Think your kid is a picky eater? Boy, 2, subsists on yogurt
Categories: Toddlers, Eating & nutrition
It's a common parental complaint: "My child is SO PICKY!" Picky eaters come in all forms -- those who will only eat a certain color food, or who choose fruits over vegetables, or who insist on having the same thing for lunch every day. No matter what picky profile a child fits, parents worry.But here's an extreme case: two-year-old Bobby Glarvey eats ONLY yogurt. That's it; nothing else. In a day he will consume 14 pots of yogurt (five for breakfast, three for lunch, four at supper, two or three more before bed). Bobby has been diagnosed with a food phobia that makes it impossible for him to bear lumpy food in his mouth.
Bobby's parents have consulted with medical professionals who have advised them not to make Bobby eat anything else; they have been told that he will outgrow his phobia but that forcing him to try other foods will only make things worse. His mother confirms this: "We have tried all ways to get him to eat other food but he just spits it out. He's never had a hot meal in his life."
But what concerns me is this: according to Bobby's father, "Bobby is really lively and bright but he is under weight and very tiny and it's because he won't eat other food." Yogurt is a fairly healthy food, but it would seem that an all-yogurt diet can't be good for a growing toddler.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Deedee 6-29-2008 @ 11:35AM
My boy was the same from age 1 to age 3 and then he was diagnosed as person with celiac. I thought he hated lumps, because he wouldn´t eat noodles and bread. But those things made his stomach ache.
It weren´t the lumps, but the gluten in the grain.
Because as a celiac, you can´t eat anything made of wheat or other grain or modified starch, flour etc.
Now he eats totally normal, but his bread is only made of corn or rice and no other grains.
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pbhj 6-29-2008 @ 12:08PM
>>> "Yogurt is a fairly healthy food"
That's true, but I'm guessing we're talking about petits-filous or some other sugar laden (12%) approximation to yoghurt. Natural yoghurt with a fruit compote - that's healthy.
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Momma 6-29-2008 @ 12:19PM
One would assume they slip a crushed vitamin in with some of that yogurt. Must be very hard to watch your child go through this.
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Mamacita 6-29-2008 @ 1:03PM
Um, yeah, that would fly in my house.
How long have they let him go without food before THEY gave in and let him have his own way? Food is a very effective power-play with children, because they know the adults will almost always give in. They've had the boy checked out medically and they're sure it's not an allergy, merely a phobia? Well, a phobia is not an allergy. Tell the boy he's old enough now to eat regular food at the family table, the same food everybody else is eating, and stick to it. If he refuses to eat anything, let him go without.
My son's record was 3 1/2 days. Yes, there were fits and screaming, but he was not the boss in my house. I would not force him to eat anything, but he was given choices: take it or leave it. Amazingly, after this little power-play, he decided to take some chances and quickly became interested in all kinds of food. Today, he's very into all kinds of food, particularly ethnic foods. He's also a very good cook, himself, and loves to experiment with different recipes. His own original recipes are great, too.
My point? Do I have to have one? I guess I could drag one in by the hind legs and just ask this question: Who's the boss in your house? If it's not you, you've got problems. Big ones.
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Karen 6-29-2008 @ 11:02PM
I would have agreed with you before having my second child, however, some children do have real fears and anxiety regarding food and it is ignorant to suggest that the parent just gives in.
My doctor suggested a similar approach (offer only the foods you want him to eat, refuse to give him any other food or drink other than water) and my son actually lost significant weight, made himself very ill and refused all food for 7 days. He had nothing but water. The doctor said he'd never seen a child go that long (he was 4) and that I should "give in" as you call it.
My son has sensory issues, so texture was a big part, but he also had anxiety over new foods, so even if something wasn't likely to be a texture issue, the idea of trying something new was too overwhelming for him.
He is now 8 and he eats much better, but it is a constant struggle in our house. Do I give in some times? Yes, but not out of guilt. I give in because some times you decide to make your home a peaceful place and that torturing your child in order to force something on them is not always the best way. Yes, generally you can "break a child's will" but at what expense?
