Do you have a fussy eater HSC (highly sensitive child)? Do you often hear things like, “Ew, what is that?” and “Yucky”?
According to research, 1 in 4 children has eating problems during the early years, up to 80% for kids with developmental challenges.
You have probably been hoping the fussiness will subside as your child grows up. But, unfortunately, that’s not true.
Kids aged 5 through 8 have a Healthy Eating Index Score (HEI) of just 55, out of 100, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans for 2020-2025. This index hits the minimum for the 14-18 age range (HEI of 51). One explanation is that children rely less on their parents for food and snacks as they grow. Instead, they will eat more outside of the home. That means peers will significantly influence your kid’s eating and drinking habits.
Moreover, dietary patterns set between 2 and 18 tend to continue into adulthood. An unhealthy diet during childhood increases the risk of obesity and chronic disease. For instance, one in three kids aged 2 to 19 is overweight or obese. The percentages are even higher for adults. That’s why instilling healthy eating habits from a young age is essential.
But how can you convince your picky eater HSC to have a varied diet?
First, let’s cover the basics.
How much does a child eat?
Many parents think that fussy eaters starve. Is it true? Well, yes and no.
Girls aged 5 through 8 need 1,200-1,800 calories per day, and boys require 1,200-2,000 calories, as per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (2020-2025).
Try to compare the calorie requirements in the table below with what your child eats.
Statistics show that most US kids get the required daily calorie intake. However, they don’t eat their veggies and whole grains. So, rest assured that you are not the only parent having to convince your picky eater to have a varied diet.
What causes fussy eating
Growing independence. As kids grow and become more independent, they start avoiding certain foods. Food rejections in kids follow some common patterns at certain ages:
- Toddlers tend to avoid veggies
- Preschoolers dislike some textures (too mushy, too chewy), so they tend to avoid certain vegetables (like mushrooms)
- School-aged kids (7-9) still avoid certain food textures, but less than they used to.
- The 10-12 age range is more likely to eat what you serve but will still reject certain foods. That is because their food preferences are more clearly defined.
However, some kids remain selective eaters all through adulthood. There may be many causes: personal preferences, sensory sensitivities, and family eating habits.
Tactile sensitivity (high sensitivity to touch). Food aversions may be from increased sensitivity to touch. That can make textures and food temperature intolerable. Your fussy eater HSC could avoid particular foods if this is the case. Or, they may refuse to eat foods with more than one texture, like walnut muffins and cereal with milk. Also, children with tactile defensiveness might refuse to eat at other people’s houses.
Problems eating vegetables are more common in kids with tactile defensiveness.
High sensitivity to touch can also make your kid hate brushing teeth, bite their cheeks and inner lips while eating, refuse to wear certain clothes because of the tags, seams, or fabrics, and avoid hair brushing and cutting nails.
Sensitive proprioceptive sensory system. Your fussy eater HSC may prefer soft foods if they have a proprioceptive system that is overly sensitive. Moreover, kids with oral hypersensitivity can also avoid foods with different textures.
If their proprioceptive system is under-responsive, your fussy eater HSC may prefer crunchy or chewy foods and enjoy smoothies and milkshakes. If your child is like this, they can dislike soft foods because they are too mushy.
More taste buds. Some people naturally have more taste buds, which makes them experience taste more strongly. For example, they may be sensitive to certain flavors and prefer a bland diet. More taste buds also mean more pain receptors on the tongue. As a result, they may be particularly sensitive to hot foods and spicy flavors.
Related: How To Deal With Your Picky Eater HSC
Tips for a fussy eater HSC
1. Get your fussy eater HSC involved
Kids are more likely to eat meals that they have helped prepare. Here are some suggestions:
- Wash produce
- Tear lettuce
- Crack eggs
- Add and scoop ingredients
- Mashed potatoes
- Shape dough
- Put ingredients on the pizza dough
- Measure liquids
- Stir the batter
- Cut vegetables and fruits with a dull knife
- Help prepare sandwiches
- Beat eggs
- Wipe table
- Set the table.
You can also get your child involved by taking them shopping and deciding together on new ingredients or dishes that you can add to your family meals.
2. Have family meals as often as you can
There’s no better way to convince your sensitive child than to model behavior. Have a family meal schedule, and make meals pleasant with limited distractions. Also, mealtime should not be an opportunity for discussing challenging behavior and homework.
3. Respect the eating habits of your fussy eater HSC
Everyone has their quirks about eating. For example, kids may prefer bread without crusts or pasta with just a little sauce; they may devour an omelet today but not tomorrow.
Understanding that your child may respond to the same foods differently on various days is crucial.
4. Limit juice and milk
If your child consumes too many calories from juice, soda, or milk, they can refuse to eat meals. Consequently, try to offer no more than 24 ounces of milk and four ounces of juice daily.
Specialists don’t recommend soda as it has no nutrients.
5. Don’t offer dessert as a bribe to your fussy eater HSC
You do not need to offer dessert every day. However, when dessert is available, consider the following ideas:
- If you make your child eat an entire meal before dessert, they may be full but will likely eat the dessert anyway. That is not healthy.
- If your child refuses to eat, not giving them dessert is not the answer. Instead, your child will learn to value sweet treats above nutritious foods, which can alter eating patterns for life.
6. Mix food they love with new foods (gradually)
You can add new foods discreetly to the food your child likes. For instance, you may add carrot puree to tomato sauce.
This strategy is called palette priming. It is a feeding therapy tactic where you slowly and progressively something to food your child already accepts. As a result, your kid’s palate adapts, and they don’t notice because it happens very gradually.
7. Reduce sensitivity to touch
If you suspect your kid is a fussy eater because of sensory issues, you can try to reduce touch sensitivity by offering touch pressure and increasing proprioceptive input.
Once kids reach 6, you need their commitment so that they start trying new foods, mainly if they are more sensory sensitive. It just won’t happen by forcing or distracting them.
Here are some activities that your sensory-sensitive picky eater can try:
- Sucking a milkshake through a straw
- Chewing crunchy snacks
- Playing with fidget toys.
8. Offer new foods 8-10 times before deciding your fussy eater HSC hates them
Offering the same type of food multiple times, in various forms, or prepared in different ways can help them accept more food groups. For example, kids may dislike cooked vegetables but eat the raw version. Or, children may only eat fruit cut into bite-sized pieces.
Even with these tactics, it may take up to 8-10 exposures before a child accepts a new food, according to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025.
Also, avoid offering only foods that your child will eat. If they don’t like the meal you have prepared, it’s okay. There will be another meal or snack in a few hours, and they should be able to wait until then. When children are hungry because they choose not to eat, they are more likely to eat what you offer next time.
9. Offer an ice chip before meals
If sensory issues cause problems with certain textures or flavors, it helps some kids to eat ice chips before a meal, slightly numbing their taste buds, so the flavor isn’t so intense.
10. Mindful eating
Mindful eating is a grounding technique for easing anxiety. But it can also help if your child has sensory issues and eating something new makes them anxious.
Encourage your kid to use all their senses at mealtime. You can appeal to their senses by making the food look yummy or fun, letting them touch the food with their hands, encouraging them to smell before tasting, biting, or chewing, and then spitting the food out. They will eventually swallow it and decide if they like it or not.
11. Support your child’s need to have a sense of control
As parents, we worry about our fussy eaters not eating enough healthy food. Then, we start to nag, try to control, or bribe them. However, all those tactics make children lose trust. Worse, their relationship with food turns sour, and they can develop unhealthy eating habits.
Autonomy is crucial for your child to have healthy eating habits. So try to avoid power struggles unless it’s for safety concerns.
