8 year old not eating

[lilp]

I have an 8 year old daughter who hasn't been eating hardly anything for the last 2 or 3 weeks.  She says she can't chew or can't swallow or her stomach hurts.  Although she has no problem eating potato chips.  She takes an hour or more to eat dinner and only ends up eating a few bites.  She chews and chews and "doesn't know if she should swallow".  Our instincts are saying she's doing this for attention, however we didn't think it would last this long.  She has lost a little weight because she can fit into clothes that were previously tight on her.  Maybe she's trying to loose weight?  She's not overweight to begin with.  She would rather not eat anything than eat something that she "can't" chew.  She says her throat is not sore and her teeth aren't sore either.  Should we take her to her ped or see if she snaps out of it.  She loves going to the doc and tries to come up with ways to get us to take her.  (This is my stepdaughter living full time with her father and I.  She has no contact with biological mom.  She seems to always seek praise and attention, more than the average kid, but we have no real behavioral problems with her other than the recent eating problem).  Could there really be a medical reason that she can't swallow?  (Like I mentioned, on a couple of occasions we saw her eating chips with no problem).

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Does she do the same thing with foods (e.g., applesauce, soups, pudding, ice cream) that do not require chewing? If it looks like she is doing this with solid foods, but readily swallows other things, it would be a good idea to check it out medically. This would be regarded as an unusual behavior for an 8-year-old who might be seeking attention, so I'd suggest moving away from that explanation. Did she have any episode prior to the onset of this behavior when she either choked on something, had a friend who choked, saw something like that on television, etc.? It sounds to me like she's fearful of choking or of food becoming caught.