjusted. He does not like to even taste lichi, ice cream and raisin. As soon as I bring these to his mouth he starts yucking as if he will vomit . He doesn’t eat them with distraction also. He spits even a tiny piece as soon as it is put in his mouth. He run away to see them as he don’t wanna eat. How should I make him eat these?
Hey Sweety,
We’re so glad to have you here! We know it can be really discouraging when our little ones refuse to eat table foods. It sounds like the sensory experience of eating might be a challenge. That can happen when our little ones gag before they’re fed. We also have a free table foods workshop that would be a great place for you to start. You can save your seat HERE! I hope that helps 🙂
Best,
Andrea
My 11 year old has suddenly been unable to eat solid foods. He’s always exhibited signs of sensory eating issues (can’t do spicy or very sweet) and other sensory behaviors, but he typically loves food. It began with feeling like something was stuck in his throat then turned into a fear of things not passing and now he just can’t make himself swallow. He will chew endlessly then end up spitting it out. How do I address this with him? Do I see if it will pass in its own? Find an occupational therapist? Counseling? He’s genuinely sad he can’t make himself eat, other than smoothies, soups, and mashed foods. When do I worry that it is structural? (He struggled with eating coordination as a newborn and used to do the “stuffing” behaviors. We’re in the middle of Covid and I’m sure he’s feeling more anxiety with the disruption in schedule and tense environment of it all. Thank you for your advice!
Hey Debra,
So sorry you and him are going through this! With him WANTING to eat foods, I’d make sure to reach out to your doctor just to check structurally and make sure there isn’t something causing it to be hard for him to swallow or cause pain ie: reflux. After all that, sounds like it’s him building trust that it will be okay to swallow. I’d start with safe foods and try to work up from there with soft foods, meltables, etc.
Best,
Desiree
Hi there. My 14 month old baby gags when I feed her baby food. She eats finger food for example mince, pasta, corn from the cob, peas, bread, boiled egg, cheese and a variety of fruits. But she gags on food giveN to her on a spoon and some other table food like chicken. She was born at 35 weeks and struggled To drink her bottle. She cried when the bottle touched her lips. I took her for many OT observations and they could not find anything wrong with her. She eventually started to drink het bottle at 4.5months. She was fine eating her food a few months ago but now she eats so little? She has lost a bit of weight but still weight 9.8kg. Do you think she has a sensory issue? Thank you!!
My 12 year old daughter has issues with eating under-cooked food.
Even if it’s not under-cooked, she is frightened it is, and purposely burns it, or subtly avoids it.
Hey Ari,
I’d try to talk with her about what is happening and try to help her address the issue (ie: if she doesn’t like to touch it based on texture) You can work on her touching and experimenting with food items outside of mealtimes. I’d also make sure there is no pressure at mealtimes, this may be helpful as well!
Best,
Desiree
My almost 10 month old will only eat purées baby food. Anything with texture or chunks and he will spit out immediately. He is underweight and doctor wants him to eat more. Could this be a sensory issue? He is only recently chewing on teethers.
Hey Anna,
So glad you reached out to us! Baby food with chunks (ie: stage 3 food) can actually be really hard for babies to work through. If he’s taking purees well, you can try meltables to see how he does with those, ie: puffs to start working towards eating of table foods. We do have a free workshop that helps walk you through this transition process and ways to help! You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
hi, I am a mom of an almost 3 year old boy. We are suspecting that he falls into the autism spectrum as he is showing some red flags including refusal to eat. We are just waiting for his assessment and diagnosis. He is only taking milk when he reached 1 and a half old. I started to feed him with pureed food when he was 6mos old and apple was his favorite. Then slowly we are giving him some textured food like porridge but then after 5spoons he will vomit until he stopped eating totally. Everytime we offer food he will run away and if we force him to tey he will cry. I’ve read your article and will try to do those tips, but maybe you can give me specifics that i should try for my son. Thank you and God bless!
Hey Andrea,
Thanks for reaching out! I’d really try to work on getting him to touch different textures of food to start. This is the first step in eaing, and often something that kids can shy away from with sensory difficulties. We do have a free workshop that would be helpful for you as well. You can save your spot HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hi! I just read your article as I’m trying to find the best solution to make my 13 month old eat solid food. He has never liked being fed since we introduced solids to him at 4months, he refused being fed with a spoon so we moved on to baby led weaning. He has always shown interest in food, trying to grab the food from our plates and as he got older would pick up the food and put it in his mouth. The problem is he NEVER swallows. He doesn’t seem to want to try some fruit but he’ll try any type of meat, cheese, sandwich, bread, or dry snack (puffs, bars, crunchies) etc. he will take bites or put pieces in his mouth and suck on it for a long time but always spits it out before taking the next bite. The few times he has tried to swallow he gags and coughs until he spits it out and then starts all over. I feel like I’ve tried everything and nothing has worked so far. Do you have any input for his case? Any advice would be so appreciated as my husband and I have not been able to see the light at the end of this tunnel :/
Thank you!!
Hey Andrea,
We totally understand where you are coming from and know how hard this can be. Great job at offering of foods and to be continuing with the process. I’d make sure to be working on brushing his teeth/gums, this can be extremely helpful in decreasing of the gag reflex in his mouth! We do have a free workshop that you will find some great information in as well. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
My 3 yr old still poos on himself. Somehow he is starting to talk like a baby although he was talking fluently
I guess my 14 month old daughter also is having sensory processing issue as she just pockets most of the food. Only food she lets it in is Milk and fried crunchy salty snack. She do not accept anything which is in liquid form but when I try to give her something which is solid , even small portion makes her uncomfortable and she start coughing.
I am not sure what kind of food I should give her as an option which are healthy and she can eat. I am vegetarian.
My daughter’s weight is 7 kg after 14 months. Her Birth weight was 2.3 kg and was born premature on 36.6 weeks.
Hey Thanks for reaching out! We understand how hard this is when your child is not eating well. Make sure that you are providing her with opportunities to play with food to touch and explore as this can be really great for sensory processing. Also, I’d try to practice brushing her teeth before meals to provide her with input as this can help to decrease the pocketing as well. I’d recommend our free workshop which will walk you through what kinds of foods to start with first as well as other tips that can help! You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
I am writing a research paper for a graduate class on picky eaters in infancy/toddlerhood and I am interested in what research you used to garner all of this information? You have great ideas here, but I don’t think my professor would approve of a blog as academic research 🙂 Just wondering if you could point me in the direction of your information. Thank you much!
Hey Hannah,
A lot of the research comes from Ellyn Satter Division of Responsibility, SOS approach to feeding, Food Chaining and The Out of Sync Child! Hope that helps 🙂
Best,
Desiree
Hi my daughter is 6 years old had acid reflux as a baby and was a Preemie, she still to this day won’t try new foods doesn’t eat meat or veggies some fruits. We have tried so many things over the years. We thought with her being in school she would maybe try new foods nope she doesn’t pb&j everyday with chips and a drink. Please help
Hey Sarah,
This is such a common concern that we hear from our families! But, we are happy that you are reaching out and looking for some answers! If you have not taken our free picky eating workshop, I’d highly recommend. This goes over starting a no pressure environment and how to set up mealtimes for your picky eater. It can be so beneficially and helpful for everyone to relax a little at meals. This helps kids explore more on their own. You can learn more and save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hi, thank you for this blog and all the links within it. My boy is almost 10 and has SPD with severe oral aversion. I have tried so many strategies to get him to try new foods and textures without much success. As he is approaching pre teen it is getting harder and harder to meet his caloric needs as a super active fidgeting kid. We have introduced a wriggle cushion for school and he always has a pack of gum available. Can you maybe suggest some age appropriate sensory play for us as we head into our colder months of the year? His diet consists of crunchy foods (carbs), sausages, rice with a small amount of chicken stock, milk and cheese. That’s it. I’m getting more and more anxious about his health on this diet and have not had much success in gaining access to an OT in my area. It may be worth mentioning he has quite a severe lisp which sometimes even makes it hard for me to understand him. I have tried to find a speech therapist but as he is not on the spectrum and of school age that has also proven difficult. Otherwise he is a fun, functioning, super intelligent, active kid.
Thanks again
Deanne M
Hey Deanne,
We get how hard it can be! For working on the picky eating, if you haven’t signed up for our Free picky eating video series you can still sign up HERE It’s only available for a limited time. For sensory input if you are looking for movement I’d try sensory activities on a yoga ball. We do have some great suggestion in this article
Best,
Desiree
Hi my daughter Is 21 months was eating well and didn’t show any signs of food aversions until she got very ill and was diagnosed with Celiac disease at 15 months and now she completely refuses all foods we just recently got her to eat yogurt and she has begun to lick foods but won’t actually eat or chew it what are your thoughts about food aversion post a GI disease diagnosis thank you for your input
Hey Melanie,
Thanks for reaching out! Yes, food aversion due to underlying medical cause happens. We do work on it the same as a picky eater with how we are presenting foods, etc (as well as continuing to treat the underlying causes and make sure to follow dietary restrictions). We have a free workshop that walks you through some first steps to take to work on increasing the foods. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hi there please help. My son is 6 months old. We have been from paed to pead doctor to doctor , seen a speech therapist and no one has helped . He is on 10mg nexium a day as a doctor said it could be reflux and that is why he refuses to drink. We have been feeding puréed solids for 2 months . He only drinks while sleeping . Refuses to drink while awake . He is on formula and a bottle . Was never tube fed , 3 weeks prem. Never breast fed went straight to bottle , was expressing at first then weaned him into formula . He also never opens his mouth for food. I’m beyond stressed and have actually sort of given up . Please can you give me some advice of some sort . I am at a dead end . He is only 6,7 kg and 6 months old .
Hey Zoe,
So sorry you are dealing with this. I’d check back in with the pediatrician that was suspecting reflux as sometimes it does take awhile for the medicine to take affect as well as they adjust/try different meds if reflux is the issue. I’d also look into a feeding evaluation. I know you said you seen a speech therapist, but I’d really look for someone with experience with feeding (this can be an occupational or speech therapist). You can read our article on Feeding Therapy Here
Best,
Desiree
Hi Zoe, I know this is old. But my baby is having a same problem. She used to take bottle while being drowsy or sleeping and i already solve the problem. However she is not opening her mouth for anything not just food. She never bites toys so i think she has oral aversion. Its been 4 months since first time I introduced solid to her but no success yet. She is now 9 months old. I just want to see if you had any solutions for your baby. Im sending her to daycare to see if she will copy other babies and start eating
Hi Zoe, I know this is old. But my baby is having a same problem. She used to take bottle while being drowsy or sleeping and i already solve the problem. However she is not opening her mouth for anything not just food. She never bites toys so i think she has oral aversion. Its been 4 months since first time I introduced solid to her but no success yet. She is now 9 months old. I just want to see if you had any solutions for your baby. Im sending her to daycare to see if she will copy other babies and start eating
Hi,
My son will be turning 17 months at the end of Dec.
He is growing well from a weight and development perspective. He still drinks breast milk both from a cup/bottle ( in the day)and from the breast when I am home. Does not prefer the cup/bottle.