There are food clinics out there, and they are very expensive. My son also has trouble chewing properly because he feels like he is going to gag when he has to chew with his back teeth. We constantly work on all of these issues, but it is very difficult.
I won't even go into the lengths I have gone to in order to get my child to eat, but I'm ashamed that I tried to force the issue on so many occasions.
The child in this article has been diagnosed by a doctor as having a phobia. I am guessing the parents do what they can.
Yes, some parents give food as reward or use food to show their love, but this article doesn't suggest anything of the sort.
Tamyu 6-30-2008 @ 1:51AM
I also would agree, but having had my son refuse to eat anything for long enough that he had to be hospitalized and put on an iv... Some kids aren`t just "Power Playing" as you put it.
With my son, it was a short term thing, caused by him requiring a medication that had to be mixed into something. I mixed the powder into pudding, but he apparently noticed the flavor and refused to let anything pass his lips. That included liquids. I figured once he was thirsty and hungry enough, he`d eat something. He didn`t, and ended up in the hospital.
After over 2 weeks, he finally started taking liquids again. We had to start over from baby formula. Now, years later, we haven`t a single problem. He eats most anything, any pickiness is within reason.
Don`t automatically assume all children are the same. There may have very well been something in this child`s past that caused this phobia.
I`m going to put my money on it being an oral aversion rather than an actual phobia, and that is a very well documented medical condition. The "lumps" fear sounds very much like it. If he suffered from reflux (possibly silent) as a baby, food may equal pain somewhere deep down inside. When that happens, you`re lucky to find a comfort food that can be taken by mouth. A lot of these kids end up being tube fed or with openings in their bellies directly to the stomach for feeding.
Rob O. 6-29-2008 @ 1:04PM
Hard to know exactly what the parents have been through, but I believe that - barring some legit problem - if a child gets hungry enough, he'll go ahead and eat what he's given. I think most parents are too guilt-ridden to tolerate the idea of their child missing a meal, so they cave in to the child's whims.
I don't profess to be an expert - and my child is picky at times too - but I hafta wonder if this phobia is the product of weak parenting establishing a pattern of willingness to cater to the child rather than hold firm when the pickiness began...
My little guy has gone to bed hungry - and been all the more ready to accept what was given at breakfast - because he turned up his nose at the dinner table. I certainly felt like a heel, but it didn't harm him and I believe it reinforced the message that he should eat what he's given.
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Judy 6-29-2008 @ 1:50PM
For a kid of any age to truly eat NOTHING but yogurt, I would be willing to say there are legitimate issues and not just bad parenting. My kids LOVE ice cream, but I'd be willing to bet that if I started serving them vanilla ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner, they'd get tired of it pretty fast and start asking for something else. (Not that I have tried this, or would.) If the "experts" are saying not to push this, I'd say they are probably doing the right thing.
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Jenni 6-29-2008 @ 7:56PM
A phobia about food? How exactly does a child become fearful about something. Cautious, maybe; but fearful? I'm with mamacita on this (again...apparently great minds think alike). Take it or leave it. They aren't going to starve as long as you consistenly provide healthy food.
I used to eat nothing but hot dogs for lunch; but if they weren't a choice, I knew it and ate whatever there was or didn't eat. My children do the same thing. I don't make different things for each one; you get what I made.
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missias 6-29-2008 @ 8:27PM
I wonder whether he'd allow, say, protein powder to be stirred into his yogurt. or whether he's willing to eat vitamins. there are certainly worse foods to specialize in, but I agree there's room for other components...
