Mealtime & Food-Related
Contamination fears around food, rigid food rules, or rituals during meals.
My child won't eat unless the food is prepared in a specific way
Meals have become a minefield. Your child insists that their sandwich be cut in a certain shape, their food can't touch on the plate, vegetables must be arranged in a specific pattern, or the same brand of ingredient must be used every time. If anything is 'wrong,' they refuse to eat, melt down, or insist you remake it. What started as a small preference has grown into an elaborate set of rules that dominate mealtimes.
They inspect every bite of food for contamination before eating
Your child has turned eating into an investigation. They examine every piece of food closely — turning it over, sniffing it, looking for spots, hairs, discoloration, or anything 'off.' They may ask you repeatedly if the food is safe, demand to know exactly what's in it, or refuse to eat anything they didn't watch being prepared. Meals that should take 15 minutes stretch into an hour. They might spit food out mid-chew if something feels 'wrong.'
They need to eat foods in a specific order or the 'right' number of bites
Your child has developed rules about the sequence of eating: they must eat their vegetables first, then the protein, then the starch — or some other specific order. They might need to take exactly three bites of one thing before switching to another, or chew each bite a certain number of times. If interrupted or if they lose count, they may need to start over from the beginning. What looked like a quirky habit has become a rigid requirement.