My concern is that he is still on pureed food. He is happy with the smooth texture the most, eats it well. We have progressed to give him pureed food with pieces ( pasta, some texture) but really still smooth for 10-12 month old babies.
He will not eat anything but the pureed food. If you put any food in front of him he will not touch it, he will not eat any puffs. if he feels any texture/food piece in his mouth he will gag until it comes out and cries.
Lately as I am reading more and more articles, I have tried to put the spoon on one side of his mouth to see if he chews, I have also tried to give him puffs to see if he will try them and the soft rubber training tooth brush in this mouth, he does not participate in any of the above…
I have trie to give him biscuits, cut up fruits, puffs etc, he will not even touch it.
He will touch some of the food in my plate at a push or sometimes even put it in his mouth but rarely.
He eats all his food ( pureed) well, drinks water/juice from a cup/even with a straw but we need I am worried he has a texture aversion as he gags and vomits anything that has a texture in it when fed, is there a way I can help him or do I need to see an OT?
PS: He hates touching grass or having food from his high chair on his hands, he likes to play with the spoon and tries to put his pureed food in his mouth.
Please assist?
Hey!
So happy you reached out! It sounds like you are trying some really great things! I’d keep on trying with having him play in foods. So these can be messy foods like his pureed foods as well as other dry foods (you can do this outside of mealtimes) to try to get him engaged in touching of the foods. We do also have a free workshop that walks you through transitioning from purees to other foods that I think you’d find some great information in. You can save your seat HERE If you are looking to get a feeding evaluation, here is our article of tips for what to be looking for and the different types, you can read all about it HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hi, my son just clocked 8months and he isn’t eating, he didn’t take formula also, he wouldn’t even take breast milk if pumped in a bottle, so basically all he takes is breast milk from breast!
He takes like a spoon of purée sometimes, and that’s it, cereal, purée, formula, he just wouldn’t accept it, he grabs cups and spoon and puts it in his mouth, and seem interested when I’m eating but wouldn’t eat when given to him, he drinks water from his sippy cup very well, sometimes without help, but doesn’t take more than one or two spoons of food, sometimes he gags and spits out and cries a lot, is he just spoilt or does he just hate food?
Hey Helen,
We know how frustrating this can be. Sounds like you are doing some great things with providing a sippy cup! I’d work on trying to let him play and explore foods outside of mealtimes with no expectations of eating (this can be very helpful in the first steps to eating. Also, you mentioned that he was gagging sometimes, I’d check out this Article for pinpointing reasons for gagging and things to work on if needed! Hope that helps.
Best,
Desiree
Hi
My son just turned 7months. We started introducing solid food when he was about 5+months. He did open his mouth when the spoon was presented to him at first. However, after 1 month he just stop opening his mouth. We tried many ways to get him to open his mouth. He gags when he tried food with abit more texture. Sometimes the gag was so bad that he vomit the food out. However, he has no problem with water from spoon. It has been a month since he started refusing food. What should we do next?
Hey Ally,
Thanks for reaching out, we understand how hard this transition can be! I’d make sure to let him play with the food with his hands (you can do this outside of mealtimes) but so that he has that opportunity to play and touch and learn about the food, this helps to ease getting to their mouths. We do have a free workshop that would be very helpful with your son providing suggestions on other things to do! You can Save Your Seat Here
Best,
Desiree
Hi my son is 8 months old and he takes a few spoonfuls maybe 10 and then loses interest. He already has bottle aversion due to reflux. I’m so worried.
Hi,
I’d recommend making sure that you give him opportunities to play and touch a variety of textures, you can do this outside of mealtimes to get him used to different feels. Also utilizing a tooth brush and providing variety of objects for him to bite/chew can be really helpful.
Best,
Desiree
hi there,
Thank you so much for your website. Im a first time mom and a nurse practitioner. I have a 2 year old who has some difficulties with eating. He always had trouble swallowing and even eating as a baby. We had to thicken his milk and did all the barium swallow evals and nothing was “physically” wrong. He still struggles to gag with certain foods and if he gags, he immediately pukes. He also has started to spit out his foods. he will chew and spit it out and say he took too big of a bite..event though he didnt. I know I contributed to his unwillingness to eat by trying to coax, bribe, and make him eat. All things that are a “no no” but he is sooo frustrating to eat with. We always eat together and sit at a table. I feel so bad because I think he hates eating meals (he does snacky cracker food just fine). Any tips? THANK YOU
Hi Heather,
So glad that you found us and are reaching out! We understand how hard this can be but glad you have read our sensory article! I’d also suggest watching our free workshop as it will be helpful in learning out to set up mealtimes and how to present new foods. It will also discuss gag reflex! You can Save Your Seat Here
Best,
Desiree
Is it too late for my 9 yr old son? He never went through the oral stage, first ate table food at 19 months, had speech delay and had some sensory issues with sound but outgrew that but we are still struggle with food. For him it is smell related. He did OT for while but we did not see any difference so stopped it as it becomes costly. Since he skipped on the oral stage as a baby he seems to be doing now, he will chew on pencil led, crayons, we go through so many toothbrushes because he chews on them and dislikes the electric one. Even things he will taste and like, he will not eat again. Its extremely difficult for school because there is no cafeteria and we have to send food from him but he doesn’t want to take it 🙁 just want to know if these tips will work for him since he is older.
Hey Shevona,
IT is NOT too late! These strategies are still appropriate for him. I’d work on adding some smells into the sensory bins and cooking it will be in there naturally if smell is a lot of it! We do have a free workshop for picky eating too that may help with some suggestions. You can save your seat HERE
Best,
Desiree
My daughter is almost 14 months old. She has always loved her pureed food but we have not been able to transition her to table food. She only likes crunchy things aside from baby food. She will eat puffs, teething wafers, chips, veggie straws, etc. But will not let anything else even go into her mouth. We are still giving her purees to be sure she is getting the nutrients she needs especially since she will still eat them. We have been able to get her to eat some other things like rice or black beans and guacamole at the Mexican restaurant but only on a spoon we feed to her. She will not pick those things up and put them into her mouth. She will pick up and eat crunchy things. I have read through a lot of your blogs but what do i do when she refuses to put things in her mouth? Also, she will touch some things but do you think its a texture issue from her hands versus her mouth since she wont even let it go into her mouth?
Hey Rachel! So happy you have been following us! Sorry you are having this trouble transitioning. It could be a texture issue (touching with their hands is the first step to them eating it). It does sound like she is on the right path for the next step of foods typically we recommend purees and then puffs (crunchy meltables) and move from there. You can learn about what to try next in our Free Workshop Until then, I’d try some play with foods/textures outside of mealtimes to see how she responds.
Best – Desiree Your Kids Table Team Member
Hello. We have a 1.5 year old that caught swi e flu at 6 mo ths of age. It penetrated her blood brain barrier and damaged her mitochondria and nervous system. We have been worki g with nu erous doctors and therapists to help her fight these dysfunctions. After the ill ess…her ability to sit and play and grab and hold her own bottle and eat was compromised. Re-learning has been tough. My question is….how can we get her to drink water. Her sensory issues are high since the illness and the only liquid she will take is breastmilk from the breast. Not even from a bottle. Weve tried spoo s, sippy cups and even medicine syringe to get her to drink the water. She just lets it fall out of her mouth and if she does happen to swallow…she throws a crying fit. Shes had major gagging issues at the beginning of her setback, but now will eat cooked food, but it all has to be mashed up and soft. Can you please give me any advice on how to help her drink water? We have a new OT starting 3 weeks from now. Weve even thought of hypnosis. Its a sensory thing for her. Were lost on how to help fix this. GOD Bless you and thank you
Hello, I am so sorry you are going through this, as I understand how hard this seems! It sounds like you are trying things I’d suggest such as syringe, bottle. I’d try putting breast milk in those different containers/syringe since it is the same liquid she is used to drinking. Once successful from there, then switching the liquid to work on water may help. I’m glad to hear that you are receiving an OT, they should be able to recommend items that are more specific to your case after seeing your daughter!
Best,
Desiree
My son is 5years of age. He will be 6 in January. his eating is slim. He has told me straight up that he only likes breakfast food and snacks. He don’t like dinner. He will help me make dinner but won’t eat it. He eats cereal and almond milk. He eats peanut butter. He will eat bread. He will eat pancakes with or without syrup. same goes for waffles. He eats bacon but must be crispy. How can I get him to eat different foods. Veggies he not even having that. Fruit he may eat a banana, no brown spots, maybe a apple and maybe a orange. What trips me out is that when he was a baby and started eating table food he would knock our plate over trying to eat my food, but the last couple of years it has declined. I want to say the last 2 years. I’ve spoke to his Pedestrian about it and she say its a faze. He is hitting his weight milestones. I just don’t know what else to think. His eating with his dad is a similar as when he is with me. So we will try to put our heads together to come up with something. I know for a fact that its has something to do with Sensory. When his chicken strips are fried they need to be fried hard and look more orange than pale looking SMH. PLEASE SUGGESTONS
Hey Brittne,
We know how hard this can be, and while sometimes it is a phase, it can snowball into further picky eating! I’d suggest signing up for our free workshop video series starting 9/17/19, this will provide you with suggestions for setting up a successful mealtime. In the meantime, I’d make sure there are no snacks between meals and that milk is only offered during meals to make sure that he is hungry! Save your Seat for Workshop here
Best,
Desiree
I’m at a loss. My 8 yr old son hardly eats anything. He refuses to try anything new. I have noticed he makes frequent comments about smells when I’m cooking. I have tried giving him “new items” along with his usual. I have asked him to help me in the kitchen. I have tried to talk to him. My husband tends to be a little harsh with him by intimidating him to eat or making him feel bad for “what he’s missing out on” by not trying. Our son has been seeing a counselor for about 8 mths for anger control which has helped tremendously but the counselor has had no luck with his eating habits. He is a good weight, wears husky jeans, he does eat but keeps getting in to the usual foods. I even tried NOT buying certain foods anymore so he might try something new. He’s tall for his age. Most people think he’s about 10 yrs old. He has made comments that he’s scared of foods poisoning him or choking him. He has never had “gagging” episodes. When he was little he would eat anything you’d put in front of him. Lemons, olives, veggies, fruit but then when he was three he just stopped eating like that. He will eat fish sticks, honey mustard potato chips, choco-chip pancakes, applesauce, pop tarts, donuts, french fries, and sweet things like cinnamon rolls, brownies, cookies. Yes I know it seems like I only feed him junk but I do have my times where I just allow it so that he has something in his stomach. I’ve had people tell me to just starve him. Don’t have any of those foods in the house. But it doesn’t control what he eats at school. He trades with other kids at lunchtime. Teachers give out sweets for rewards. I wonder if he has a sensory issue. I don’t know what else to do. I just want him to try new foods. I would love more than anything to solve this myself without the help of a food specialist. But I also know my son better than anyone. He does things in his own time and doesn’t like to be “pushed”. My husband seems to think since he’s the adult, the dad, that he can push him as much as he wants. I disagree. Be stern, yes. Be a bully, absolutely not!
Hi Betty,
Glad you reached out to us!! If you are looking for a professional, I’d recommend looking into Feeding Therapy. Our approach is to take pressure off of mealtimes to have the children gain a more positive experience with the food. You can learn more and Save Your Seat for our free workshop to learn more and be provided with more suggestions! Hope these help!! Keep us posted!
