Why did my Picky Eater Stop Eating their Favorite Food?
Everything you need to know about Food Jags: What they are, how to prevent them, and if your little honey is in one, how to turn it around
Mario eats apple cinnamon oatmeal every day for breakfast. Sometimes, he eats it for lunch and dinner too. It’s warm, it’s filling, it’s sweet, and it makes his momma happy - that despite the repetition - he’s getting some healthy nutrients from those oats.
Unfortunately, this oatmeal is only 1 of 20 foods that Mario eats, and 1 of a few that is not classified as crackers, chips, or cookies. What’s more? His mom is terrified he’s going to stop eating it - the way he stopped eating his favorite hashbrown patties, and before that, his favorite hot dogs.
Mario and his momma, like many families I work with, struggle with food jags.
A food jag occurs when a child eats a favorite food regularly until, essentially, they burn out on it, and stop eating it entirely. It’s an all too common problem for kids with feeding challenges. For that reason, we are going to talk all things food jags today: why they happen, how to prevent them, and what to do if your kiddo is in one.
Why is my Child having Food Jags?
Food jags can occur for a variety of reasons. Here are a few common reasons I see in my practice:
If your child is anxious or fearful of trying new things, eating 1 or a few foods over and over provides some safety and familiarity for your honey.
If your child craves routines and predictability in their day to day, eating the same food again and again is just another source of that consistency they seek.
If your child suffers from reflux or GI issues, your child may be glued to their favorite food because they know it is easy on their tummy or doesn’t cause them to feel less than their best after eating it.
How can I Stop Food Jags before they Start?
As always, start by working with your child’s pediatrician or feeding team to rule out medical concerns or other factors that may be contributing to your child’s selective eating.
Next, consider these 3 tips for preventing food jags:
1) Rotate, rotate, rotate!
Try to rotate your child’s favorite foods across the day or week so that no one food is presented at every meal, and if possible, not even every day. If you are presenting your child’s favorite food every day at breakfast, like Mario’s momma, shake it up, and start presenting that food some days for breakfast and other days at another mealtime.
Pro Tip: Creating a master list including all of your child’s favorite foods will really help you with rotating foods across meals and having ideas for what to present that your honey will actually eat.
2) Ch-ch-ch-changes
Change up the food your child is food jagging on to support variety - and move a baby-step away from sameness. This could look like using a different noodle shape, adding a sprinkle of chia seeds to their yogurt, slicing their strawberries in a different direction, or offering a different brand of their favorite food.
Pro Tip: For a kid-friendly worksheet including multiple not-so-scary food changes you can try - with your child’s input, hop over here.
3) Present Foods on a Plate or Bowl, NOT in their Packaging
It’s all too easy for kids to get stuck on a BRAND. Be it the brand of cereal, yogurt, or other packaged food, the best way to curb this problem is to avoid having your child stare that happy branding in the eye. Instead, try to serve crackers, nuts, string cheese, yogurt, fruit pouches, any and everything that comes in a bag, box, or single-serving option, out of the package and on the plate.
Bonus Tip: Give your Child a Heads-Up
Ok, now that you have 3 handy ways to prevent food jags, you might be wondering what to do if you are already in the midst of one. Like, how does Mario’s momma go from oatmeal at every breakfast to once every other day, for example? You might be imagining a bad day at Mario’s house, when momma pulls out waffles at breakfast.
For you, I have a bonus tip.
If you are trying to transition your child from eating 1 food multiple times per day, you might develop a simple story (in which, your child is the star) to prepare them for the change, and help them understand how things are going to work moving forward. For Mario, his mother could write a brief story that explains that oatmeal will not be at breakfast every day, but that sometimes it will, and there will always be yummy options he likes.
Example of a social story for Mario:
Mario likes to eat apple cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast. His breakfast is nutritious and makes his body strong. Other foods that Mario likes are nutritious, too, and give his body other things it needs to feel good and grow. To help Mario eat lots of the great things that fuel his body, momma is going to give him 2 choices everyday for breakfast. Sometimes, apple cinnamon oatmeal will be a choice and sometimes it will not. Momma will make sure that Mario’s choices always include things he likes. This will help Mario eat foods that give him energy to do the things he loves like ride his bike and fly kites with his brother.
If Mario’s momma wants to make it visual, she can draw pictures to go along with this story to help bring it to life. She can read this to Mario the night before she starts the change as well as the morning of. She can continue to read the story as often as Mario likes or once daily until he has the new routine down.
Pro Tip: If you’d like more inspo on how to offer choices (that your child will actually select from), check out this post.
Related Readings Around the Web:
Check out this resource for more on how to use social stories to help your child with new routines
Food jags are a common problem among kids with feeding challenges. They can occur for a variety of different reasons - and may even be tied to an underlying medical problem. Start a conversation with your child’s pediatrician if you have concerns about food jags for your child. You can also consider the strategies shared here for how to prevent food jags. If your honey is already on a jag, make a plan for how you are going to add even a little variety back into your child’s diet, and consider using a story to introduce the new way of doing things to your child.
Does your kiddo have food jags? What foods have they been stuck on? Write me a comment to let me know.
This is not medical advice and is provided for educational purposes. As I describe here, a thorough assessment by a team of professionals before making mealtime changes is best practice.
