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Many parents pressure children to eat, but picky eating is a common phase with no effect on growth in most children.

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Picky eating is common in early childhood. Estimates of picky eating vary widely, but it is highest (14%–50%) in preschool children and tends to decline with time (C. M. Taylor, Wernimont, Northstone, & Emmett, 2015). Parents of picky eaters report that their children consume a limited variety of foods, require foods to be prepared in specific ways, express strong likes and dislikes, and throw tantrums over feeding. Children who are picky eaters are likely to consume fewer calories, fruits and vegetables, and vitamins and minerals than other children. This behavior often raises parental concerns about nutrition (Berger, Hohman, Marini, Savage, & Birch, 2016). Pediatricians tend to view picky eating as a passing phase, often to the frustration of parents.

The overall incidence of picky eating declines with time, but for some children, it is chronic, lasting for several years. Persistent picky eating poses risks for poor growth (C. M. Taylor et al., 2015). One longitudinal study of Dutch children assessed at 1.5, 3, and 6 years of age suggested that persistent picky eating was associated with symptoms common to developmental problems such as attention-deficit disorder, autism, and oppositional defiant disorder at age 7 (Cardona Cano et al., 2016). Another study found that sensory sensitivity predicted picky eating at age 4 and at age 6 (Steinsbekk, Bonneville-Roussy, Fildes, Llewellyn, & Wichstrøm, 2017). Children who are more sensitive to touch in general are also more sensitive to the tactile sensation of food in their mouths, whether the food is crispy or slimy, thick or with bits, for example (Nederkoorn, Jansen, & Havermans, 2015). They then reject foods of a particular texture. Likewise, children with a difficult temperament at 1.5 years of age are more likely to be picky eaters 2 years later (Hafstad, Abebe, Torgersen, & von Soest, 2013).

Persistent picky eating illustrates the dynamic interaction of developmental domains. Physical and emotional factors, such as sensory sensitivity and temperament, can place children at risk for picky eating, which in turn influences physical development. Moreover, picky eating tends to elicit parental pressure to eat, which is associated with continued pickiness, suggesting that picky eating is sustained through bidirectional parent–child interactions (Jansen et al., 2017). Interventions for picky eating can help children learn to tolerate tactile sensations and help parents to understand that parental responses to pickiness can influence children’s behavior and sustain picky eating (K. Walton, Kuczynski, Haycraft, Breen, & Haines, 2017).

In most cases, picky eating is a normative phase in preschool, with no significant effect on growth (Jansen et al., 2017). Regardless, picky eating is an important concern for parents and may remain so through much of childhood.