Best,
Desiree
It’s genuinely very difficult in this busy life to listen news on TV, so I just use world wide web for that reason, and obtain the newest information.
Hi Alisha
This is a great article. I feel like everything is written looking at my child or for him. He will be turning 6 next month. Started having food aversion before he was 3. Still gets gagging spitting or throwing up when he is even sick with a mild cold symptoms. Gets anxious when eating in a group with our family and friends and his friends. He is very little weighs less than 16kg and easily loses weight even with mild sickness and has not much reserve in his body. He is on a supplement which he takes a long time to drinke. He rarely finishes his school lunch but we are lucky to get a teacher who tries to get him to drink his pediasure at least. May be we should organise an occupational therapist appointment next. Very confused parent.
Thanks
I’m glad you found this article helpful 🙂 I am glad that you are in tune with what your child is doing, that is great! I’m sure it can be difficult for meal times. You can always reach out to receive and OT evaluation, as they can provide specific input for your child. We also have a free workshop that can help with some tips to assist with mealtimes!
You can save your spot here: yourkidstable.com/free
Hi Alisha,
I found your article after desperate Googling. I don’t know what to do. My son is nearly 5 and had a stroke as baby. He has a mild left hemiplegia and although he’s doing well in most areas, his oral motor skills are severely affected. His speech is unclear, is still very dribble and his feeding is affected. His swallow is fine but I think he is hyposensitive in his mouth. He eats a great variety of foods, doesn’t show any sensory aversion but it’s like he can’t be bothered to eat and will just sit at the table, muck about and not feed himself. He will eat of someone spoon feeds him. He is really small and skinny when genetically he should be the opposite and fell down the weight and height charts after his stroke. He has Pediasure drinks prescribed and holds steady along the 25th centile now, but he should be 95th-99th and doesn’t make the gain back. He is very active and burns more energy due to his hemiplegia so I do get stressed that he won’t get enough if I don’t help him. He is also type 1 diabetic which is a nightmare in itself and a problem if he won’t eat. I don’t know what to do. Meal times take forever and feel so stressful. I know I shouldn’t react as I do but I feel so unbelievably stressed. I don’t know what I can do to make him more interested in eating.
Hi Helen,
I can understand how it can be frustrating as you really want your child to eat. But, you are doing great!! You are looking for resources and ways to help you child!! Take a look at this article for oral motor exercises I think these will be helpful for your son. Also, if you haven’t already I’d try to get scheduled with an OT or SP therapist for them to provide more input as what might be helpful in his oral motor skills to get him eating! Keep us posted!
Best,
Desiree
Hi Alisha, I wish I had your article 13 years ago. My 16 year old has fruit and veggie aversions. She doesn’t want to see them, doesn’t want to see you eating them, doesn’t touch anything that’s touched fruit especially. Veggies are more tolerable. She’s developing rituals to avoid things that have touched fruit. Example, I can’t put my cell on her bed because it’s been on the kitchen counter.
She’s ready to deal with it as she’s realizing that it’s starting to get in the way of her doing things in life, but I’m having difficulty figuring out which type of therapist she needs.
She has unrelated anxiety (started over math) and depression that shows up with menstrual cycle.
These symptoms could be intertwined or totally unrelated.
We’re in NY. We’re looking for a good therapist or two that has been helpful in these areas. Our pediatrician wasn’t able to suggest anything except for saying “there’s no one that deals with that for her age”.
Oh I can imagine how hard that is after all these years of managing it. It’s so good that you’re not giving up though! There are therapists that work with teens, I’d do a google search and start calling around. In NY, I’m sure you can find somebody! Wishing you lots of luck!
I have a 19 month old daughter with severe receptive and expressive speech delay that is at high risk for ASD. She had swallowing/choking issues as an infant and had laryngeal penetration during swallowing study. She has never, since birth; put anything in her mouth. No teethers etc. Her first reaction to every bite of food is to aggressively swat it away. Once I can get the food in her mouth she will usually eat it. She will eat well if distracted by a toy, coloring or cartoon (she just opens her mouth automatically and absent mindlessly). It takes an hour or more to feed her every meal. She has never taken a bite off of something (cookie, cracker etc.) and she has never licked anything. She doesn’t lick food off her face/lips. She does use a sippy but refuses to put a straw of any kind in her mouth. She refused a tooth brush so we currently use a wet rag with toothpaste on it which is still a fight. She is in speech and feeding therapy but her speech therapist doesn’t seem to want to help with feeding. She believes that she is not using her tongue laterally etc but also believes it is sensory. We are being evaluated for early intervention which will get an OT involved. I’m just looking for any kinds of tips on how to get into her mouth. I can’t use tools to move her tongue etc. because she will not allow it. We currently have toothbrushes all over the house for her to play with etc. to get used to. Are there any things/games I can do to help her get used to having things in her mouth? Thanks in advance.
Hi Brandi, that sounds tough! I’m a SP in Australia. No particular expert in feeding, but this sounds like a good area to patiently persist with. It would be important to keep experiences positive/ pressure free, which can be challenging if you are concerned. Remind yourself she will get there in her own time. What are her favourite flavours- get ready to get messy and explorative. I’m talking in a nappy in the highchair- pour tinned spaghetti on the high chair table and play with it- mush it, pour it drop it, slurp it etc… have fun exploring it. Try cream, ice cream, mash potato. Make funny games sucking fingers with silly noises- see how it’s not about eating at all at this stage? Cut back on milk if that is filling her up at the moment. Also try bland foods- have little pieces of pasta, strips of bread etc. Present them first multiple times a day. Also dissolveable foods can work for first bites- like cruskits or cherries. Finally, find a good OT or SP who will workshop ideas further. Hang in there!
Sorry- typing error. Not cherries! Cherios!
Thank you so much for all the ideas! We had just started kind of playing with food but not to this extent so I will implement that right away!
Hi Brandi,
Thank you so much for reaching out. We understand where you are coming from as there are many pieces to the puzzle with feeding. I am glad that you are getting an OT involved as they will be able to help with specific strategies focused to help your child. It does sound like you are trying some good things with leaving tooth brushes around the house, etc. My suggestion would be using play more with all different types of food outside of mealtimes for your daughter to experience, touch, smell, etc. As she gets comfortable with touching on hands, you would start to try to engage her moving up her body (like her arm, shoulder then getting close to her face as she models from your play). This will help get items closer to her mouth at a comfortable pace. You can also use one of her favorite toys and try to do some play on her face to see if she will tolerate, if not back off and slowly work your way up.
We do have a free workshop that provides tips for mealtimes that I think would be helpful for ideas on when and how to set up your mealtimes.
Save your seat here yourkidstable.com/free
Thank for all the help!!!
Hello. I am the parent of a 15 year old daughter whom I have long suspected had food texture and smell sensitivity. It appeared very early when we started baby food. She would gag until she threw up anything she didn’t like the feel, taste or smell of. At that time there were very few resources available in our area. She developed normally in all other ways hitting all the milestones early or in the normal range. She is extremely intelligent placing high honors in all advanced classes. She eats about 15 food items regularly and will try most beverages but new foods and vegetables in particular are a real struggle for her. Is there anything I can do to help her expand her diet? I feel like I somehow failed her by not getting the help earlier. I thought she would outgrow it and it has gotten better but I still worry about her diet.
You know I’d ask her what would help. I’d get her involved in menu planning, scroll Pinterest together, what looks enticing? Then have her make some meals, but try to base them around some of the foods she eats. Try to keep it light. There’s also a great book to help teens and adults with picky eating: Conquer Picky Eating for Teens and Adults
Hi , my son has women texture aversions and the doctor recommended speech therapy for him. However we noticed that he was getting better as we kept offering him more foods. So we opted out of the therapy .
Recently for the past month or so he has this new habit where he gags and pukes when he sees others eat . It could be seeing food that he doesn’t normally eat in someone else’s plate or accidentally seeing some one chew . Today he vomitted when he accidentally saw some sauce drip on the side of my hubby’s mouth.
I am trying to understand if this is just a phase or if I should not have missed therapy in the first place .
Appreciate if you can respond and help out .
Hi Susan,
I know this can all be very difficult to figure out. I would recommend going back to therapy. Although it may pass, this is a pretty big indicator for sensory needs with food. Wishing you the best.
Thank you for your article. I’m a 43 year old with autism and oral sensory issues. Problem is I wasn’t diagnosed until I was forty. My parents divorced when I was 3 I lived with my mom until I was eight and I was extremely underweight eating only limited foods then I went to live with my dad and he felt my eating issues was behavior related and made me clean my plate or else I can have it cold for the next meal. I was forced to learn how to eat almost anything put in front of me by adding enough Toppings. This may sound like a good thing but now at 43 I weigh just over 300 lbs and cannot diet. I only eat gooey/creamy foods. Sour cream, cheese, ranch, cottage cheese, mayo, cream cheese, etc is applied to all foods in order to make them edible and they are applied heavily this adds a lot of calories to my diet. Even with these toppings I stick to a small variety of foods on a regular basis not liking alot of “normal” foods like chewy/gummy foods. I almost never eat unprocessed meat,and and never eat gummy candy or beef jerky for any reason. I also have lots of other food “rules” such as meat can’t be sweet ( like hunny roasted ham, or a fruit glaze on meat) the two together is gross ! Do to these “sensitivities” I eat a qground beef based(whole meat is too gummy) diet speghetti with ranch, ground beef and bean burritos lots of cheese and sour cream, loaded potatoes ( topped with ground beef or bacon, cheese and sour cream ), brocolli cheese soup ect. Any attempt to diet the food rotts untouched in the ice box and I go hungry as I can’t get myself to eat it. I have looked into dieticians but can’t find one that will take my insurance to work with me on these issues and occupational therapy for this type of thing isn’t covered in adults from what I’ve been told. So I’m needing to “treat” myself and find articals like yours very helpful.
Wow, thanks for sharing, it’s so helpful to hear the perspective of an adult. I’m glad the post is helping and you can definitely apply some of these strategies!
Hello:
I am a Registered Dietitian. Please call the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at 1-800-877-1600 and ask them for a list of Dietitians in your area. I work in the field of community dietetics, but it would be best to see a Registered Dietitian who is a specialist. Thank you. Pam
Hey Alisha,
I am a special ed para-educator who works with a 1st grade girl with ASD as well as sensory processing issues. Recently, at home and at school she has started having extreme issues with eating after she had a case of the stomach flu a month ago. At home, she refuses food unless it is under certain conditions (For example: refusing to eat unless it’s on a Styrofoam plate, or refusing to eat unless a blanket is over her head). At school, however, she refuses to eat anything at all and has severe sensory meltdowns when staff try to get her to eat (screaming, crying, wetting pants, eloping from the classroom, self harm by biting her hands and pulling her hair, etc.). Her mom and our staff have been going back and fourth trying to implement what works during feeding time at home, but to no avail. Her mom packs her lunches with things we already knows she loves, and she has always devoured what she has been given. We have made slight progress by getting her to look at, touch, smell, and lick her food, but we can not seem to get past that point. She does have constipation issues and takes medication and supplements to manage it and has had milder issues surrounding eating in the past, but not the point where she seemed afraid of all foods and is starving herself. We suspect that her being sick and vomiting caused her trauma and she is now associating food with getting sick. Can you think of any strategies we could implement to help her get past her fear of food? Or provide any insight on how to reintroduce food to a child with a fear of vomiting or getting sick and also has severe special needs?
