Anyone Have a Child with Sensory Issues And/or Picky Eater?

My son is 4 1/2 years old and is also a very picky eater. Just recently I started a new rewards system where he gets a marble for doing his chores and responsibilities. He puts his marbles in a jar and when it's full he can pick out a toy at the store. In addition to a marble for his jar, if he tries a new food he gets to pick a toy from the box that he decorated himself. It's full of little things like matchbox cars and little things from the dollar store or wal-mart. Nothing in the box was over $2 and he thinks it's great. So I am happy to say that we have added 3 new items this past month to his very limited menu and about once a week he is willing to try something new just to get an extra marble and a chance to pick something out of the box.

I also have a picky eater she is six years old and still alive! If he is healthy don't worry about it. Slowly Slowly my daughter is now eating different things and thats largely because of school and other children eating different things. I think we as parents worry alot more than we need to. My daughter did not eat meat at all and her food could not touch each other so a sandwich was unheard of. now she eats meat that don't look like meat (ravioli, nuggets, hotdogs etc.) hang in there !!

hi S., what are the foods that he does eat? anything homemade? eggs, cereal, pancakes, baked goods, are great for sneaking stuff in...i have become a pro at sneaking ground up veggies into everything, sometimes i even have to go so far as to use the same color, like yellow squash ground up into scrambled eggs, though my recent discovery that he thinks green eggs are cool because of the cat in the hat is wonderful, get one of those little countertop food processors and make up big batches of superveggies - collard greens, kale, spinach, brussels all pack a huge nutritional punch, i steam, grind, and freeze little containers of it and throw them in everything i can... i put wheat germ in everything too, anything to pack the nutrition into the few things my 3 year old will eat. i dont know if this applies to sensory issues, but i hope it helps, D.

why do i feel like im reading my own post?!?1...lol...trust me you DONT need to worry...my son is 3 1/2 & is the EXACT same way...but he hasnt been losing weight & the doctors said is actually really normal...& for some reason it seems to be more common with boys...not sure why...maybe its karma to make up for when they eat us out of house & home later...hahha...as long as you make sure he is taking a vitamin every day & everyonce in awhile id give him soem pediasure...but as long as he is eating something somewhat nutritious...i wouldnt try to fight it...my son eats breakfast foods (cereal, oatmeal, pankcakes - no eggs) i try to give him protein with peanut butter bc he wont eat meat or pasta...he is pretty much on pb&j & grilled cheese sandwich diet...lol just everytime you eat something tell him what it is & offer him some but dont force it on him...when he is ready he will try it...good luck remember he is FINE dont stress it... :P

When my son was that age he would only eat things that were banana based. Banana bread, drink banana necture and banana baby food. I was like you - I freaked. When I took him to the doctor, the doctor said he was fine and growing healthy. It was a stage. He told me to keep trying to sneak in other foods with the bananas and he and I would keep monitoring his health and growth. It passed. The next stage was brocolli and garlic sauce (he called them "Trees").
So take him to the docotor and go from there. You didnt mention which 5 things he eats - but as long as they are somewhat healthy - he's only 3. His world is small and so is his taste buds.
ps George is 15 now and just under 6 feet.
D.

MINE DO NOT HAVE SENSORY ISSUES BUT BOTH MY CHILDREN ARE EXTREMELY PICKY EATERS. NEITHER OF MY CHILDREN EAT MEAT, FRUIT OR VEGETABLES!! THEY ARE CARB AND DAIRY-LADEN KIDS (WHICH GOES AGAINST EVERYTHING THEY SAY ABOUT CARBS, BECAUSE THAT'S ALL THEY EAT AND THEY ARE THIN!!!) MY SON (8) IS WORSE THAN MY DAUGHTER (10) BUT THEY LIVE ON MAC & CHEESE, PANCAKES, WAFFLES, FRENCH TOAST, GRILLED CHEESE AND PEANUT BUTTER (NO JELLY) SANDWICHES. I CAN SYMPATHIZE, BUT THE PEDIATRICIAN SAYS, PICK YOUR BATTLES, DON'T MAKE FOOD ONE OF THEM. SO I DON'T. THEY ARE BOTH EXTREMELY HEALTHY SO I LEAVE IT ALONE!

Have you tried letting him into the refridgerator and/or cupboard to let him pick out something himself? Maybe once he sees he has a whole choice of what he wants to eat he'll be more daring. When my son says "I want this" and its say gummy bears thats when I say "wow, what about this!" He'll usually get excited for just feeling included and hanging out in the refridgerator/cupboard with me. Just see if he's open to making his own food choices.

Yes, my 10 year old has been diagnosed with a sensory dysfunction. Have you read "The Out-of-Sync Child" by Kranowitz? This book may shed a lot of light on your situation. Good Luck

Your child may be having issues with texture. It took me a while to get my son to eat applesauce and mashed potatoes. He had issues with mushy food. Try giving him new foods gradually but be consistent, that way he gets used to the texture. Try doing it every other day for about two weeks with the same food. Maybe he will just give in.

