Hey OP, without reading through the thread I would note that my picky 5 year old needs a rotation of his favorites. So if he liked bananas last week, I don’t buy them for a couple weeks so he doesn’t get tired of them. He only rotates between a few kinds of fruit, a string cheese and a muffin or something on the side. As long as they are growing fine I try not to stress!

Good luck, OP!


It's good she can eat out of the house, not being able to due to anxiety is super common with ARFID.

My kiddo seemed to get a bit better around 7, I think she pushed herself bc she wanted to be able to eat on playdates, sleepovers, etc. She had had several food allergies and sensory issues when young so had some anxiety around food. She also had some low tone at one point and I think when very young was a bit afraid of choking.

Feeding therapy helped some as well as therapy to have tools to deal with anxiety. I did not want the anxiety to shift off food to something else. I have a relative with a significant anxiety issue, so I do think there is a genetic component at times. When my child is more well regulated, plenty of sleep, activity, etc, that seems to help, esp with "harder" things like mixed textures in veg soup, etc. The feeding therapy/OT was what highlighted that for both us as parents and for her so she is happy to do yoga vids, etc, she can see that it helps the day be easier.

OP again. Thanks again for both the advice (well, the advice from people who understand the issue) and the commiseration. Today was a better day -- yesterday was just particularly rough and I was kind of at my wits end by bedtime. The PP who noted that this stuff is worse in the summer because kids get bored was spot on -- we are transitioning between vacation and camp this week (and I am off work a few days) and I think she's still getting used to not being on her school schedule. Today I went hard on structure and we were out of the house most of the day and that seemed to help a lot.

Also, reading through the thread reminded me that in previous summers she has really liked those no-bake energy ball things (you make them with stuff like dates, peanut butter, nuts, and seeds in a food processor). I made a bunch last night and threw them in the freezer, and she had two with a smoothy this morning for breakfast and it was a good way to start the day because she ate everything with no complaints (actually excited about the energy ball things because she hadn't had them in a while). And a great hit of protein and fruit first thing, which has helped me relax when she refused any fruits/veggies at lunch and just at the bread off her sandwich and some goldfish crackers. This afternoon I took her to the grocery store and she helped me pick out some of the Annie's mac and cheese that come in fun shapes and seems genuinely excited to eat it for dinner. I processed some white beans into a paste that I'm going to add to the sauce as someone suggested here and see how that goes.

I think I just needed to vent and get some ideas. We'll discuss with the pediatrician still, but I'm feeling a little less frustrated and have a bunch of good suggestions from this thread and some googling last night for camp lunches and summer dinners. Poking around for carrot and zucchini bread recipes now.

Thanks all! Sometimes DCUM really comes through.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid eats:
PB&J
Pasta that he dips in hummus
Bacon
Yogurt with granola
Apples (2-4 per day)
Chicken nuggets
Raw baby spinach
Quesadilla
Cheese and crackers
Pizza
Cantaloupe
mango
cucumber slices
Muffins
Toaster waffles

That’s pretty much it. No burgers or hot dogs. No sandwiches.
No sauces on food. No dipping sauce except hummus.
Ped says he eats too many food for feeding therapy. We just let him eat from his rotation. On the bright side - he can and will eat the same thing every day. When we were home for the early pandemic, he ate PB&J, apple slices, and milk for lunch every day from mid-March until the end of June. 7 days a week. When he was 3 or 4, I made him Annie’s Mac and cheese every day for 6 months.

Hot dogs and hamburgers aren't that great for you. To me, his eating habits look pretty healthy.

DP, but a big part of pickiness is the social component. My picky eater will eat quinoa and sushi, but still can't eat outside the house pretty much at all. No kids menus, friends' houses, backyard cook outs, camp, etc. I'd be thrilled for him to eat a hamburger if it meant he got a playdate invitation over dinner time.

One more thing - the rigidity and inflexibility in different social situations is a manifestation of anxiety. The anxiety is a problem, even if nutritional intake is not.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid eats:
PB&J
Pasta that he dips in hummus
Bacon
Yogurt with granola
Apples (2-4 per day)
Chicken nuggets
Raw baby spinach
Quesadilla
Cheese and crackers
Pizza
Cantaloupe
mango
cucumber slices
Muffins
Toaster waffles

That’s pretty much it. No burgers or hot dogs. No sandwiches.
No sauces on food. No dipping sauce except hummus.
Ped says he eats too many food for feeding therapy. We just let him eat from his rotation. On the bright side - he can and will eat the same thing every day. When we were home for the early pandemic, he ate PB&J, apple slices, and milk for lunch every day from mid-March until the end of June. 7 days a week. When he was 3 or 4, I made him Annie’s Mac and cheese every day for 6 months.

OP here. My kid is similar but the list is similar. It's more like:

PB&J
Mac & cheese (sometimes, only if from the box)
Yogurt with fruit and/or granola
Apples
Berries
Cheese and crackers (sometimes won't eat the cheese)
Muffins (any baked good really)
Toaster waffles
Corn (sometimes)
Mangos (in a smoothy)
Bananas (in a smoothy)
Citrus fruit (definitely in a smoothy, and sometimes also on its own)
Rice
Beans (sometimes)

No veggies, no pizza, no quesadillas, and the proteins are soooo limited. She does drink milk so that helps a bit, but I have been getting worried that she may have lactose intolerance issues because she complains of digestive issues frequently.

