Is my fussy eater ‘weird’?

Before working with families, I always spend time talking to one or both parents about what is currently happening. We start by looking at what a child currently eats and what happens around food and feeding.

Frequently, parents are uncomfortable discussing some aspects of their child’s eating habits and can be concerned that they are unusual or ‘weird’.

However, although their child may not be eating like other competent eaters, what they are doing is quite common among fussy eaters.

The seemingly strange behaviour or unusual tastes are generally also logical when looked at through a picky eating lens.

The way your child behaves around food, or the choices they make, can also tell us a lot about how they are feeling around eating and even where there may be challenges.

Weird or not so weird things

I am rarely surprised when listening to parents describe their child’s eating eccentricities. In fact, things that parents find really odd and often concerning are frequently traits that are shared with many other children who find food challenging.

In this article, I wanted to go through a few of the strange but common practices (there are so many) that I see regularly to give you some perspective if these are happening in your…