pickey eater

[cindyq123]

My son is beyond a pickey eater and it is getting worse. The only two foods he will eat is chicken fingers and pizza and now he is starting to get sick of chicken. He will eat pretzels and sometimes either mini wheats or alphabet cereal, but with no milk. He drinks about 3 glasses of orange juice a day and up until recently we could send him to school with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in which he would eat about have. He is 8 years old. The school nurse called today because they noticed that he won't eat his sandwhich and only some of his pretzels. He has given every excuse in the world from 'it didn't look right' to 'it had too much crust' to "I have a backache".  He won't explain himself to us as to what the issue is, but when we have forced him to eat other foods he throws up. I have heard that some children won't eat a lot of choices until 10 or 12, but with the gag reflex he has, I think this is more serious. I have even considered hypnotism thinking this could be all in his head?

[Sandi770]

Read my post on Sensory Disorder - it helped my daughter!  No medication needed - just therapy to eat!  yes, really, therapy.

[Renee Radenberg]

His weight is between the 90-75th percentile and his height is just above the 50th percentile for his age. He must be eating / drinking something because his weight and height are above normal for his age. Is he drinking milk? If he is then replace it with your own milkshakes (milk, ice cream, and banana-if accepted blended together) for additional calories and protein for weight maintenance. Remember to relax at meals and just give him the foods he wants. Slowly introduce new foods. Sometimes it takes 5-9 times to introduce a food to a child that they will accept, however, if they do not want it you have to not make a fuss and let it go. The Child Behavior Forum may give you additional information. Hoped this helped you.