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 :(

There's a book called My Child Won't Eat by Carlos Gonzalez, i really recommend it

When I was a similar age I was really fussy about what I ate. It was bacon sandwiches, ham and mashed potato, toast with dairylea, and that's about it.
I'm now an overweight 50+ yo who will eat anything (except baked beans).

It was peer pressure that made me start eating. I started to get embarrassed at friends' houses when I wouldn't eat anything their parents cooked for me. That and school dinners - there was no choice in those days.

If she's a decent weight, I wouldn't make a thing of it. It makes it worse. She will know she's being silly, and she'll wish she could just eat the stuff everyone else does. And one day, when you're not there, she will.

There is some variety to that diet, even if she does just eat cucumber, grapes and apples there is good food in there.

I would look at trying to introduce 1 similarly textured item at a time, very low key, just placed on the plate and no fuss. If she eats it give praise, but no negative attention.

• Sliced pear has a similar texture, look and feel as apple
• Maybe melon as an alternative to cucumber, it's sweet, juicy and similar texture.
• Cherries with grapes.

Would she try quinoa instead of pasta, it's a very bland grain by itself, if she likes bland stodgy foods it might work.

Gnocchi is potato based so a possibility.

OP I was VERY similar to your DD as a kid (same as Lollypalooza) and now eat a really wide range of food. I still have some texture issues but honestly unless you watched me eat home cooked food or watched me cook for myself you probably wouldnt notice.
We had many dinnertable battles over my eating, but what most put me off trying anything new at home was that it was made to be a BIG DEAL every time so for example:
Parent badgers me into trying new food. I eventually try a small piece (Parent moans 'oh for gods sake try more than that you cant taste it' and i have to sit there and think about it, or chop it up smaller, or mash it (parent complains that im messing about) i then try it and dont like it (parent says im 'just saying that' or that i just havnt tried enough of it) or I do like it (Parent gloats loudly and then refers back to it when forcing me to try new foods in future)
So when I went to uni and my flatmate is cooking something good and offers me a spoonful - if i say no, they dont make a big deal out of it!! Amazing. So when they offer me something that looks okay texture-wise, I try it, and its good. And they dont make a big deal! I even try stuff and dont like it and its not a big deal! Whole world opened up for me.
I still hate veg. But I eat it because my digeestion and skin and sleep are better when I do. I just chop it up crazy small (and in private have blended it then chugged it back a few times)
She'll get there. You're doing a great job, just be patient.

This book is excellent on how and why we eat the way we do and the is a very good chapter about eating and when people struggle with foods for whatever reason. It might be useful.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/First-Bite-How-Learn-Eat/dp/0007549725/ref=sr11_2?crid=10EUXKN4A8LT7&keywords=how+we+eat&qid=1570477129&sprefix=How+we+eat%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-2

My DS1 is very very fussy. He has ASD and sensory issues which are part of it, but also lots of anxiety and a need for control.

Changing brands or hiding veg just freaks him out and he will then refuse to eat whatever it was that he previously ate because the predictability is gone.

The only thing that works for him is no pressure at all, chats about vitamins and cells and bodies (he likes science so that helps), and I put a teeny tiny bit of something new in a ramekin every mealtime, he gets 10p extra pocket money if he tries it, but no pressure, I don't even mention it's there. Doing this he's tried and liked custard, chickpeas and pesto this year.

I dont think in the context of what we all ate growing up its too bad-its jjust comparing it to 'todays kids'&the huge range of foods we have available at all times is insane.My DS was fussy about texture from about3y/o&next to DD looked like a real 'problem eater' but i put myself in his shoes
&realised he just had really clear preferences from an early age(as my Ex P had)..i gave him chewable calcium/vitD,amultivitamin&a decent dose of cod oil..hes still super fussy&OTT mid-teens(compared to DD&myself)but is6' very fit&studies hard so tbh i dont care..he has eaten this way since he was3..

My eldest (6) is the same. Plain pasta, plain rice, toast with butter, cereal, fruit, chicken nuggets and not much else. No potato unless it comes from McDs. She takes a multivitamin plus a calcium supplement every day. Fruit juice every morning, smoothie in her packed lunch (I don't give a toss about the sugar tbh) and she knows she has to have a glass of milk at dinner time. She eats fruit but is fussy so it has to be very fresh/firm/cold/whatever. She'll eat cereal but knows she is only allowed the healthier, wholegrain ones. She has a lot of control over her food but she understands that we also have to keep her healthy. I was exactly the same which helps. I grew out of it slowly so we're just letting her develop her taste buds. She has started to eat french toast which was a big win! We don't force or bribe her as there is no point. We give her enough of what she needs to keep her weight up and she's healthy if a little on the small side.

My younger two children eat everything!

(Professional here) She sounds like she has a sensory feeding disorder - there's loads of resources out there. You need to start rIght from the beginning and work extremely slowly. Jumping straight into a strawberry plus money isn't the best way tbh!

You could ask for a referral to a speech and language therapist for a sensory feeding assessment; dietician and psychology in case the aversion is related to the need to control rather than sensory.

I would look up arfid, Ds has it but he is an extreme case and is now tube fed.

From your post it sounds like actually in terms of food groups and nutrients she isn’t doing too badly and there is quite a mix of foods and textures in there which is good.

For now I would back off trying anything new or altering anything. Take away that pressure. Then when she is settled and happy then you can start thinking about gradually adding new things in. No pressure. Not on the same plate as safe foods, or even necessarily at meal times.

Sounds like DD1 4y8m.

She will eat:
Trout
Chips
Banana
Most cereals
Often, sausages or meatballs
Sometimes, toast or apple

She has recently refused all ham, sausage rolls, pasta with hidden veg sauce, all cheese.

She will not eat any veg. At all.

I don't know what to do.

If she's healthy and has energy, concentration and not too underweight don't worry. She may just grow out of it