Food Phobias?

[OBXMom]

Are any of your children desperately afraid of trying new foods? Before he was diagnosed with celiac disease, we thought my 8 year old son was just the world's pickiest eater, but now we understand that he was in great pain all the time, and that his fears are the result of that pain. However, I am concerned now that his fears are so deeply entrenched that they may never go away. I would love to hear about other celiac children with similar fears, and any successful or unsuccessful attempts to deal with these fears.

[gfgypsyqueen]

I have an extrememly picky almost 8 yr old who was diagnosed with severe peanut and tree nut allergies at age 2. She is smart. She tells teachers, family, friends etc that she can't eat (blank) because it contains nuts. They assume she is correct, so she gets out of eating that food. In reality she just doesn't like whatever they were serving (mayo, potato, most meats, and the list goes on and on.) It took a solid 5 yrs to see a change in her attitude toward trying new foods. Now she gets an adventursome day and she will try a couple of new foods. But mostly, she sticks to the foods she knows and likes. Even when she does try a new food, most times she makes a horrible face and says it is awful for the first few times she eats it. Her best incentive for trying new foods is her bottomless pit of a little sister. Must keep up with the younger sister

I have Celiacs and so does the younger child. I can say, I would prefer a picky eater when it comes to food allergies and Celiacs. The younger child will try anything - food or not. UGH! Everything gets tasted!!!

I can tell you what didn't work for us easier than I can tell you what did work. (That's a smaller list)We talk about food, nutrition, and what food groups are required for a healthy meal. (She doesn't always eat it, but we talk about it.)

• Make sure the child has comfort foods to eat when he has been glutened. Don't bother trying to get him to eat something new then.
  Do not try to force him to eat. My kids just dig in their heals and refuse.
  Get him involved in the cooking and purchasing of foods. (What he thinks is good will be different than what you think.)
  Make sure school lunch is cool and the safe snack box at school is full of stuff the other kids will really want and beg for.
  Offer tastes of everything.
  Insist that at least one bite of everything on the plate is tasted in order to get dessert. (That only worked in the last year for us)
  Once he heals a bit, insist that there is no food and little drink at least two hours before dinner.
  

Good luck with your picky eater. It has been a long battle for us. But we are finally starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel!!!

BTW, my own opinion is that some kids are sensitive to their bodies without knowing it and may have foods that they do not like because they make them feel bad or funny. For both of mine, we found additional food allergies/sensitivites through this.

[dandelionmom]

The first poster has some great advice! I just wanted to say that you're not alone struggling with this. We're just focussing on getting healthy, safe foods into her and we're hoping she'll outgrow the pickiness. She has to some extent already and has added to her list of okay foods.

We're just trying to stay patient and not put food stress on her because us pushing or stressing about food seems to make her worse. I keep telling myself that she'll try new things when she's ready.

[NewGFMom]

My son digs in his heels and will not try anything new most of the time. But he is very slowly adding things into his diet. He helps me cook all the time and has NO interest whatsoever in trying anything that we make.

But sometimes he surprises me with what he'll try.

However, his picky eating is really a blessing in a lot of ways. He never wants to eat what the other kids are eating. He's very happy to stick to his very short list of foods.

But as he heals, he adds about one new food every month or two. It just takes a really long time. The nutritionist we saw, wasn't too concerned with the nutritional issues with his diet. It's just kind of inconvenient when we travel.

Just want to let you know you're not alone. A lot of celiac kids don't like to eat a variety of foods. But in a lot of ways, that makes managing it a bit easier.

[OBXMom]

Thank you all for the suggestions and for the encouragement. I had not really considered that it is truly a blessing that my son is not tempted to try things that will hurt him. It is a very good thing to keep in mind.

Hoping all of our little ones someday enjoy a wide range of healthy foods-

Jane