DD hardly eats anything.

[FoodWoes]

She is 10 and has been like this as long as I can remember.
I have other children who have totally normal eating habits.

At first I thought it was a phase of fussy eating but it's continued on for years.

I'm worried after reading about that young boy who lost his sight.

School are now involved as she hardly eats at school, I have been advised to put her back on packed lunches but she doesn't eat more.

She likes pizza. Homemade pitta bread pizza is her fave. The sauce is usually just garlic tomato puree.
Today I made a tomato sauce with veg in, pureed to hide them.
She knew immediately it wasn't her 'normal' pizza.
She's eaten a few bites.
Now she's upset because it tastes funny.

Things she eats:

Potatos and potato products, mash, roast spuds, chips, potato shapes,
crisps.

Cheese or Pepperoni pizza.

Cheese and crackers.

Cereal.

Junk food such as chicken nuggets, Mcdonalds (we don't eat that often though at all)

She will eat anything chocolate. Donuts. Anything sugary.

She LOVES to bake.

Veg : None. At all.
Salad : She will eat cucumber.
Fruit. Apples and grapes.

Plain rice and pasta.

If I make bolognese for example she will have plain pasta. Cheese. Garlic bread. All seperate. They cannot touch.

Im so fed up of it.

My other kids eat everything. I just don't understand.

It's almost like she has a reaction to the texture.

Even when she's eating something she likes she will occasionally spit a mouthful out because it 'tastes weird'.

She has a gummy vitamin everyday.

I don't know if I should take her to the GP? Or will that just make it worse and draw more attention to the issue?

I'm terrified it will develop into a teenage eating disorder :(

Will she take a multi vitamin ?

She has a multivitamin daily.

Following because DS7 is similar. He seems to have a list of safe foods and is “scared” to try anything else. It seems to be a sensory thing with him, for example he gags and vomits on chicken but will eat chicken chipolatas. He gags and refuses spaghetti bolognese but will eat spaghetti and meatballs with tomato sauce.
He eats most fruit and a few more veg than your daughter (veg- carrots raw and cooked, raw red pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, baked beans.
Because his diet is balanced (if very boring!) and he’s a healthy height and weight (if on the skinny side) I haven’t worried about it, but maybe I should. I only have one so it’s very easy to cater to him but it might not be doing him any good. There’s only so many times I can cope with vomit at mealtimes though.

I had to have Haliborange as a kid because I couldn't 'do' the texture of most vegetables, but what I wasn't also getting was enough minerals, so give her a multi mineral as well.

Can you go to the GP about this without her in the first instance?

The kids are all having strawberries after tea and I said if she tries one I will put £5 in her piggy bank.

She's been sat here 5 mins trying to work up the courage to bite it.

She likes strawberry in other stuff. :(

Does this sound like your daughter?

www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/types/other-feeding-disorders/arfid

The range of food she eats doesn’t seem that bad. I have a fussy 8yo girl who doesn’t eat the range of foods that your DD does (I’m trying to figure out if I need to pursue an ASD assessment because she ticks a few boxes).

The issue seems to be the quantity? Such as not eating at school - presumably she refused school dinners. Do you put “safe” foods in her packed lunches and she still doesn’t eat them?

Is she underweight?

Sounds like my DD. Texture is her issue. Tricking your DD by changing the sauce without telling her will only make her eat fewer foods. If you're able to get a multivitamin into her, then you're doing better than me already. What's worked for us is letting DD eat the food she likes (so long as it's vaguely healthy - DD would happily live on brownies, but doesn't get the opportunity to), and letting her try new foods at her own pace. Plus taking the pressure off. My DD would happily eat the same meal every day, which I would find beyond tedious, but it makes her feel safe, so we go with it. If your DD is having some fruit/veg each day and a multivitamin, she won't go blind. It is disordered eating, but my DD is a healthy weight and height, so we're trying not to get worried about it.

This sounds a bit like me when I was around 10. I was skinny, very picky (very similar foods you mention above) and didn’t like food touching. I can still remember many times gagging at the dinner table being forced to eat broccoli etc, my mum “disguising” foods as something else and me knowing instantly.
I put weight on when I hit puberty.
I’m now 34, a normal weight and eat a normal vegetarian diet- I like and eat all vegetables, raw or cooked; avocado, spinach, green beans, everything. I still don’t really like fruit, I will eat pears, strawberris, watermelon if I really have to. I don’t really like sauces- pasta sauce, curries, casserole etc, and prefer dry food that doesn’t touch. I can cope in restaurants and social situations now in a way I couldn’t when I was 10. If left to my own devices I’d have grated cheese on plain pasta, plain toast or chips every night. I don’t drink milk, I do like cheese and eggs.
My advice would be to not enter into any battles. As I say, I can still remember battles, tears and gagging at the dinner table over 20 years later, is that the memories you want your DD to have of meal times. Make her, or let her make, her usual things she likes. Add a few extras here a there- she’ll have cucumber so add carrot sticks, pepper strips etc, but no pressure, just available. Does she eat eggs? You say she likes baking, could you try out some vegetable recipes together like carrot cake, zucchini (courgette) muffins, brownies with beetroot or avocado? Does she eat nuts?

