Will my picky eater grow out of it?

This is the million-dollar question for most families where a picky eater is present! It is also where there are so many different answers depending on where you look for information.

No one has a crystal ball so it is impossible to know what will happen to a particular child but, there are definite clues that help us to make a fairly good prediction!

Extreme picky eating

Feeding specialists around the world seem to be settling on a common figure though, when it comes to the extreme end of picky eating. This would apply to approx 5–10% of all children (up to 1 in 10!!) These children are unlikely to grow out of their eating patterns without intervention.

I know from my work and speaking to parents on a daily basis just how many families have children who have very, very narrow diets and often disordered approaches to food.

Many well-meaning friends and relatives will advise you to leave things and believe children will grow out of it on their own (remember Uncle Mike as a child blah blah). And this may be the case. But …

Things to take into account with “wait and see”: