Based on the answers you provided in the screener*, we call this typical picky eating. Many children are “picky” at some point, but still eat a variety of foods, meet their nutritional needs, and don’t have social challenges related to eating. We also screen for “red flags” that have been associated with extreme picky eating and you indicated your child has one or more of them.

If kids with a tendency toward extreme picky eating start early with best practices in feeding and basic feeding therapy techniques, it may be possible to prevent some picky eating. It is likely that your child would still be picky, but the goal would be to prevent the picky eating from becoming extreme. It is the extreme picky eating that has nutritional deficiencies and/or social challenges associated with it.

Red Flags for Progressing to Extreme Picky Eating

Here are the red flags associated with extreme picky eating. You answered that your child has experienced at least one of the following:

• Your child spent time in the NICU and required a newborn feeding specialist (feeding interventions, NG tube, etc.)
• Your child experienced more than one incident of nasal reflux (vomiting or spitting up out of their nose)
• Your child frequently chokes, coughs or gags on liquids
• Your child has had a negative experience with food (excessive gagging to the point of vomiting, choking, or prolonged pain with eating related to a chronic sickness or medical condition)
• Your child routinely “pockets” food (holds food in their mouth without swallowing it) while eating
• Your child avoids all foods in a specific texture (wet, squishy, crunchy, etc.)
• Your child is upset or cries often around food?
• Your child has ongoing poor weight gain (dropping percentiles on the growth curve) or weight loss
• Your child’s healthcare provider has concern about your child’s growth
• Your child gets anxious or avoids social gatherings due to a concern with eating foods

Because your child has the red flags, we would like to invite you to take action now. This is the window where prevention is most likely and where it will be easiest for you to learn to feed your child in a way that will support their eating as they get older. If your child does not have any red flags, we typically recommend a “wait and see” approach or if you’re looking for more guidance, our Toddler and Child Feeding Course can be a great place to build confidence and learn new strategies to support your child’s eating.

For children with red flags for extreme picky eating, we recommend the BetterBites® Picky Eating Program. It will help you incorporate basic feeding therapy techniques into your lifestyle, in addition to the best practices for child feeding. This can help prevent the progression to extreme picky eating. Cohort enrollment occurs monthly and you can join the list here to be sure to get upcoming program enrollment information. The program is affordable ($49 three times or $145 one time), flexible, and parents using the program see so much benefit.

Join the BetterBites Picky Eating Program waitlist.

*If you suspect your child has a nutritional, medical, developmental or any other concern, we recommend consulting with your child’s qualified healthcare provider.

“What if you could lower your mealtime stress and know your child was on the road to trying and eventually eating new foods?”

Learn strategies and advance methods to help your child thrive at mealtime.

By the end of this program, you’ll:

• Understand your child selective eating. Discover what causes picky eating and how to understand your child’s eating behaviors
• Serve one meal with methods for introducing new foods so that your child can learn to eat a more varied diet at their own pace and thrive
• Get scripts for talking about food to cultivate a positive long-term relationship with food
• Learn strategies to end food struggles with your child before they start.

This program give you the tools that you need to efficiently help your child at home. It keeps in mind that you are busy and may only have a few minutes a day. It’s also the only program that includes thriving online community so you know you’re not alone. Program tools include:

• Online self-paced video lessons, most available as MP4s and PDFs
• Thriving moderated online community
• Food activity plans
• Step-by-step workbook
• Supportive email series
• Permanent access

The program also comes with bonuses to help you personalize the program for your child and that it will grow with your child as they grow.

• Play with Your Food: 101 Food Activities for Children
• Resources to customize advanced techniques
• The BetterBites Plate: 100 Deconstructable Meals for Families