Thanks! I hope you can help!
This is more common that you think and there is an aversion. I’d start with just playing with food, especially food outside of a meal. Can she imitate, copy your interactions? Focus just on touching or smelling, maybe do arts and crafts. I’d definitely seek out a feeding therapy eval too!
Hi Alisha, I have read a lot of your articles, and they helped me figure out that my 18 month old is suffering from oral sensory hypersensitivity. I also went to an OT for the same, and they have confirmed it. He is still only eating pureed food, and gags and vomits violently if anything unpureed or too textured (food only) is put in his mouth. He is otherwise OK with textured non-food stuff. He hates getting his hands messy.
He hates getting his teeth brushed. I have tried the vibrating tooth-brush, but he won’t let me touch his mouth with it. Happily runs around with the vibrating brush in his hand.
On the recommendation of OT, I have purchased the chewy tubes, and P’s and Q’s for him. Am also making him touch different textures, like clay, dry flour and grain mixture etc, to help desensitise him.
Would request you to please guide me what else I can do to help him start eating a little better, and graduate to non-pureed foods. Thanks in advance.
So glad you’re getting more help Rajni! You’re doing so many good things, I would keep encouraging him and trying everyday to brush teeth and tolerate messy play. A little bit at a time!
My son gagged on rice cereal as a baby — he was over 2 years old by the time he started eating solid food. Our infant development specialist was better than the OT. She had us put small pieces of baby cookies near his back teeth. It was hard, but he finally learned to eat the cookies on his own! We also used a Z-vibe outside and inside his mouth – not a toothbrush, but just a vibrating tool with little bumps. A toothbrush head can be used as well, and it doesn’t have traditional bristles. It took a ton of oral stimulation to get him to start eating (and I wasn’t as consistent as I should have been…!).
Hi how old is ur son now.did he start eating.m in same boat
Hello!
I have a question regarding my son. He is 8 months old and up to this point has been eating mostly purees. I’ve started to introduce table food for him to explore. Recently I gave him broccoli and from just touching it with his finger he immediately started gagging and threw up. He has had similar reactions to carrots, eggs and zucchini. Any strategies to start working on this now while he is young? Or could it be that he simply is too young? Thank you!
Glad you asked, he’s definitely not too young, I’d try tooth brushing and sensory bins that are appropriate for a baby. But, I think this post on how to transition to table foods is what will really be helpful. You’ll find a free printable there too!
Thank you for your article! I am wondering it this is what is going on with my 16 month old. He is really interested in food, but doesn’t really eat enough. He will only try select things and rarely chews and swallows. Recently he even started deliberately spitting food after he puts it in his mouth. He’s always rejected purees and is skeptical of sticky things and also doesn’t like to touch paint and playdoh (as you mention in the article), so its probably a sensory issue of some sort.
How does the cheek squeeze/cheek stroke help with the sensory information? I’m wondering if that might help my little guy deal with having food in his mouth.
It does sound like it’s at least part of what’s going on, I’d also look at oral motor skills for more! But, the stroking desensitizes the skin around the face and stimulates the muscles for chewing:)
After reading so many different websites for months this one finally made sense to me. When my little one turned about 1.5 (she is almost 3) she starting gagging and vomiting pretty frequently to almost every single day. Sometimes 2-3 times a day. It could be as simple as just asking what she wanted for breakfast to seeing a certain type of food to just smelling. She can look at spaghetti and gag/vomit. We don’t go out to each much at all. When and if we do I usually plan on a mess. Her favorite food Is mac n cheese. If the color of cheese is different or it’s a different type noodle she won’t touch it. She went almost 4 months with no issues and now it’s back again. The doc feels it’s mental and a phase she will soon outgrow. I asked if she needed therapy and she said not now she is healthy, gaining weight and meeting all her expectations. I have always felt I am the only one to experience these issues. Do you have any advice on how I can correct this or make it better? I cry and pray daily. I fear something is wrong with her. I am so lost. Thank you!
I do think she needs some help, but this can be helped and is something I see a lot. It will be okay, but I’d strongly suggest looking into feeding therapy and looking at my free workshop for picky eating. You’ll get a lot of good foundation tips there.
My son is 3 years old, a former 25 week triplet who was intubated for more than 5 months in the NICU. He amazingly came home without oxygen, but with a G-Tube which was found completely unnecessary and removed within 6 weeks. He ate everything from sandwiches to yogurt, absolutely loved pumpkin pie and would go crazy for shreeded chicken, grapes or pears. He had a bronchial scope shortly after his second birthday, during which his airway temporarily collapsed, and reopened. He was discharged the same morning, but started having constant reflux, which was then controlled with a higher dose reflux medicine. He never went back to regular food after the scope. He only eats crackers, chips, selected brands of chicken nuggets and for a few days every few months he will eat pb&j or yogurt and fruit pouches, but if he is given anything of a yogurt consistency he will vomit at the sight of it. He sometimes even vomits if he walks in a room and sees someone’s else eating.
I am at a loss.
Hi Katie, eating challenges can become so complex! Are you being seen by a GI or a feeding therapist, I think both would be very helpful. I also have a free workshop that would be a great starting place for home.
Hi. My son is 4 and on the spectrum he has been very picky since he was 18mo and it’s obvious that it is food aversion. He is going to be evaluated at ot soon but he will only eat crunchy things like crackers cookies chips. Only eats fries or tots. Muffins only specific brand. Sweets of many kinds. And only danimal yogurt drinks I worry so much about his health he stays with a sinus infection and you can’t get allergy meds in him if your life depended on it. He just flat out refused different foods or if he tries it he spits it out after chewing a bit. If pressed to try more he becomes very upset and sometimes combative
This is very common with food aversions. I think my free picky eating workshop would be helpful, you can check it out here.
Ecactly the same here. Im sure my almost 4 year old 5he spectrum. His older brother is but this food aversion is a big issue for master almost 4. He is a stuffer and a spitter outer. We have done some food therapy but he needs alot more and ongoing. We are trying to get a diagnosis he has other sensory issues and is impulsive. Its very distressing to not even be given a diagnosis yet. He had delayed speech and repeates stories/phrases at times also plus lines up toys, focuses on parts etc etc.
Hi Alisha, my son just turned one and is still exclusively breastfed because he rejects solids. I have tried pur3es, finger foods, adult foods,but he won’t eat any. He totally rejects any other thing other than breastmilk and won’t even drink pumped breastmilk so he only sucks directly.
In my country, babies like this are forcefed but i totally dislike it so i don’t force him.
Everyone is on my neck to force feed him, please what do i do to make him eat?
I’d definitely avoid force feeding! I think using some of the sensory strategies here will help and maybe moving towards nursing on a schedule instead of on demand. I’d pull in your dr for sure. And, then I’d head to this post on how to transition to table foods, it’s just what you need.
Hi Amanda, i know the post is old but could you share how you helped your kid to eat solid. My baby is 9 months old and refusing all kinds like puree, finger food, puffs… thank you so much
This is a great website, and thank you for making all this information accessible to all of us.
My daughter (9 months) gags to the point of vomiting. She tolerates puréed foods (in a reusable tube) and will play with food on her tray. Occasionally, she will let us feed her with a spoon and she will sometimes take the spoon to feed herself. She will also try to pick up food and suck on her fingers. If she is given any kind of “solid” food (however TINY) she will gag and throw up. If she gags on a baby mum mum (because she hasn’t learned to chew) she will either swallow it or gag and then vomit. She enjoys brushing her teeth, mostly so she can suck out the water. She has teethers but doesn’t use them as much any more.
I would like to progress with solid foods but the constant vomiting is difficult for her and me. Meal time is not as fun for her anymore either it seems.
Any advice would be great! Thanks!
Aww thanks Alixe! It sounds like there’s an oral motor component going on here too, that’s how a child learns to chew and use their mouth muscles. I’ve got to point you towards How to Transition to Table Foods, I think it will be really helpful. Also, I have an additional free resource, email us at hello@yourkidtable.com and let us know you’re looking for help with table foods:)
Hi, my son has Down Syndrome and while he has good teeth and a strong bite, he refuses to bite food, only swallows it. This means at 2 years old he is still only eating mashed or soft lumps with a spoon. Also refuses to feed himself and hates if you try to offer him any other type of food or food in your fingers (not on his spoon). He eats very well and is extremely healthy, only eats meat and vegetables for lunch and tea, weetbix for breakfast. Likes yogurt and custard but wont even try chocolate or sweet stuff. I know it is sensory, we have been seeing a feeding specialist ever since he was born and I’m trying the brushing technique at the moment but wondered if you have any other ideas? We try playing with food but if he knows that it is food he rejects it straight away. Also hates brushing his teeth, washing his face and getting a haircut. It’s almost a terror of something solid going into his mouth – he has never really mouthed toys or put things in his mouth.
I’d definitely start using sensory bins on a daily basis, or as often as possible. Focus on that for a couple of months – it’s amazing for sensory processing development!! Wishing you the best:)
Hi Alisha – I took your picky eating course 2 years ago for my son and it helped get him to a point where he was starting to self-feed and was trying new foods. That was my concern then. Fast forward to today … He has regressed to a point where I am genuinely concerned. Words like “food”, “lunch” and “dinner” trigger a melt-down. He only wants snacks and seems to lose it when I insist he eats at the table. He prefers crunchy foods but can miraculously eat marshmallows and soft candy when offered. At first I thought it was behavioural (he is 4, afterall), but now I’m concerned that there is something else going on. He doesn’t seem to recognize hunger. He gets lethargic and has meltdowns instead of saying “mom i’m hungry”. I’ve tried feeding him earlier in the day, giving him only foods he likes, feeding him at the coffee table instead of the table. I don’t know where to start, though, because it seems like there are different things going on. Do you have any suggestions? I’ve used your website for years and have recommended you to tons of people so I wanted to check with you before contacting an OT in the Toronto, Ontario area. Thanks in advance, N.
Oh my gosh, get back into class! You have indefinite access! There’s a video I added last year on interoception and I think it will be very helpful. I’d recommend getting back into class and restarting the program. It still applies and I’m there to help, just reach out on the discussion board!
I have a 4 year old. He only eats certain food will not try anything because he already thinks he wont like it, even if he has never tried it before ever! gag and pukes when we try to make him try new foods or even foods he used to eat and will not touch anymore. I am very frustrated and have no idea what else to do to get him to try new food and actually like dinner time. He will go through where he will only eat one food at a time and just want that. and likes crispy or crunchy food hates soft and squishy foods.
There is a way out of this Brittany! I’ve worked with so many kids like your son! Have you seen the picky eating workshop? If not, I’d definitely check it out, they’re the first steps I’d recommend you make. You can get a spot here.
I have a student who only eats baby food and drinks a bottle with formula. Is there any suggestion I can give to the parents. The parents put baby food in the bottle along with the formula. He gags when given any type of table food. Any suggestions would be really awesome.