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Bev 6-30-2008 @ 9:16AM
I am 30 years old and have suffered with food phobias all of my life. Even now I panic like mad at the thoughts of eating something that's not 'safe'. Mamacita, if it's just bad parenting then can you explain to me why my 4 siblings all eat practically everything you put in front of them? I'm 100% sure that my mum and dad were tearing their hair out at my eating habits as a child (and probably still do to this day). Let me categorically state that if the thought of eating certain foods sends a child into a tailspin to the point where he/she freezes up and cannot eat that food, then it's not anxiousness, it's a phobia, and no amount of witholding food or laying down the law will work. I've been there. It's not stubborness, it's not being picky; It's very, very hard. Imagine not being able to go out for a meal with your family because you're not sure if there's going to be anything on the menu that you'll eat? I wish every day that I didn't feel like this, that I could eat 'normally'. My parents aren't pushovers by any means, but I am eternally grateful that they weren't so arrogant to think that they could starve me out of my phobias beacuse that's exactly what would have happened. I'd have starved.
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Sharon 6-30-2008 @ 10:30PM
Yep, my son would have starved too, before eating anything other than his 5-6 particular foods. We started working with a food therapist when he was only 10 months old, because we couldn't get him to eat Stage 3 baby food! The lumps were making him gag. Now we know he has sensory issues, reflux, and a very sensitive gag reflex, along with Aspergers. We even have to be careful when we give him liquid medicine - we have to use a syringe and put it in him, he won't take it voluntarily. But if we put it in too directly, it makes him gag & he'll vomit it all up.
We've worked with various OTs, speech therapists, doctors, etc, for the last 3 years with him. But our daughter will eat anything you put in front of her.
Before having our son, I would not have understood this either. But its nothing a parent does or does not do. Until you've walked in their shoes, you really can't judge.
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Carly 7-02-2008 @ 3:20PM
Gotta' agree w/ Mamacita on this one...if it were a medical condition that were the root of his diet, that's one thing. However, a phobia is nothing more than in irrational fear of something unknown. Make the little stinker eat what you're eating or let him go without. I know my answer sounds like it lacks compassion but it truly doesn't. I have two children and I swore from day one that I was running a house, not a restaurant, and my children are both excellent eaters (too good--the acquired mye same love of crab legs and crab cakes!). If this little boy was put in a situation where he HAD to eat to survive, basic, inate survival skills would make him eat something. Without protein, vitamins C, A, etc...he is dooming himself. Nowhere in the article does it state that the parents supplement his yogurt with any vitamins...I certainly hope they do!
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lisa 8-14-2008 @ 1:27AM
If only you could walk in our shoes! I have a 12 year old boy who has a VERY limited range of food he will eat. He has also been diagnosed with a food phobia. I am glad you dont have problems with your children as it is very hard work and I can see it would be hard for you to understand what we go through each day.(Our other son will eat anything you give him.) If you look up phobias on the internet you will see its not something to take lightly, the child/adult will know that the fear is irrational and that they should be eating a balanced diet, my son does. We add a protein shake to his meals and vitamins to make sure he is getting everything he needs. We even tried hypnotherapy with a little success.(although I was rather sceptical about this but we were willing to try anything.)
If you could see the anxiety that is like a panic attack when a new food is on the plate you would see its not a power play. His doctor has found he also has a very strong sense of smell and taste which makes food that we think smell good to him it smells like something rotten. Food phobia is classed as an eating disorder along with anorexia, I'm sure if you had a child with anorexia you wouldn't be saying eat this or nothing as they would soon be either in the hospital or sadly dead. But then you do rule the house.
Carly 8-16-2008 @ 5:19PM
Wow, Lisa--looks like you're not too happy with my response. If you go back and reread what YOU wrote, you are writing about more than just a phobia. You write about an olefactory occurrence with your child. That is NOT a phobia. Strickly writing on what the article references--phobias, not conditions affecting the nose, etc., I stand by what I wrote 100%. Your end comment that "then again you do rule the house" is exactly right although it is obvious that your intent was to somehow be derisive. Not quite sure why... My CHILDREN do NOT rule my house and any parent who allows them to do just so...well, I feel sorry for you. Again, however, your experience seems to involve more than merely not eating. I won't presume to tell you other suggestions but as one who has friends who DO let their children dictate the menu...I can only say that they have a lot more problems than I do. Good luck to you.