Almost 5 year olds diet is worrying me!

[wildmushrooms]

My DDs diet is becoming more and more restricted and I am becoming very worried about her not getting what she needs vitamin wise.

All she will eat is

Mashed potato
Plain pasta
Plain rice
Occasionally plain porridge
Bananas
Baby fruit pouches (will not eat fruit normally)
Drinks whole milk
Yeo valley organic flavoured yogurt but the same type every time
Crisps and everything chocolate

I baby led weaned her and she ate a variety of healthy balanced foods until she was about 2.5 years old and it has gradually become worse. She is waiting to be assessed for ASD so that might have something to do with it. She is also scared to choke on food and seems to have difficulty swallowing it but with no medical reason for this. She also hates any food on her hands or clothes.

Will she be okay? I am a lover of healthy food and this was not what I expected or have experience dealing with.

My daughter was exactly like this, it has gotten much better as she's got older but in the meantime I used to blend veggies/fruits and incorporate them that way. Would she drink a smoothie or something like that ? It's really hard and we ended up having to give dd iron tablets x

This is common in the autistic community. Might be worth starting here for info www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-guidance/topics/behaviour/eating/all-audiences

Find if there is a local support group for parents of autistic children and go along to get support from others who have faced similar challenges. It will help you as you navigate childhood.

Also read up on ARFID

www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/get-information-and-support/about-eating-disorders/types/arfid/

@Barryplopper thank you for replying! She won't eat any sauces so I can't blend any veggies in to a sauce, she won't even eat cheese sauce. She will drink the occasional smoothie, as long as it has no bits at all and tastes exactly how she wants it! I can get her to drink the brand innocent smoothies sometimes.

Maybe I will look in to an iron supplement, that's a good idea.

I suggest speaking to your GP about whether adding protein powder of some form would be appropriate/possible as her diet seems to contain no protein at all apart from in milk or yoghurt.

I also agree with investigating ARFID.

DD has been through phases of eating like this over the years, she usually comes out of it after a few weeks, the approach we've always taken is that she gets the thing she wants and 1 other thing on the plate that she has to at least eat some of. We choose something we know she does like and wherever possible give her the job of plating up so she has control of how much goes on her plate and is involved in the process of making the food.

So if she's asking for just plain pasta she will have some sweetcorn or green beans on the side.

It doesn't give a full range of all the foods I'd like her to be eating during these phases but it doesn't give give a slightly broader range and encourages her to come out of the habit of eating the same thing day in day out.

DD has always been very routine driven, I am too and we find it easy to fall into habits that become comfortable and require no real thought.

seems to have difficulty swallowing it but with no medical reason for this
Have you had this checked with a GP or ENT?

And I'm sure you probably do already but get her involved with food. I do a lot of 'Here hold this corn on the cob/potato/squash while I get a pan out...' so it's introducing the food without the expectation of eating it, getting used to seeing and handling different food with a degree of separation.
And choices. I stick a plate of veg, fruit, ham whatever on the table alongside whatever main we're having and let them add to their plate if they choose or just look touch feel lick if they want to. When I started my little one ate like yours, but now they'll explore what's on the plate and sometimes try a bit. Now they eat cucumber (not the skin, only the middle) and water melon (but they'll pick the individual seeds out with their spoon or fork), and they've tried a lot more.

Small steps I think seems to be working for us atm, removing all pressure or expectation.

@HundredPercentUnsure yes she has been checked, this comes from a fear of choking on the food, she constantly asks me if she has chewed her food enough to swallow it.

Usually my kids are served whatever I fancy cooking, if they won't eat it they can wait till next meal or have some fruit. But they're not autistic so if your daughter is this approach probably won't help.

I read somewhere that you can't control what your kid eats, only what you give them. So, as long as you serve your daughter a range of healthy foods, you shouldn't feel guilty. You can't forcefeed her the healthy stuff.

I also read a recommandation to try and serve small portions of a variety of foods at each meal. Small portions makes it less daunting and a range makes it more likely they'll find something they do like.

Read the links posted above even google ARFID or children’s eating with Autism. Some of the advice you may get here may not be appropriate for a possibly autistic child. It’s not that simple.

I have one like this! He also won’t eat anything in a sauce, which is so hard, isn’t it? Especially if you like to cook. He also has ASD. We are lucky that although he has a very limited diet, he does eat from all the main food groups - so although it’s fish fingers and chicken goujons and sausages, at least he eats protein.

