“The development of feeding skills is essential to a child’s physical, cognitive, and emotional growth. Children begin acquiring feeding skills as infants and gradually progress to have adult-like skills by the age of three. In these critical first three years of life, children learn to manage a variety of textures, starting with liquids and then advancing to purees and solids. They become increasingly skilled at using utensils and eventually become independent self-feeders.

Many children can be described as “picky eaters” in these early years, but when is it more than just being picky? A feeding disorder can manifest in a variety of ways. For instance, some children have an extremely restricted repertoire of ingested foods. Others do not consume enough volume to maintain a healthy weight. Still others may not be able to progress to age-appropriate textures. Whatever the feeding-related problem, the situation can be extremely stressful for both children and their families.”

Below is a list of feeding milestones. Is your child meeting those milestones? If not there is help available.

Feeding Developmental Milestones
Birth to 4-6 Months Nipple Feeding (breast or bottle) Hand on bottle during feeding (4-6 months) Parent-Infact interaction 6-9 Months   Spoon feeding for thin puree Suckle Pattern Both hands hold the bottle Finger Feeding introduced Vertical munching of dissolvable solids 9-12 Months   Cup drinking Eats lumpy & mashed food Finger Feeding for dissolvable solids Chewing & rotary jaw actions		12-18 Months Self –Feeding: Grasps spoon Holds cup with 2 hands Drinking with 4-5 consecutive swallows Holds and tips bottle 18-24 Months   Swallows with lips together Self-Feeding is predominate Chewing a wide range of foods Tongue movements become more precise 24-36 Months   Circulatory jaw rotations Total Self-Feeding using fork Chewing with lips closed One handed cup holding

If you have questions or concerns about your picky eater, talk your your childs Ocupational Therapist or contact Children’s Hospital of Richmond .

Information provided by Chatter Boxes.