Not sure if this is limited enough for intervention. But still interested to know what an intervention would look like.

Honestly this does not look that limited to me, especially for a 5 year old. It looks pretty typical.

People actually don't need as much protein as you might think. Most little kids eat a very carb-heavy diet. When she complains of being hungry, give her a smoothie with almond milk, fruit, and put some protein powder in there. My kid is 9 and she basically lives on smoothies, pasta, cereal, and toast.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid eats:
PB&J
Pasta that he dips in hummus
Bacon
Yogurt with granola
Apples (2-4 per day)
Chicken nuggets
Raw baby spinach
Quesadilla
Cheese and crackers
Pizza
Cantaloupe
mango
cucumber slices
Muffins
Toaster waffles

That’s pretty much it. No burgers or hot dogs. No sandwiches.
No sauces on food. No dipping sauce except hummus.
Ped says he eats too many food for feeding therapy. We just let him eat from his rotation. On the bright side - he can and will eat the same thing every day. When we were home for the early pandemic, he ate PB&J, apple slices, and milk for lunch every day from mid-March until the end of June. 7 days a week. When he was 3 or 4, I made him Annie’s Mac and cheese every day for 6 months.

Hot dogs and hamburgers aren't that great for you. To me, his eating habits look pretty healthy.

DP, but a big part of pickiness is the social component. My picky eater will eat quinoa and sushi, but still can't eat outside the house pretty much at all. No kids menus, friends' houses, backyard cook outs, camp, etc. I'd be thrilled for him to eat a hamburger if it meant he got a playdate invitation over dinner time.

My former bad eater now teenager makes himself smoothies with plain kefir, fresh fruit and an enormous amount of kale almost every day. He still doesn’t love salads but he knows eating veggies is important and has found things like smoothies and roasted broccoli that he likes well enough (and I didn’t fight with him about good really at all.) good luck!

Anonymous wrote:My kid eats:
PB&J
Pasta that he dips in hummus
Bacon
Yogurt with granola
Apples (2-4 per day)
Chicken nuggets
Raw baby spinach
Quesadilla
Cheese and crackers
Pizza
Cantaloupe
mango
cucumber slices
Muffins
Toaster waffles

That’s pretty much it. No burgers or hot dogs. No sandwiches.
No sauces on food. No dipping sauce except hummus.
Ped says he eats too many food for feeding therapy. We just let him eat from his rotation. On the bright side - he can and will eat the same thing every day. When we were home for the early pandemic, he ate PB&J, apple slices, and milk for lunch every day from mid-March until the end of June. 7 days a week. When he was 3 or 4, I made him Annie’s Mac and cheese every day for 6 months.

Hot dogs and hamburgers aren't that great for you. To me, his eating habits look pretty healthy.

Make sure to tell the pediatrician her stomach hurts, so she can be checked for constipation. If nothing can get out....then nothing can go in!

Anonymous wrote:Have you thought about letting her eat whatever she wants. Even if its 100 cookies everyday then she can have it.

Why? Not healthy at all. My kid now has a cholesterol problem at 12 and he is a picky eater. We have to limit his saturated fat intake.

Have you thought about letting her eat whatever she wants. Even if its 100 cookies everyday then she can have it.

I have a picky eater, so I sympathize. At least his rotation of foods includes some meat and vegetables. A few things here - my son will only eat ground meat - burgers, meatballs, taco meat, meatloaf, etc. He won’t eat it other ways.

Will she eat hummus? I used to get small pasta (stelline or pastina), add hummus, some pasta water, and a handful of shredded cheese, and he would eat that. It was creamy and easy to chew and had protein in it.

My sympathies. One of my kids (I have three) is like this.

You said she is growing appropriately height and weight, and ped is not concerned?

I’d serve what you like, keeping her likes/dislikes in mind but not the determining factor, and let it be. I make sure to serve one thing I know he will eat at meals (even If a side) and if that is all he eats, then whatever. It all balances out.

Probably not what you wanted to hear, but honestly, my son is like this and is growing well. Same build as his 2 close in age siblings (who eat twice as much as he does).

I completely understand your frustration but if the ped isn’t concerned (and she is growing well) I really would not worry about this. A healthy kid isn’t going to starve herself, and most kids gradually become less picky as they get older.

I noticed she eats/likes baked goods? Does she tolerate sweet breads? Zucchini bread, pumpkin bread, banana bread, etc? I find that a good way to get in vegetables and nuts for my meat-averse, vegetable-iffy kid. In no way a cure-all or getting to the bottom of any of your issues but just wanted to throw it out there in case it helps at all. Also, what are her thoughts on avocado and tofu for protein? Those are a couple I go with -- tofu can be good because it's tasteless, but also might be bad because I can see the texture being an issue for a picky child.

Anonymous wrote:Kids complain that they’re hungry when they eat junk because their body is hungry - for real food. That’s why fat people eating junk all day keep eating junk. Their body never thinks they’re full because there’s no nutrition.

In the summer, kids complain that they are hungry all day because they are bored. And they want junk because to them it tastes better than real food.