FoodWoes £5 to eat a strawberry and five minutes sitting working up the courage? Too much pressure. Is it really worth it. Just keep the things available, serve up the strawberries to the others each day, no pressure for her to have to try, just make it a normal part of the meal, one day maybe she’ll try, maybe she won’t.

This sounds like my DS who's 6. The list of foods is very similar. I wish I knew what the answer was. My boy is very skinny - 5th percentile. Intuitively I know I can't make a battle out of it but I still worry. I feel like I'm passively waiting for things to improve and always worrying they never will.

My DD went through various stages of liking or disliking certain foods but overall she ate a very healthy diet. It was all pretty random why she would suddenly stop liking something and she would try new things with other children (for example, kiwi fruit when she was 5 or 6 at after school club despite me offering it at home on numerous occasions).
Would your DD enjoy going shopping for food at a nice farm shop where she is allowed to choose only vegetables and fruit? Or even at the supermarket? Would she join a cookery class? I wonder if getting more involved with choosing and preparing might help her try more of a variety especially for vegetables.
What about vegetable based smoothies - you can get mixed bags at the supermarket or make your own. Or try vegetable juices (fresh, not from concentrate, there are some interesting mixes available).

She sounds almost identical to what my dd1 was like. Different food groups but same issue. And people blamed me.

I was coming on to mention ARFID but I see that someone else has already mentioned it. There is no easy answer, and don't listen to anybody who says "Have you tried....?" or "Just give her what you are having, when she's hungry she will eat it" or any other equally stupid suggestions - they don't work and you already know they don't work.

It does get better in the end, but it is a long haul. It took three years to get my dd to eat fish fingers, for instance.

She is now 20 and much better, but has still never eaten (and will not touch) egg, baked beans, soup, bananas, any kind of pasta, tomatoes, noodles, sweetcorn or a whole host of other things. But she is fit and healthy, and eats a balanced diet. She will now steel herself to try new foods, but not often.

The best advice I can give is to back off, stop worrying, take the pressure off, let her eat what she wants (within reason obviously!) and carry on with the multivitamins.

In case thid reassures you, I was the same. I hated bread, rice, anything mixed or touching, all meat, most veg.
I liked baked beans, potato, fish, peas, cheese, fruit.
I dreaded mealtimes.
Now I eat most things. I have always been really healthy and carried 3 healthy children. I am now a little overweight at age 36 for the first time in my life.

Lolly is was suggested din a light hearted way, like a YouTube challenge. She was laughing but couldn't go through.

Believe me there was no pressure.

You have just described my DD who is 12. It frightens me as well

I think the young guy that lost his sight is a very unusual case, so I wouldn't worry about that being a possibility.

Ds is 15 and has recently been diagnosed with autism, he too has eating issues. The gp did a referral last week to a dietician (after a phone appointment with me) but I'm not sure if his referral will be accepted.

I would go and see your GP and ask for a referral to a dietician for support if you are really concerned about her diet and the potential impact on her health.
Dietician to check if she is getting what she needs (the fact she is taking a mulitvitamins is great!)
But I suspect there might a need for another professional (MH?) to help her get over her issue around food IF it is necessary

Btw the young guy who lost his sight also refused vitamins etc.... Your dd isnt in that case.

DS has by now about 10 things he eats. And it is important to him that every food always reliably tastes the same.
So dry potatoes, dry rice, dry fries. No sauces. Fried chicken no spices. Bought biscuits one brand, raw carrots and iceberg salad without vinaigrette. Drinks only tap water. He is 17 and is on the spectrum. He is also very healthy and never missed school.

I don't think she is on the spectrum. There are no other issues that would lead me to come to that conclusion.

It just seems to be food anxiety. With some generalised anxiety too.

I think the range of food is ok. You’ve got some fruit and protein.

I have the same issue with DD8. Similar foods to those mentioned in the original post and they can't touch. I find it stressful but my DB was the same as a child and I remember all the mealtime battles, so I try not to make too much fuss. DD is healthy weight for her size but she is small for her age which I worry about. Her restrictive diet also leads to constipation issues and I'm currently trying to manage that before I think about going back to the gp with her food issues. You have my sympathy. It's difficult to know what to do for the best.

I know quite a few kids like this .. they are all a healthy weight but just a very limited diet .