Things that have worked for us include offering food slightly outside of mealtimes, eg when I’m prepping or cooking, in a totally non-committal way if he happens to be in the room - “want to try a bit? Ok, no worries”. I have to be totally and visibly uninterested in the outcome as he has a strong demand-avoidant streak. I also second the recommendation of a plate of something for them to help themselves to, eg chopped veg or what we call a “fruit plate”, where people can take a bit of whatever they like the look of. Although it doesn’t have to be virtuous as I also got my DC into garlic bread this way 😂

The main thing is to keep the emotion out of it for you and dial back her anxieties (which is so much easier said than done). That’s what worked for us - any form of pressure to try or eat a new/previously rejected food would ramp everything up, which my family don’t really understand. My DC also has form for suddenly going off something he’s eaten happily for years - we have a rule that this is ok but he has to add something back onto the list, perhaps something new or something he’s willing to try again after a break.

Good luck - it can be soul-destroying.

Oh, and we also do vitamin supplements, including iron - we use the ones that are jellies. Some of the iron ones don’t taste great but his desire not to eat most red meat and/or have blood tests is higher than his dislike of them…

As a child I was incredibly food resistant, at one point I was down to cucumber, pot noodles, cereal and chicken nuggets. Now I eat everything (literally) execpt olives. Dunno when it changed, but my mum likes to remind me of having to get special permission to take pot noodles to school whenever I moan about my kids diet!
deffo get some medical advise but it may just be fussy.

Sounds like AFRID.

Ask your GP for a referal to a paedatric deititian. Make sure she is getting vitamins which include iron either liquid ones to hide in her yoghurt or the gummie sweets.

Also ask for a referal to speach and language therapy so they can assess her swallow.

One of mine is very fussy, and goes through absolute nightmare phases. Like your DD, she started off very well and ate everything, and then she just hit a wall. At one point all she would eat was rice cakes, raisins, and uncooked mozzarella. It is really stressful.

You've probably heard all this before, but just in case:

• eat family style, i.e. foods are in serving dishes on the table and everyone gets to choose what they have. Make sure you're happy with the healthiness of everything, or if you want to restrict amounts, then just put a bit out in the 'communal' area and refill if necessary.
• always have a 'safe' food on the table, so she can always eat something even if she's not feeling very brave re. new foods.
• give her a 'no thank you' plate/bowl, so she can get rid of something she finds objectionable. This was a major source of stress for my DD until I understood it - if I plated up for her and then she was brave enough to try something but didn't like it, she was really distressed by it still being on her plate.

I think the pouches are something you could capitalise on - you can buy reusable/refillable pouches on Amazon etc, could you get some of those and make your own? You might be able to sneak some protein powder, veggies etc in that way.

Try anything you can adapt to get more nutrients in - e.g. you can buy protein fortified pasta, I think with lentil flour etc.

Could you use the things she does like as a starting point to explore more textures etc - for example, if she likes bananas would she try dried banana chips? Or banana bread? Then you could bake banana bread with other things in to add nutrients that way.

Absolute best of luck. I know it's really hard!

I would look into Arfid.

There is a good Instagram account called MyArfidLife, that features a little girl with Arfid talking about her journey and trying new foods. This is possibly something to watch together and prompt discussion. This girl also has a big fear of choking.

Offer her a range of "picky bits" - mostly stuff she likes (including small amounts of chocolate/crisps) with a couple of foods she doesn't normally eat (make sure they're not touching - a partitioned plate might help). Whatever you do, please don't use the chocolate/crisps as a reward/treat.

Thank you so much for all your replies, they are so helpful.

I was worried about ARFID, but it is hard to tell the difference between her just being a fussy eater and having ARFID. The problem for me was her concern about choking on the food and she also worries all the time about being/feeling sick which all seems to tie in with ARFID.

I just feel she's so young to have these worries around food, a child so young shouldn't be worrying about choking or being sick.

@NuffSaidSam thank you, i have followed them on instagram now.

My 5yo son has autism. He eats:

Bread based products
Milk, cheese, yoghurt,
Chips or potato waffles
Plain rice
Baked beans, peas or sweetcorn
Innocent smoothies
Occasionally peanut butter sandwiches
Cake, chocolate, sweets, crisps.
Sugary cereals, occasionally porridge.

So it actually looks really similar to your DD's. We had a dietician appointment last September and she checked his height and weight and said because he's growing well she wasn't too worried. She did recommend a multivitamin and additional iron supplement, which we were already giving him.

I wouldn't usually incentivise eating but because his diet is so restricted I always insist on 1 vegetable portion and a smoothie at dinner time before he gets his pudding. It's now part of his routine and he expects it so it means he gets at least 2 of his 5 a day. I know this wouldn't work for all autistic children but it works for us.