1. Difficulties With Eating
Children are notoriously poor eaters. They pick at their food, they're happy to eat the same thing for days on end and it is quite common for children to avoid entire food groups. But if your child is suffering from a feeding disorder, his symptoms will go well beyond this. He may insist on eating only foods that are a certain color or texture. Some children refuse to eat altogether. Your child may struggle with the actual eating process, gagging or choking on food, swallowing and chewing poorly and sometimes vomiting.
Mealtime with a child who has a feeding disorder can be quite unpleasant. Your child may turn away when you offer food, cry excessively, throw food, spit it out or even force himself to vomit. If your child is exhibiting any of these extreme mealtime behaviors, it is possible that he is suffering from a feeding disorder.
To be diagnosed with a feeding disorder, your child must suffer from malnourishment that is not caused by medical condition such as cleft palate or congenital heart disease. A feeding disorder can be the result of a prior medical condition that made eating unpleasant. For example, if your baby had to be fed through tubes, he may continue to feel that eating is unpleasant, even after the tubes are removed. Children with food allergies can also develop a feeding disorder. If your child has celiac disease, a condition in which the body cannot digest gluten, eating can result in discomfort. This is another example of a condition that can lead to negative associations with eating.
2. Failure to Thrive
A child who is not eating properly will likely not grow well either. Doctors track your child's growth progress at every checkup. A sudden drop in weight or low weight for your child's age can be cause for concern. You might notice on your own that your child seems small for his age or doesn't seem to be growing much. Your doctor can help you determine whether your child's small stature is a result of a feeding disorder. Your doctor will probably check your child further to determine whether there are signs of dehydration, malnutrition or vitamin deficiencies, additional signs that your child is not getting adequate nutrition.
Failure to thrive can be a result of your child's refusal to eat. It is also commonly associated with poverty, child abuse or neglect, a poor child/caregiver relationship and parental misinformation about a child's nutritional needs.
3. Behavioral Issues
It is not surprising that children who experience feeding disorders are often quite irritable. Inadequate nutrition leaves the body constantly hungry, and this in turn can result in behavioral changes. In addition to the negative behaviors at mealtime such as tantrums and screaming, children may cry a lot in general or show signs of apathy. You might notice that your child seems unusually tired or lethargic. These behaviors, in combination with a failure to thrive and difficulty at mealtime, can point to feeding disorders.
