CLINICS THAT CARE
WMU’s finicky feeders protocol The clinic’s clients—generally between 2 and 14 years old—are challenged to consume non-preferred foods through a methodical step-by-step process developed by Suarez. The strategy includes positive reinforcement, systematic desensitization, use of visual cues and what clinicians call a “just-right challenge.” WMU researchers are currently studying the effectiveness of the protocol with a grant from Blue Cross Blue Shield. Other key aspects of the treatment include what parents are expected to do. “We teach the families how to recognize how their children are feeling, how to read their child’s cues, how to provide them with an appropriate challenge, how to set expectations, how to require the child to meet that challenge and how to reinforce the child’s success,” Suarez says. To graduate from the treatment program, one of the criterion is that the child be able to take a bite from all family foods at every opportunity.
One of the most important things we do as parents is nourish our children. When that doesn’t go right, parents feel guilty. They feel like they’ve failed. They feel inadequate. —Suarez
Urban’s daughter was in the program for about two years. Today, the 8-year-old is still a discriminating eater, but she also eats a greater variety of food—something from each food group, her relieved mom says. And she’s willing to try foods. Apples, for instance. “They were once disgusting to her, and they had to be peeled,” Urban says. “Now she’s like, ‘I’m going to eat them with skin.’ And now she’ll only eat them with skin.” A victory. n
Not Merely Picky Eaters
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