This is probably the result of delayed oral motor skills, food aversion, or sensory processing difficulties. A great way to start is by brushing the teeth/gums/tongue/cheek a few times a day, as strange as it sounds. But, I’d strongly suggest a feeding evaluation!
My grandson is 21 months and has an issue with food. Right now he basically only eats (takes a couple of bites) of banana, plain rice, french fries, bread, and scrambled eggs. He use to eat peas, broccoli, chicken, beef, pasta etc and cauliflower up to about 14 months I would say when he also started to wake up at least 4-5 times a night(screaming), which has continued as well. When he does try new foods he takes a bite and usually spits it out. He will sometimes say ouch as well and hold his tongue. He is very aware of “hot” and cold for food as well. His parents and I have thought it had to do with teething as he got his first tooth late (past one year). He also does not like his hands dirty, or when he steps on even a tiny crumb on the floor he says ouch and picks it off….his parents think that he’s just being a picky eater but I think there is more going on. Of course the family doctor doesn’t really think any issues are there but told them to come back in a couple of months if the sleeping doesn’t get better. He is obsessed with his bottle/milk and will only drink water out of a sippy cup. We also have witnessed him shoving food in his mouth quickly, like he’s trying to get it over with – usually crackers, if he eat them. I think it’s a sensory thing as well, although he loves to be hugged and cuddles. He also is not gaining weight as a 12-18months pants are to big in the waist (not length though he is growing in height)and that concerns me. I actually think he wakes up at night so much because he is hungry:( does this sound like sensory issues? thanks!
Oh yes, that all sounds like sensory! Everything you listed could have a sensory explanation. Have you seen the other sensory resources here? This is a good place to start.
The sticky fingers and crumbs on the feet has plagued me until adulthood, sounds exactly like sensory.
One thing I would mention is that if he will take the milk, then give it in bucket loads if necessary for nutrition and come back to solids later on piecemeal.
Had to do that with my son who suffered a horrible outbreak of excema -even his mouth was sore- he now eats *anything* even my spicy curry.
Night terrors may also be involved with the screaming, if he seems difficult to calm down at night he may not actually be awake, sometimes a cold flannel on the face to bring them to full awareness is necessary before the cuddles and singing will reach them.
My son is 14 months and just now started liking solid foods like puffs and Cheerios. He loves more crunchy than soft but he does eat mashed potatoes. We’ve tried bananas, oranges, apples and watermelon and won’t eat any of those. When i give him things he has to bite like a square of a Graham cracker or animal cracker, he normally sticks the whole thing in his mouth and gags. He is seeing a speech therapist but they do not see a problem with his eating. He also has not ever lifted a bottle to self feed, he just chews on the nipple. He also doesn’t use sippy cups, I’ve tried them all and he only plays with them. Should I be concerned about this?
The sippy cup isn’t really a problem, unless he isn’t drinking from anything else but a bottle. I’m hoping the speech therapist is still working with you both to help him learn to eat, even if any other problems aren’t apparent, although sensory is definitely a strong possibility.
Hey I’m a therapist working with a child who has extreme anxiety in trying new foods and only really eats unhealthy foods. The child gets anxiety when going places because she is unsure if they will have foods that she can eat (she gags and vomits on most foods). I’m trying to do some CBT and relaxation with her to assist in identifying the thoughts and anxieties that may be triggering this response but thought I would see if you have any additional feedback that may be helpful. Thanks!
Yes, highly recommend CBT when it is more anxiety induced in nature. But, does there seem to be any underlying sensory issues? Are textures hard for her? If so, follow the tips in this article, especially sensory bins.
But, I’d also come up with some mealtime rules with her following the DOR, see my best picky eating strategy for more on this. There should be a balance where she has some sense of control.
My son has asd and a handful of disorders and is an extremely picky eater. We recently started an herbal supplement, Genius drops by Joy springs, after one month my son was asking to try new foods for the first time in his life!
Wow, I haven’t heard of those, thanks for sharing!
Thanks for this interesting post, I have shared it
on Twitter.
Hi there, I have an almost 10 month old baby who refuses solids. He gags on the smoothest purees. He doesn’t seem to know how to manipulate food in his mouth. His bottom lip sticks out when trying to eat and it either comes out and/or he gags. Just the sight of a spoon makes him turn away, he wants nothing to do with food. Sometimes he shows a slight interest but after 1 or 2 small spoons he is over it. To me when he does that it seems like he likes the taste but doesn’t like the feeling maybe. We manage to get a spoonful or two on a good day which is rare. We don’t
want to force feed and make things worse. I think he might have a motor issue as well, not sure. Does this sound like a motor issue and/or hypersensitivity issue?
I have a distant cousin who had a similar experience as a baby and needed a speech therapist to work with him. It took several years. His parents told me that playing with the food was a big thing. They also said he was on a liquid diet for a long time.
My baby is still breastfeeding but his B12 is low and I fear he will start losing weight soon. What do you reccomend supplementing?
I live in Spain and we intend to search for a therapist. It is hard for us because we live 1 hour away from everything! I am so stressed out. Any advice or encouragement would be appreciated.
It sounds like this is at least partially an oral motor difficulty, it could also be a sensory sensitivity as well. I think trying to get a therapist is a great idea. I do have a couple more articles in here that would helpful for you. Check out Why my baby won’t eat solids and How to transition to table food. Also, check out the free printable that’s in there.
Hi Rocio, my baby is having the same problem with yours. I know its been years, i would like to ask if you could share how you helped your kid to eat and what did the feeding therapist help him in order to get comfortable with food. Thanks a lot
My 2.5 years old son is eating only mashed food.
If i give anything else like biscuits.. he keeps it in mouth for long.. or swallows directly.
While brushing he cries a lot. don’t like to put even finger in his mouth.
after 3 we need to start his school, don’t know how we will tackle the situation.
For first year of his life he was G-tube fed due to fundoplication surgery.
That can really be a lot to handle! It sounds like there may be some underlying issues going on, such as sensory and oral motor. Has he been in feeding therapy before? Also, I have a free in depth picky eating course where I teach a lot of my feeding therapy techniques. You can learn more about my basic principals in this class at yourkidstable/free
My son is 5, and we have been busy with o/t therapy and speesh therapy, and he is on medicine for ADHD , but I feel I can do more for him. I do not understand most of the times how to help him and I feel so frustrated as I often do not understand him. I do need help please
I love this information about Sensory Processing Disorder, My 4 year old grand son had all to some of these eating problems, we just never knew what it was. My daughter has took him to all the Doctors, and they all say the same he’s fine he’s over weight he’s fine he’ll grow out of it, but never has. Thank you so much for this Information.
Thank you Mary! So glad you found it too!
Hi Alisha
I just came cross your post. Thank you for all the information. I have a 3yr old who is very very underweight( I am talking about a 3yr still wear 9-12m cloth). I am not sure if he has sensory issue. He dose try everything we offered him, However, he only eats very little. No matter how I try to lure him to eat just couple more bites, we will not eat. The only thing that makes me feel he may have sensory issue is he doesn’t like being messy. Whenever his hand gets teeny tiny bite dirty , he will want to be cleanup. Even if he drop something on the floor, he will want to clean it up. Can please advise what can I do to get him eat more and help him gain weight quicker? Do you think you he may have food sensory issue? Thank you so much
Hmm, actually I wonder if some thing else may be going on! I’d check 5 reasons kids don’t eat and my post on oral motor exercises, as well. Does anything jump out at you here. Also, I’d highly recommend my free workshop, this gives you the tools you need to start addressing feeding issues. You can sign up here.
Alisha – I want to thank you so much for this. I am a minority among the commenters in that my son is 14 YEARS not months old. 🙂 His pickiness has been an issue for so many years. I will go back and read all the links you have under “start here” but I’m guessing there is a huge sensory component to his resistance. He only eats chicken in the form of strip/nugget etc… the breading disguises the texture of the meat! He will also eat bacon, but those are the only two items from the meat group that he can handle. Believe it or not, he’s actually commented that certain foods (even the sight, but especially the taste/texture) make his “arms feel funny.” Sensory for sure??? He LOVES pretty much any carb – bread, rice (even rice a roni!), plain pasta, crackers, etc. Luckily bagels/cream cheese and peanut butter sandwiches are among his likes, otherwise he might’ve starved at school lunch time all these years. He already gets made fun of for not liking pizza, hot dogs, etc…and he really WANTS to like those things and fit in with other kids, but he just can’t seem to do it. I wondered if any other readers of your blog have teenagers who are struggling this way? If so I’d love to connect with any of them. I feel so alone most of the time feeling like my kid is the only one with these struggles. Anyone?
Yes! The arm comment is for sure sensory, wow!
I’m getting more and more comments from other’s with teenagers in the same boat, you’re definitely not alone! Have you considered feeding therapy. I have a post on that here!
Hi Amy and Alisha, I too have a 14 year old son, who only eats chicken breaded and fried or KFC popcorn chicken and no other meat (won’t even try bacon or other meats); fruit (most kinds); cucumber, carrot (no other vegetables); pb&j (only on certain soft, sliced bread); yogurt; cereals; pancakes, waffles and French toast; bagels and baguettes. He’ll also eat nuts and drinks a ton of milk. He hates pizza (the smell of melted cheese makes him gag). He has no interest and won’t even try foods from the kids’ menu: hot dogs, pasta, burritos. He also has always hated eggs and hates the greasy texture of butter. He doesn’t like any kind of sauce, e.g., Ranch dressing. He likes some sweets, but often rejects sweets, saying they are too rich. Interestingly, he craves Taki’s and Flamin Hot Cheetos (which are super spicy and salty), and since the time he was a toddler, I had to watch him around my glass of wine or cup of coffee. He also always liked to suck on lemons. So, I doubt he’s supertaster. Smell seems to be a big part of the issue, but taste and texture play a role as well. Even the foods he likes, he will reject if they taste the slightest bit off. This started at age 18 months, and we’ve made little progress over the years. On his doctor’s advise, I stopped breastfeeding him at 3 1/2 years, hoping he would be more open to solid foods, but that backfired. He can seemingly go forever without eating anything at all and eats very little when he does eat. He’s always been a good athlete (with good energy and strength) and has a nice build, although he’s underweight and average height. He’s always been a good student until the last few years, and now he seems fidgety and inattentive. He’s always been well-liked by his peers, but he’s been irritable the past few years with his parents and some kids. I always hoped he’d grow out of this, but he’s as determined as ever to only eat what he wants and continues to refuse new foods. What shall I do?!
It’s so hard! I totally get it. I think a lot of these strategies here can still be helpful for kids at this age if you suspect sensory, but I’d also recommend this book that’s specially designed for teenagers and adults.
Dear Alisha,
I am trying to learn everything I can from you website, god bless you and your family for creating such a wonderful resource. My son is 20 months old and I don’t know how to classify him. He looooves milk whether breast milk (before) or cow’s milk (now) and showed little interest in eating. He also got his teeth very late, he got his pre-molar couple of months ago so he couldnt chew much till now. We fed him purees till now while distracting him toys an ipad. Now he is done with purees and wants to eat by himself. The problem is he will eat a little and be done. He wants to try new things, some he likes some he doesnt. but he just eats very little. Milk and yogurt is his primary sustenance. Is he a (extremely) picky eater? I am trying to follow your plan to the tee but i cant figure out if he has sensory issues. He eats anything if he likes the taste and texture but only a little. never gagged.
