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How to Cope When Your Child Shows Extreme Food Refusal

Some toddlers have an innate, or inborn, resistance to eating a wide range of foods. They may have extreme anxiety about trying new foods (strongly neophobic) or have an extreme reaction to the different senses, touch, taste and smell (sensory-sensitive).

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How to Cope When Your Child Shows Extreme Food Refusal

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Quick Overview

Some toddlers have an innate, or inborn, resistance to eating a wide range of foods. They may have extreme anxiety about trying new foods (strongly neophobic) or have an extreme reaction to the different senses, touch, taste and smell (sensory-sensitive).

A toddler showing extreme food refusal, distressing her mother

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Guidance & Tips for Parents

Things to avoid

Do not refuse to give high-energy foods, like ice cream, cakes, biscuits and chocolate, in the hope that your child will eat 'proper' meals and 'healthy' foods.
Reason: This is not a good way to get your child to eat new foods, and your child might lose weight if you withhold their 'safe' foods.
Do not try to force your child to eat food.
Reason: This will make your child even more anxious at mealtimes, and may cause your child to vomit the food back up.
Leave long gaps between meals to try to make your child more hungry or hide new foods inside foods that your child already likes.
Reason: This will make your child less hungry over time, and may lead to weight loss. Some children can very easily detect new tastes and smells, even when hidden in other foods. Your toddler may just stop eating the liked foods.

Things that help

Encourage your child to experience different textures through 'messy' play every day. Your toddler may find some textures (like Play-Doh) very difficult, so start with textures that they are happy to touch. This may need to be drier consistencies initially, such as rice or lentils. Gradually progress to more messy/wet substances, allowing your toddler to gain confidence. Have plenty of fun and get messy. If you don't like touching certain textures yourself, or don't feel comfortable allowing your toddler to make a mess, then why not take them to a playgroup in your area?
Reason: Many children who are extreme food refusers are very sensitive to touch on the hands and mouth, and so will not even pick up new foods. Messy play helps them to get used to new textures.
Give small frequent meals of foods that your child accepts.
Reason: Some children become very anxious at mealtimes and are sometimes very slow eaters. Small frequent meals will help them to take in the calories that they need.
Remember, even children who are extremely faddy eaters usually grow and develop normally, if they are given the foods that they will accept.
Reason: It is important to keep your child growing well, and these extreme food refusers do grow as we would expect them to if they have enough of the food that they will eat.

If the problem persists see your GP or health visitor who may refer you to:

a specialist feeding team if one is available in your area
a clinical psychologist

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Guidance & Tips
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Your Questions

My son is very fussy and refuses to eat any meat, pasta, rice, potatoes or veg.

He would happily live on crackers with cream cheese or hummus. Any tips on how to get him to try new foods?

We have done 'tough love' (eat what's on your plate or have nothing) for six months now and have also tried letting him help me chop all the veg, but the only thing he has eaten is a salmon fish finger!

I wonder how old this little boy is. Has he always been fussy or is he just now coming in to the 'neophobic' stage?

This tends to peak at about 15-20 months, and can lead to refusal of new foods as well as some foods that were eaten before. Children grow out of the neophobic age by about five years of age.

In the meantime, the best methods when trying to get him to eat new foods are those based on exposure and imitation; not 'tough love'. Give him the foods he likes, to keep his energy intake up and his growth on course.

Try extending the range of foods that he'll eat from those that he already enjoys; if he eats a salmon fish finger try a cod fish finger, and if he likes crackers try other foods with a similar texture.

It'll be easier for him to move on where the new food is visually similar to something he already eats.

Don't hide or disguise food, or put new foods on the plate next to foods he already likes. Keep other new foods in sight on the table and eat them in front of him.

If he looks interested, ask him if he wants to try the food but never go beyond a gentle suggestion.

Keep getting him to help in the kitchen, but don't expect this to work miracles; it will just keep him desensitised to the smell and sight of foods he hasn't yet tried.

Many children go through a fussy phase in the toddler years, some children remain very fussy. Most of them develop out of the phase as they get older and seem not to have been harmed by their odd food habits.

Answer by: The Infant & Toddler Forum (Admin) on 12 Jan 2015 16:44:52