I have the same problem with my child. I have talked to the pediatrician and he said that they go through this but if it persists to see a speech therapist. I thought this was crazy since I thought this has nothing to do with speech but evidently they work with textures and eating and such. I have not tried it but if it persists I will have to bite th bullet and do it. Let me know how you makeout. Good luck

Try putting a little of the new food on his plate along with the food he's used to. Don't even mention that it's there. It may take a few times for him to try it, but if he sees you eating the same thing he might be more inclined to take a bite. It may also be the texture of the foods that he doesn't like. My sister does this with her toddler son.

Hello my name is C. I have also a two year old with sensory issues, my sister works for a Agency by the name of First Steps (early intervantion) right now my son receiveds two sessions of sensory with a therapists it has helped him a lot. I suggest you get in touch with them before your son turns three.
First Steps ###-###-#### ask for Sonia Romero

Gee, its nice to know that there are so many other kids out there with sensory/texture issues. I have a 4 y/o son who has this and it has led him to be one hell of a picky eater. My son survives on PB&J's, cold cereal and waffles. He will also eat an occasional candy bar. But thats it. He has digestional problems on top of all this due to malabsorption and twisting intestines from being "backed up" if he doesn't take a daily laxative.

Definately talk to your pedi and see if you can get to a pediatric speach therapist.

Good luck,
M.

Hi Shirly, I am a mom of 2 teen boys, when my oldest was young he was a picky eater as well...mac n cheese, and cereal was about all i could get him to eat...what i did was made a game of blind fold with him, i would have him try dif foods so he didnt know what he was going to try. i would tell him we r going to do a taste test and see whats good and see if u can guess what the food is, i always start with what he liked and then added other stuff, it didnt always work but he did find other stuff he liked that he would of never tryed any other time. he is now 19 he is still picky but he eats other things and trys new things at times. hope this story helps and hope u can get ur son to eat other foods as well
R.

My best advice is to make eating a big game for him. He will eventually take notice if he thinks it is fun for you and he sees that you like it. Good luck!!

Without knowing the severity and scope of the types of developmental delays your son is experiencing, it's hard to give appropriate advice.

My son, who just turned 5 had sensory issues and mild developmental delays. Although as a baby he eagerly ate almost anything I fed him (as long as it didn't come from a jar or can), he began being sensitive to food textures and would not eat anything slippery such as pasta or jello. I recognized which foods caused him distress and omitted them. These foods are different than the ones he simply was being picky about eating.

Around the age of three, I knew my son was just being picky about alot of foods and wanted to eat only cereal, breads, crackers, yogurt, etc., simply because he liked the taste better. What I began doing is placing the food I wanted him to eat in front of him and had a separate dish of what he wanted, then told him to get a bite of what he wanted, he had to take a bite of what I wanted him to eat. Of course he didn't like that at all, but eventhough it was difficut and tested my patience, I was in control, not him. I would sometimes force the food in his mouth (I know THEY say not to do that), but sometimes that is the only way he learned that MY food tastes good, too. I started off with small amounts of my food vs his food and gradually altered the ratio.

Eventually, he learned that my way was the way it was going to be and he gave up fighting. I would periodically reintroduce foods that he was sensitive to and now pasta is one of his favorite meals.

Another thing, he wouldn't eat cooked veggies at the time so I gave him raw and frozen veggies. This especially worked if I fed them to him as a little "snack" while I was cooking dinner, or offered a ranch dressing to dip the veggies in.

It has been a two year stuggle, but I no longer force my son to eat, and he eats whatever is put in front of him. Even vegetables that he claims he doesn't like, the rule is each time I make it, he has to take at least one bite, since I have read that using this method, kids get used to and eventually learn to like foods they would not eat before. I have seen this work with my son...except broccoli (I'm still working on that).

I have also heard that you could give a child a few healthy choices and let the child decide what to eat of the offerings or let him give you ideas for dinner. Mine to this day would choose to have buttered bread for EVERY meal!

If these ideas are not practical for your situation, I would suggest taking to your DR (although mine hasn't offered much help in this area)

By the way, my son is gradually outgrowing alot of the tantrums, developmental and sensory issues. He was kicked out of a catholic preschool for hyper and agressive behavior (due to boredom), but has made extreme progress in both social and intellectual skills by hands-on homeschooling and lovingly strict, consistent parenting. Good luck!

K.

My son, who will be 3 in April, has some sensory issues. At this point it only has minor impact on his eating habits (hates the feel of scrambled eggs!) but he is a typical picky toddler! My advice would be to work with his OT & speech pathologist to develop an oral motor program to desensitize his mouth/lips. Simple things such as tooth brushing, gum chewing, massaging gums can help him become less impacted by foods of different textures. If it is a matter of him seeing something new, my son loves it when I cut his food into different shapes using cookie cutters. He is much more likely to eat a sandwich in the shape of a teddy bear! He always asks for a "surprise food"! Good luck & let me know how it goes!