Oh Rishi, you’re so sweet! Thank you! Have you seen my post, why kids don’t eat? If not, check that out. If so, what stands out to you? It sounds like sensory could at least be a component and its very possible that its the main factor. I know he’s older now but I also want to point you to transitioning to table foods, since he did have a hard time doing that. I’d follow the steps I discuss there, is he able to do those skills (this will make sense when you read that post). Teeth actually have nothing to do with babies/toddlers eating so its likely he was either having sensory difficulties or possibly coordination/muscle related issues with eating. Those are the most common causes. Take a look at those links and let me know if you need more help! Either way, I’d use the vibrating toothbrush a couple of times a day:)
Thanks a lot Alisha, I really appreciate your response and it makes a lot if sense. (In fact now I think even i have sensory issues). We are doing the sensory bin thing albeit by taking him to the beach often, he hates the sensation of coarse sand but eventually gets used to it. I also got a step stool and vibrating brush and will start using that now. Hopefully hat does the trick. We let him eat whatever solid food he likes, however little. Some days are good some are bad but we have to try. I will keep following your website
So many adults have learned to cope with sensory “differences”, as I prefer to call them, and there is definitely a genetic link! I’m glad you have some ideas to start trying!
Thank you so much for this! We are just starting the process for my 2 year old son (had his first speech pathology apt today and was referred for ot for possible sensory issues). Since 10/11 months he was an easy gagger and frequent vomit-er even with just a liquid diet. This progressed with us noticing he didn’t transition well to baby food or solids. And now still struggles to eat anything. Crunchy preferred (cheese its, pringles, goldfish, I know all bad, but that’s all he’ll eat) , but also some doughy like food like donuts and semi solids like soft chewy protein bars. He loves dairy it seems. Sometimes he will eat string cheese, yogurt but can gag from that also. Yet, if a soft food suddenly has a different texture, here comes the gag and vomit. We are now worried about a speech delay (only says a handful of words) also and believe this is all connected somehow. He’s still on bottle and we are hesitant to take that away because of the little he eats.
Thanks for sharing your story Amanda, I’m so glad you’re in services! Hopefully some of the strategies you read here will be helpful at home!
Hi Alisha,
Thanks a lot for such deep information. First time I have come to know about Sensory food aversion. My daughter completely fall into this category. She can eat only crunchy stuff. She can’t eat semisolid stuff. She can’t play messy. and so on.
Could u pls suggest will vibrating tooth brush help here and for this age? And how to use it?
Thanks a ton
Anu.
Hi Anu!
I’m not sure how old your daughter is but its great for all age kids. Just brush her teeth like normal, but also try to get on her gums a bit and definitely the sides and top of her tongue. If she allows you can even do the inside of her cheeks. Glad this was helpful!
Hey Alisha, I love your site as a pediatric OT! I always get stumped by those kids that are sensory and will start to touch things but it is then making it that next step to the mouth I have a hard time grading in therapy. Tips? Thanks!
Thank you! Yup get them involved with play, will they hold it in their hand, pretend its crawling up their arm, touch it to their fore-head, their nose, their chin? I like to demonstrate and make this really fun, not like a checklist, but guide them through that list:)
I wonder if my 4yo daughter could be experiencing a sensory issue when eating. She was recently ill which required an overnight stay in hospital which involved the use of NG tubes and an IV drip.
She was discharged having been give the all clear but is now making every excuse under the sun to avoid eating.
Obviously my Wife and I are very concerned at the moment
Hi Dan, that is very possible. Have you seen 5 reasons kids don’t eat? I think that article will be really helpful. It’s very common for kids to have major food aversions after an event like your daughters. A lot of the tips in this article will be really helpful, just take it slow! Let me know if you have more questions.
My 3 year old was a good eater up until she turned 2. Since then (and I feel it might have been triggered by a bad case of stomach bug), she slowly eliminated almost everything out of her diet-one by one. Now she smells everything before she eats it. She displays interest in foods and says that she is hungry, but then no matter what I make, she will refuse to try it. Or even if she ends up trying it, she will eat one spoon full and spit out the rest. She still drinks milk, at least she did until two days ago, and would randomly eat a few things: homemade crapes, fries, chips, yogurt, cookies. She refuses all fruit and veggies. She stopped taking vitamins. So I started adding “Orgain” (organic food/drink supplement) to her milk so she could get at least some vitamins that way. As I mentioned, as of two days ago she gave up milk as well. Her pediatrician recommended feeding clinic, so I set up the appointment, but I am desperate for answers. She likes to help me cook, but she does not want to try what we make. Sometimes when her sister eats something new, she would display interest and even try it, but it’s a one-time deal. The next time I make it, she doesn’t want it. She does not want to even try fish or meat and she used to eat it before she turned 2. I really do not know what’s causing this. She complained of stomach pain a while ago. Her pediatrician out her on MiraLAX for a month. She stopped complaining of pain but still does not want to eat. Any suggestions would help. I am desperate at this point.
Hey Julia, I can totally understand how difficult this all is, its a lot. I’ve worked with kids in similar situations before. I’m not sure there is a lot of sensory stuff going on here, but using the vibrating toothbrush could be really helpful, like I talked about in the post because she may now be very sensitive to different textures. I’d also experiment with the sensory bins- if she doesn’t readily play in a variety of textures that shows you that you need to work on that! Also, I’d suggest getting some basic strategies going to, they may seem small but can have a really big impact. I have a free workshop that I think would be great for you. You can sign up here.
And, I’d also take a look at 5 Reasons Kids Don’t Eat– this in particular will be really helpful in helping you understand what’s going on. I think feeding therapy is a great idea, let me know if you have more questions!
Hi All my son is 4yrs old .He is a very clever and active kid… he has no medical problems but till date he hates the sight of food… the major problem was bcoz of my mom n me from small we juz gave me liquid n semi soild food and thought him juz to swallow i was hoping as he grows old he wil learn to eat n stop swolling but it juz got worse… till date he does not know how to chew or ate any kind of soild food or snack no biscuits, chocolates, fruits, veggies , rolls , buns,crackers , fries or chips…. nothin at all he juz swolles food aft force feeding each n every time takin a sip of water aft every mouth food…. every meal time is like a war for me im so worried frustrated n helpless in his case …. need help plz share ur ideas n suggestions
Thank you
Hi Preethi, it does sound like that could be sensory in nature. Actually the steps in this post would be perfect for him. I know it sounds strange but playing in those sensory bins and using a vibrating toothbrush can have a big impact. Also, making sure you are following the basics for a routine and structure- see the links in the post:) All of this is so important to set a foundation, so while you might not see changes overnight, know that you are laying a good foundation! Also, did you see the free picky eating workshop I’m doing tonight and tomorrow- I think it would be perfect for you! You can get a seat here.
This article is extremely helpful. My daughter had acid reflux really bad as a baby which I think played a part in her picky eating. She attended OT but honestly what they were doing at the appointments I could be doing at home instead of missing work, therefore I turned to the internet for help. I am glad I came across this article. At OT they stated she had texture aversion. I must admit a lot of the sensory red flags such as gagging and not wanting her hands to get dirty are the main two issues that she deals with. I am going to establish a routine and try the cooking together, sensory bins and slowly introducing her to new foods. Although she has been dealing with picky eating since she was about 1 1/2 I really hope I haven’t waited too late due to the fact that she is 3 now. Hopefully no longer going to OT wasn’t the worse decision either.
Oh my gosh, its not too late at all! I love your plan and think that you will see some great changes with consistency. Also, if you feel like you need more help at some point I offer an entire course on picky eating strategies, you can find more here: yourkidstable.com/join Don’t hesitate let me know if you have questions about any of that or as you move forward at home!
Thanks for this article! We just realized three weeks ago that our son may have sensory processing disorder. Thankfully, it was right before the monthly screening offered by the school district, so we have done a couple evaluations and get their findings in two weeks. Picky eating has definitely been an issue. He used to eat anything and everything, but now is very picky, mostly just wants crunchy foods, or soupy foods like applesauce, purees, yogurt, etc. He especially struggles with meat.
Since realizing he has sensory issues, and possibly other developmental struggles, I’ve stopped the dinner battle and just started distracting him with games. For every bite, he gets to do the next step in an activity. I use a toddler animal pop up toy, or an interactive book on the ipad, or drawing in squares in a grid on the white board. Sometimes he feeds himself with the games, sometimes he’s too upset and wants me to do it. I’m sure we’ll get more guidance once we have a diagnosis, but I’d love to know if you think this is a healthy technique to use. Thanks!
Hi Diana, I know this can be a really overwhelming time and that picky eating can be a super source of stress in and of itself… I love that you are being proactive and thinking of new ways to help him eat! That’s really wonderful. However, since you’re asking, I don’t like to use rewards for food, although some therapists still do- this is an older school of thought. Its quite possible that your OT or feeding therapist could employ very similar strategies. But, if you’d like to learn more about the child guided approach I’d read this.
If you have any questions after reading that, let me know!!! And, if that sounds like something you would want to implement, you may want to check out my picky eating class, you can do that here.
Thanks! That’s really helpful. I also know that pressuring kids to eat can cause unhealthy views of food as they get older so definitely want to avoid that. We do TONS of cute kid food, which you can see on my site :), and I tend to let him make the decisions of what to eat for breakfast and lunch (do you want boiled eggs or hummus, do you want carrot sticks or snap peas, etc.).
I guess he isn’t really a picky eater by definition. What’s hard is dinner time. I cook all day for my job, and don’t have the time and energy to make separate meals for everyone. We are almost always eating something I cooked for work (food photography), which I know means my kids almost never get repeat meals at dinner.
I guess a better question would be, if he doesn’t want to eat what we are having for dinner, what then? If I tell him he doesn’t have to eat it (after his thank you bite to see if he likes it), he ends up hungry and crying at bedtime or the middle of the night for cheese and milk. Do I just give that to him? Thank you!
Hi Diana! These are great insights and you’re totally right. I actually cover this whole topic in My Best Picky Eating Strategy (make sure you check out part 2, as well! I will say that, I definitely don’t want him getting a separate meal at all, and I think its great he’s getting exposed to so much. But, the rule of thumb that will save your sanity is to always make sure there is something in the meal that he does eat. That can be a side of bread or some other leftover, some fresh fruit, nuts, cheese, etc. Nothing else you have to prepare, and nothing that is special for him. It should be a side served for everyone!
Hope that helps!
P.S. Love your pics and ideas!!! I just pinned a few!
Okay that is SO helpful! Yes I missed part 2. Just read it and I appreciate all your tips and advice. Thank you!
Wanted to follow up and say how helpful this has been. He still doesn’t eat everything, but we make sure there is always something he likes on his plate, and that makes him more likely to eat things he would normally fight us on because he’s just focused on eating as he finishes up his fruit/rice/etc. No more dinner table battles!
Yay!!! So happy to hear that Diana, and thank you for following up! Really wonderful!
