Food Selectivity Action Plan

[MareeyaDolores]

Ok, been to the EABG conference today. One presenter described a 4 child trial of strategies to help fussy eaters. You use 3 foods, 1 new one and 2 they like. New food 12 mini-blobs per session, old ones 6 mini-blobs each. Total 24 mini-blobs. This is done just before a mealtime.

3 intensities of approach, they start with the easiest, and only move up if it doesn't work. I'm going to call the levels Bronze Silver Gold

15 min before meal, you present a plastic plate with a teeny-tiny 'target food' blob on, and leave it there for 5 seconds. Don't worry whether dc eats it or not, the magic is in just plonking it down. Repeat 24 times (always finish on a 'liked' food). This worked a treat on 1 or 2 of the dc.

Silver is the same, but add a reinforcer (praise?) for each bite

Gold is plonking it down + reinforcer + escape extinction (basically that if they scream, throw it, run away etc, you retrieve the dc / food / ignore shrieks and present it again. They still don't have to eat, but do have to cope with looking at it for the required 5 seconds. Repeat 24 times with the 24 mini-bites.

You keep this up, day after day, but all the dc cracked eventually and then you can move on to a slightly easier battle with the next target food.

Hi MareeyaDolores, this is something I am interested in trying. My DS is 4, is it recommended for all ages? Thank you for this, I will give it a try.

are the mini blobs like little pea-sized portions of the food?

tacal, they weren't 'recommending' for a certain age group, just describing what they'd done with these particular children to get some good results. It's probably suitable for any age I would guess (well, maybe not under 6 months )

Sorry OhYea, "mini blobs" are little pea-sized portions of the food, I was just too lazy to type the longer version out!

thank you, I will start trying this soon. I really need to start focusing on the eating side of things now I got most other things under control.

Everything surrounding the food tasting was kept completely neutral so there was nothing else going on. It was said once 'take a bite', and the child could do it or not. If they touched the food the time was extended a bit to give them another chance, but only by 5 more seconds, then it was removed.

Liked foods were mixed with non-liked. The only intervening required was ensuring the child accessed the thing. So they had to be kept at the table for the duration iyswim.

Once the child had eventually accepted one non-liked food, the time before they ate the next one, and the next ones reduced as they became less afraid and realised it wasn't all that bad after all iyswim.

I think it is once a day, or twice if you cba. And always 15mins before food.

And no other cajoling and encouragement. Put no value on them eating or not eating the food. Just say 'bite it' once and wait, then remove.

Sounds bloody mad I agree, but the results were amazing.

zzz, it's only 24 saucers, which leaves plenty of raisins and pringles for mum the next day

I don't think they specified if you have to have 12 new plates, or bring the same plate 12 times... though going by the dishwasher contents, the average snack in this house already must involve a dozen different plastic dishes

"mum, that plate had a raisin on it before,

aaah, no, you can't put a pringle on it now,
oh no, i can taste raisin on my pringle,
aaah, i hate you"

I expect the untouched food plates will just be recycled as is surely?

The others will get reused?

Apparently it is very important the the foods are presented randomly, so sometimes two unprefered items are offered in a row.

You could always contact the researcher in question

A charming woman of enormous integrity.

paper plates?

Honestly. If you'd seen the presentation you'd be wanting everyone to do it.

I think part of it is desensitisation to the food by seeing it and being able to smell it etc. the neutralising it from value (no, 'oh please, just try it, take one bite, it's good for you' rubbish) and the possible reinforcement of just eating the damn thing to make it go away faster.

It was interesting that the parents were able to do it as very easy for us all to get into huge emotional knots about food (not in my own family it has to be said as we are all very greedy. The issue is not so much getting people to eat but rather, ensuring thr buggers don't scarf the lot.)

'torturing ds with food blobs'

Call it a mezze