Beyond picky eating

[nick_21]

So my son is 7 years old now. He has always been very bright. He learned his ABCs before he was 2, new all the planets, flags of the world, big stars in the universe (space), he knew all the continents and countries by age 3-4. He is great at memorizing repetitive things. He wasn't always a picky eater. I thought I started him out great. When he was 6 months, I satarted making his own food, pureed organic veggies and later meat and chicken, slowly introduced seafood, fish and nuts. He did great and has always been a healthy child. When he turned 2, I noticed he was refusing to eat things that he normally loved. He was breast fed up until 6 months old and later switch to formula due to low supply on my part. I wasn't too worried becauae he was still drinking toddler formula. I stopped that when he was around 3 and a half and he just wouldn't eat much and because pickier and pickier.

Now at 7, he contunues to be picky and I dont know what else to do. I try to make him new things but it's basically a waste of food. This is a sample of his preferred menu:

Breakfast:
Honey nut cheerios with almond milk or whole grain toasts with bitter, rarely he will have scramble eggs only if made by me.

Lunch:
Wheat tortilla with plain greek yogurt (he only likes the plain sour yogurt and not the fruit one) or he will have chicken nuggets and fries.

Dinner:
Deluxe Mc n cheese (only one he will eat) I tried making it with wheat pasta or smart pasta and he noticed. OR Freschetta square pizza. (He will not eat a round pizza even if its Freshetta)

He loves snacks like cheetos and doritos and will eat bananas as the only fruit he likes.

Is this normal? He is starting to gain weight becauae we literally have pizza and Mc n cheese as his only option.

What can I do to help him try new things?

 

[urbanp]

@nick_21 Sometimes...not every time while my four kids were growing I'd let them be a part of cooking. As I do with my four year old grandson...nothings guaranteed no doubt...my kids went trough picky stages. One only ate peanut butter sandwichs for years in school. Now as adults they're healthy and of course have likes and dislikes for various foods...coming from a sixty year old grandpa, pick your battles and don't sweat the small stuff...as a side note I seem to remember hearing that taste buds and food preferences change throughout your life...as do sleep patterns for adolescents...

 

[katrina2017]

@nick_21 It could be something he’ll grow out of. Try to keep attitude toward food neutral. It’s okay to say, “This is what we’re having. If you don’t want to eat it, you don’t have to.”

On the other hand, some of the details you use remind me of one of my younger brothers who is autistic. He knew his ABCs and could read and write before he was 2. He also got really into planets/space/stars and memorized names and details. Lately he’s been into germs/anatomy/biology. He’s 8.

I mention this because he also is severely picky about food. He mostly only wants to eat rice. He will eat pizza but he scrapes the toppings off. Sometimes it’s the taste that bothers him (especially if it’s too strong). Sometimes it’s the texture.

I’m not saying your son has autism or sensory processing disorder (you’d have to consult a doctor for that), but there are times where it’s more than “a phase” or it feels too extreme to be considered normal.

Use your intuition. Ask him why he doesn’t like certain foods (smell, color, or texture are adequate answers even if they “haven’t even tasted it”). If you become especially concerned about his eating habits, you could take him in for a check up.

 

[ezekielswheels]

@nick_21 What happens if you make what you want for food and tell him if he doesn't eat it he doesn't get anything?

 

[nick_21]

@ezekielswheels I tried that and he will rather not eat at all

 

[ezekielswheels]

@nick_21 He won’t starve to death. He’s flexing. Flex back.

 

[katrina2017]

@ezekielswheels There are very few examples - kids with ASD or ARFID will literally put themselves in the hospital over it by refusing to eat. But generally it’s ok to let a healthy kid skip a few meals to figure out what their body wants vs what it needs.

 

[hepzibah12]

@nick_21 My daughter (now 17) continues to be very picky about food and texture. She was also a very precocious learner (sounds like your son). Just last summer she was diagnosed as ASD.

 

[hillaryaya]

@nick_21 ARFID