I suspect food allergies can also cause pickiness in kids. I had a strong gag reflex as a child and felt sick trying new foods. My favorite childhood memory: one day the woman who babysat me was annoyed that I wasn’t eating anything and tried to force feed me mashed potatoes. I threw up on her. Good times.
Then in my teen years I was diagnosed with a gluten and dairy allergy.
Once I stopped eating gluten and dairy my pickiness and gag reflex dissappeared, and I would eat almost anything I wasn’t allergic to. I’m no expert, but I’ve always wondered if I had that problem because my body was trying to stop me from eating the allergy foods that would make me sick. I could be mistaken, but food allergies are becoming so common these days it’s a good thing for parents to look out for either way.
Absolutely Cora, thank you for sharing, I didn’t highlight that point very much in the medical section!
Hi Alisha. I’m glad that I’ve found your blog and I feel it is my last hope to get my son to eat. I only regret that I did not find you earlier. Of course, I have to read through all of your articles. But first of all I have to decide whether my 2 year old son has sensory issues or not. From the list above only two things apply to him: eats ony certain types of textures. Mainly crunchy (e.g. french fries, fish fingers, crackers, puffs, bread with only butter on it or just plain) he eats fruit purees (otherwise he won’t touch any fruit because I think he finds them slimy) and yoghurts and sometimes creamy vegetable soups. But nowadays he freaks out when he sees me with his bowl of food and a spoon in my hand.
The other thing that applies to him is that he dislikes his hands getting messy. But strangely it is only an issue for him when it comes to food. He likes playing with play-doh, sand, shaving foam, etc.
I’ve just read your articles on sensory red flags, and nothing really applies to him besides the two above mentioned things. And he walks on tip-toes sometimes at home. Anyway, he only has problems with eating. And I’m getting really really desperate and frustrated about it.
When I started to give him babyfoods, everything was fine. Ha ate fairly large portions of them and he ate almost everything I offered to him. He was growing well and I was happy until I tried to give him table foods. He was about 10-11 months old and already ate puffs, bread, crackers by himself etc. I decided to introduce table foods. I did not succeed…and I have to say after trying about 10 times, I gave up and continued to give him pureed and half pureed foods with a spoon. At first he gagged from the pureed food with larger chunks in it, and it took a while for him to swallow real food.
About the table food introduction the problem was the following: He touched the table foods I offered him but all ended up on the tray or some of them on the floor. He never put e.g. a cooked carrot cube to his mouth. Not to mention a fruit or a raw vegetable cube. He did not allow us to put anything to his mouth either. Never. The result of this was that he did not tasted the sliced, diced cooked or raw food on his plate. He even found the texture of pasta strange.
And he does not want to eat by his own with a spoon. I know he can because he uses spoon for his yoghurt sometime.
I thought it would be better with time but it only got worse. Oh, one more thing: he does not want to try the food that we eat with my husband and he never did when he was little. I remember one time when he picked a baked chicken slice (cube) with a fork from my husband’s plate….but that was the only occasion and he was already 2 years old then.
So it is really frustrating for me to cook something for us and try to give my son something else to eat because he definitely won’t try the food we eat (eg. pastas, casseroles, meats, nothing). And still doesn’t want to try anything new that is cooked or raw no matter how nicely it is arranged on his plate.
Do you think it is a sensory issue? Or is he just a stubborn 2 year old? I wanted to believe that he would outgrow it sooner or later or it was just a phase for him (because it started about when he turned 1 year old). But now I think that something is seriously wrong with my son’s relationship with food.
Sorry for the grammatical mistakes if there were any. English is not my native language.
Thank you for creating your blog and thank you if you answer my question.
Birdie, your english was great!!! Did you by any chance see the free workshop I did last week- if you can email me I can give you some details about that, I think it would be VERY helpful: alisha@yourkidstable.com
I will say that based on what you shared it sounds like he does have some underlying issues going on, I can’t be sure its all sensory, but is probably in the mix. Addressing the sensory will be helpful from a mouth standpoint so using the vibrating toothbrush, desensitizing the mouth, etc. will likely get you some results with consistency.
Hi Birdie, My son is the same way he is almost 2 1/2 years old and only eats pureed food and the only solids he eats is graham crackers and fish sticks at times and mainly chicken nuggets. Any fruit he does not eat or want to touch. Also he used to try to spoon feed himself when eating yougurt but now he is wants me to do it and does not like to get dirty either. He currently has an OT that comes to my house once a week and goes to another one as well. They practice the kissing and licking game with the food and it does work but you have to have a lot patience. I’m also getting very frustrated but we’ve been told it is feeding aversion or sensitivity aversion. We are working towards thickening the food and incorporate solids but he spits it out most of the time. What are your thoughts to help him succeed?
wow I just noticed your replies are 2 years ago. What are you guys strategies now? what helped, what didn’t? what is your suggestions Alisha. Thank you very much
I definitely think finding out the root cause is important. If you haven’t already, check out 5 reasons why kids don’t eat… do any of these stick out to you? If it is sensory, I’d focus on sensory bins and chewing on teethers and other toys to help him get used to things in his mouth. Using a vibrating toothbrush a few times a day is also great!
I am getting to my wit’s end with two of my kids and their pickiness when it comes to eating. My son’s are 11 and 8 and they are so picky. I was a picky child and started to outgrow it at about the age my oldest son is now, but he seems to be getting worse. He refuses to try anything new and generally what he eats is crunchy foods and he loves ketchup. My youngest son likes everything plain (like I do) and would love nothing more than to eat candy all day and night long. I don’t even know what to do anymore with either of them. Dinner is so stressful every night because no matter what I make it is a huge dramatic affair. I’ve tried having them try one bite- usually after so many tears mixed with snot it makes it down, just to be thrown up again a few seconds later. I’ve cut out desserts, I have given them the option that they can have a peanut butter sandwich or PB&J instead of main course, but that just backfires because they are fine with eating that every night, but I want them to try new things. Both boys are small in stature (like me), but I’m afraid that the lack of eating is contributing to this as well and damaging their growth. Please help. Thank you.
Hi Tammy, I totally understand where you are, I’ve helped so many parents in similar situations. I don’t know if this is the first post you’ve read on this site, but you are in the right place. I have so many tools and strategies here. First, I want you to go to the menu bar and click on start here. This is going to give you step by step what I truly believe are the best recommendations. Picky eating is often multi-layered and there is a lot that needs to be addressed. Take a look at that and being to slowly implement one strategy at a time. I can’t tell you how much of a difference this will make. AND, I have all the answers there about what strategies to use and which not too like taking dessert away, etc. Let me know if you have questions.
Hi,
We live in Chile, and there is no information about this. It was nice to read this article and feel that your child is not the only one.
My kid is 2 year old and he Only esta rice, nuggets and pasta. Dessert only yogurt. In the past he eat fruit in puree but not any more. He likes to eat alone so he can pick what to eat.
I am really desperate, every day a put him something new on the plate but he doesn’t want it.
I think is senatorial thing but he doesn’t even try or touch so I am not sure.
What should I do??
Hi Andrea! If you haven’t already click the start here button in the menu bar, you will find A LOT of direction there to get you started. No matter what keep giving him the other foods, eat with him, and keep on a schedule. Don’t allow him to snack in between meals. Also, don’t pressure him to eat, let him play, get messy, explore. He needs to just start learning about the food, looking at it, touching it, smelling it. All of that is progress! Give this a try and look at the links then let me know if you have any more questions!
Thanks a lot Alisha!!!
I will Start with that!
This is a great blog;)
This describes my son so well! He’s 11 now.. He’s SO picky! I’ve always noticed it’s a texture thing for him. He loves spaghetti, but the sauce can’t be chunky and if he sees specs of herbs, it turns him off (although this has gotten better). However, I had to make it once with macaroni because I was out of spaghetti noodles and he refused to eat it. My rule is, you have to try everything I put on the plate. If you don’t like it after you take a good bite, you don’t have to eat it. I made that dish exactly how I make spaghetti, but with different noodles and he tried it, but refused to eat the rest. I have to use a divider plate for him because none of his foods can touch. Casseroles are not ever an option. He is an active child, but I have refused to have him tested (although none of his teachers have ever asked me to) because he’s easy to redirect. He’s also a thumb sucker and has a blanket that has a specific string that he has to rub near his face. We have tried to lessen his reliance on this blanket over the years because he’s 11, but when he has it, he’s completely calm. So, we haven’t tried as hard until recently when he joined the youth group at our church (obviously, older kids are not nice about those kinds of things). All of these things make me think he fits right into what you’re describing. At his age, is it too late to try the things you’ve suggested? Where would I start in trying to get therapy for him or have a professional help me determine if this is the “issue”?
Oh my gosh, no! You can absolutely address this and I would start with the messy play, although that will look a little different at his age, you will have to engage him on his level. Maybe hiding more complex puzzles in the sand, etc.? To get started with therapy, you’ll want to google your city and feeding therapy. Call around to a few places and ask what their approach is, tell them you think there is a big sensory component and you want that to be a major component of his treatment. Make sure you check with your insurance company about what is offered, too. Did you see the sign up for the free understanding sensory mini course? I would highly recommend it! It is 100% free and will help you begin to put more of the bigger picture together. A larger course is built off of that where we go into a lot more depth and address picky eating as it relates to sensory. There you have a lot of support, daily from us actually. There is no pressure at all, just wanted to mention as a possible resource. You can find the sign up for the free course in this post, in the bar at the top or in the menu bar under courses. Let me know if you need more help!
Oh. My. God. This is me 100%. I’m 23 now and have slowly over the past 5 years been able to get myself to where I can tolerate a few more foods (I would never in a million years touch a strawberry, raspberry, lettuce, mushroom, onion…pretty much any fruit or vegetable, but now I can eat a few berries at a time and can eat other veggies if I cook them exactly the way I prefer them so the texture is right – I had to experiment quite a bit before finding which cooking method worked best for me for each veggie, and I found that I can only eat fruit uncooked). I still sleep with my baby blanket because I feel the most calm when I rub a certain part of it around my lips/mouth area. Unfortunately, my parents thought my refusal to eat food was just an attempt to gain attention and this resulted in a major power struggle, even though I would get so scared from being forced to eat something I didn’t want to the point that I would gag and hyperventilate from the anxiety it caused. This power struggle got really intense because they did not believe me when I said I simply couldn’t eat whatever food item it was that they were trying to force me to eat. I remember one time in particular when I was locked out of the house for the night because I couldn’t eat a green bean, and another time when I was told I couldn’t get up from the table until I ate some of the corn on my plate – I was still sitting there the next morning because I honestly could not bring myself to put it in my mouth, no matter how much I desperately wanted to fulfill my parents’ wishes. I was a preemie, and spent full days in daycare starting at 6 weeks of age (which started before my actual due date), so it seems like those conditions could have been factors in how I ended up this way. My brother also has a lot of the issues described on here regarding liking flavors but not being able to stomach the texture – for example, he loves homemade spaghetti sauce, but all the ingredients have to be pureed beyond recognition for him to be able to eat it, whereas the rest of the family (aside from me, of course) is fine with the chunks of veggies, etc.
Anyway, it is nice to know that this is actually a thing, and that I’m not some weirdo that just can’t eat normal foods like everyone else for no good reason. (I always feel silly when I have to explain to people that I don’t like certain foods or textures – they usually say something like “What are you, 5? Just grow up and eat like a normal person.” and then I end up feeling awkward and embarrassed because I’m different)
BUT…I do have a bachelor’s in engineering, a minor in Chinese language, and a master’s in business, so it just goes to show that this issue doesn’t necessarily limit one’s life achieving potential. 🙂
Also, I highly recommend experimenting with different cooking methods, recipes, etc. for this issue. One of the main reasons I was able to introduce myself to more foods in college was because I worked in the dining hall on campus and learned how to cook every single dish that was served, which gave me the foundation to be able to experiment with cooking for myself as well.
This is such a powerful story for parents to read Michelle! Wow! Seriously you have no idea how many people you will help. This is an incredible perspective and one we don’t get to hear that often. Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Wishing you all the best (and great job learning how to eat). I hope now when someone makes a snide comment you can rest assured that you DON’T need to feel awkward because of someone else ignorance.
Thank you so much for sharing and describing your story. I have a daughter who is 6 years old with a similar situation. We are currently working with a nutritionist who is helping us to try different recipes and educate my daughter about healthy eating. Your story gave me hope that one day she might expand her list. She is a carb and sugar lover which is not the best every day and only food.
And, academically, she is very smart and doing great at school 🙂 Thank you again!
Thank you SO much for this article. You described my son perfectly: gagged watching others eat fruit, never went through the oral phase, hated dirty hands and would grunt to have them washed before he could even talk, would not touch playdough and lived on bread and crackers for about a year! I breastfed him forevery because I was scared he would be so undernourished otherwise.
Worst of all, I got no support from health care professionals. I was told “he’s not thin” or “he’ll grow out of it” or “he’s just a picky eater” when I knew it wasn’t right. Reading your article had my in tears because I finally READ the support I lacked at that time.
Our son is now nearly 4 years old and we are only just seeing tiny changes now. Thanks to his age and seeing other kids behaviour and his militant kindergarden who basically forces kids to try everything. We played cookie cutouts and cheese at home for about 6 months before he finally tried it and he was well over 2.5 before he touched playdough and ate cake for the first time. Just a plain butter cake but my husband and I were in tears at the time. No-one else got it.
So thanks thanks thanks for this article. It means a LOT to me to read confirmation of everything I claimed then and now and to feel supported. I have signed up for the sensory newsletter and can’t wait to read my first issue.
Thanks thanks thanks again!!
I LOVE reading comments like these, thank you for taking a couple of minutes to write that! Trust me when I say you are not alone, there are so many parents in similar situations! It sounds like you have done a lot of good work, that’s fantastic and hopefully you got some more ideas here. You’ll find lots of stuff on picky eating and sensory. It is so common for health care professionals to dismiss! I just updated this post, the sensory newsletter is no longer in affect, but I co-created a free sensory course that I think you will love. You are on the list for that and will be added to our newsletters, too. The mini course begins may 31!
love Love LOVE this article, this is just the information I was looking for as it describes my twin grandsons to a tee! At 6 months of age we noticed it as the boys wouldn’t eat baby food at all, it was like their brain and their mouths didn’t work together, they didn’t know what to do with the food or the spoon, they would also gag if you tried to force the issue. When my children were this age, you put food on the spoon, moved it toward their mouths and they eagerly opened their mouth, it was a natural and almost instinctual process, not with these guys. Although we kept trying, we had no luck at all, they were a year old and still eating nothing but a bottle. As you mentioned in this article, the boys didn’t put anything in their mouths like a typical 1 year old, their hands and a bottle, that was it. Thankfully my daughter stayed on top of things, but didn’t really get the okay from her pediatrician until their 1 year check up, from there the boys saw an occupational therapist and later a speech therapist. For those that are having these issues I can tell you the therapists started with letting them play in their food. It was very messy with the twins but so important, encourage it, the bigger the mess the better it is! 🙂 Also we had to encourage the boys to put things in their mouths, crazy I know but also important. We were celebrating anytime they would take something and put it in their mouths, even if it really shouldn’t go there, it was progress. The boys turned 2 in September and of course it’s still a work in progress at least they are eating some. One of the boys now has to smell anything before he will put it in his mouth, if he doesn’t like the smell he says “no” and gives it back to me. 🙂 They also do not like to have their hands dirty or things like playing in a sand box is out of the question. Maybe this summer! 🙂
Oh and one other thing that has worked for us, nutritionally smoothies have become our best friend! 🙂
What a wonderful grandmother you are! Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful story and encouraging others. I promise it will be helpful!
My son is 14 months old. He is back on baby food and formula cause he won’t swallow food. He will chew soft foods and spit them out. Hard food goes in and right back out. He won’tuse a sippy cup or a straw, just the bottle. He has also been getting his molars in but this started before that… He was also not hearing properly. Failed a hearing test had tubes put in, failed another hearing test. Doing an ABR next week. Please help! How do iIget my son to eat table foods?
Hi Tammy, I’m so glad you reached out! It sounds like there are some underlying issues going on and I would strongly recommend getting him evaluated as soon as possible, or scheduling a consult (no pressure, from me at all!). It sounds like he doesn’t know how to chew or is having a hard time manipulating where food is in his mouth (this is where the sensory piece comes in). Either way there are specific techniques that would be very beneficial for him. In the mean time I would recommend reading How to Transition to Table Foods, you can find both posts in the article index (see the menu bar). I would also try using a straw (I have a post on how to teach that too). If you have questions about any of this or need more guidance don’t hesitate to let me know.
Hi I have a 12 mo.old who would only drink they a bottle his milk and now some broth. He’s ont open his mouth for any spoon feeding. The minute he senses food ( finger food) he throws it out on the floor without even trying it. His mouth is completely shut during attempts of spoon feeding( he won’t even try the taste of solids given to him). And even if we forse anything in his mouth he pushes it out with his tongue or starts gagging and crying hysterically. Not sure what to do at this point! Please help!
I know how stressful this can be Lana! First, I’d really focus on trying to have mealtimes positive. As you read in this post I think sensory bins and using a toothbrush several times a day can be a game changer.
I’d also head to when babies don’t eat solids and grab the free printable when you’re there. I have some new resources coming for parents that are facing this challenge!
I TOTALLY understand the sensory issues! I am on the spectrum and have Asperger’s Syndrome. I avoid certain foods, like broccoli, cauliflower and whatever else I can’t eat. It’s funny though because I’ll eat broccoli in a cream corn casserole. But picky eating is so common. Give me the carbs and I’m fine. I eat a combination of soft and hard food. But for the most part, if you put something in front of me I don’t like, expect me to NOT eat it. Luckily, I wasn’t affected as some people were. That’s the good thing. So for all the caretakers, and OT’s etc on here, hang in there! Don’t give up on them! Be patient, kind and gentle. Forcing the child to eat the food will make it worse! You can do it! 🙂
Thanks so much for reading Suz, and for sharing your experience. I think it is REALLY helpful for parents to hear!
Hello. I am so happy to find your site and information. We have a 1 year old (birthday 6/26) who was progressing with table foods, but has been having issues this week with gagging and vomiting up his dinner. He has always had a bit of a strong gag reflex. We have been feeding him a mix of purees and table foods, mostly meat/eggs or bread/crackers. He’s great with goldfish, puffs, and cheese-poofs (both baby and adult style), and we have been giving him bread in smaller pieces/strips with a very thin layer of peanut butter. Last week, we were having lunch, and I think a compacted bolus of bread with peanutbutter got caught in his throat or esophagus, and his entire lunch came back up. We stopped with the bread that day, and went back to goldfish and black bean puree to finish lunch, and then some more textured puree for dinner. Ever since then, he has been hit or miss with gagging and vomiting up his dinner. (He has had puree and snacks for lunch this week, since my mom is babysitting him)
I know that we should have him on more table foods, but we have been slow to progress. He was loving macaroni and cheese my mother-in-law made for his birthday, as well as roast pork and cut chicken, and was doing fine until the bread incident.
I intend of purchasing a vibrating toothbrush in hopes that that may help him out with sensitivity, but I am not sure how else to proceed. He loves to eat, its just a matter of dealing wit his gagging.
Do you have any advice? Thanks in advance!
What you are describing makes total sense to me. First of all, I would stay away from clumpy thick foods like that for a while. Always make sure the bread is toasted when adding a topping so it doesn’t get to dense. He is now nervous and overly sensitive. Definitely go back to the crunchy foods. See the article index for other new food ideas under Mega list of First Table Foods. Absolutely get that toothbrush! Let me know how things go!
Thank you! We also ended up shooting a fever last Thurs and Fri, with a red/irritated throat (we took him to the ped on Fri). He likes the play with the toothbrush, and for the past two nights hes done so much better. I know he loves cheese, meats, tortellini, and last night had cubed roasted sweet potato. I’ve definitely found your blog to be a great resource! Thank you!!!
You are so welcome! That is great!
Hi, i was wondering how being a eastern european child is seen as disorder? Could you also elaborate on this a bit more? How would that possibly affect sensory processing in children? Thanks
Of course that is not a disorder, as I said, disorder’s or “groups of children”. The issue is with children that have been in orphanages. There is a high incident rate of children that have sensory processing difficulties because there is often a high ratio of small children to one adult. The sensory experiences (or lack thereof) that young children experience shape how they process sensory input throughout childhood. Here is a link to a research study explaining in more detail: http://www.news.wisc.edu/8291
I have always viewed my son as a “picky” eater, but he doesn’t seem to fall into one specific category. For example, when he was 8 months old, i hid small pieces of baked chicken in string cheese. He tried one bite and then proceeded to pull the chicken from the cheese and separate the chicken and cheese into different piles. There may be some sensory issues, but his doctors are not worried because he is gaining weight. I feel like I have tried everything–involving him in cooking, picking fresh foods to help him understand where food comes from, playing with food, offering preferred and nonpreferred foods at meals, limiting milk, etc. Any other suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thank you for creating this blog!
Hi Courtney, it sounds like you are doing great! I know it is challenging, but if you can set up a positive structured routine with no pressure tactics he will begin to make improvements. I would definitely try some of the tips here, and stick with them for a little time to make sure you’re giving them a chance to work.
i just read your article and am wondering if these were/are issues with my twins. One is very picky and the other only eats a few things. They are almost 16 years old. I am very worried since they are athletes and now sports nutrition is very important. Eating has always been a struggle…always used divided plates so foods did not touch, casseroles are out of the question, foods were always plain with no sauces. What can I do now that they are older and barely like anything? All this therapy sounds great, but they would never go to it now. They don’t see any problem with their eating. I can almost count on one hand how many foods one of them will eat.
It’s hard to say Pam if sensory is/was the problem, but it is quite possible. This is a really hard age to address problems via therapy or some of the other techniques I described. I would try to get them involved with cooking and make a rule about no negative comments with food. Also, make a rule that they have to take some of everything- their choice if they eat or not. Lastly, try to change the environment around food and actually take the pressure off them. They will likely be more willing to try new foods on their own volition. I have a lot of info on this site and some of the other tips you will able to adapt, see the article index in the menu bar.