Q Will a child stop being a 'picky eater' when he gets older?

A The term 'picky eater' is used to describe children who are very choosy about what they eat. It is not age specific.

There are two major groups: those who take very little food and those who take only certain types of food.

Before we label a child a picky eater, we should understand what is normal eating behaviour in children.

For example, some children would eat only certain food for a period of time and then reject the same food subsequently. They change their preference for no apparent reason. In the long run, the variety of food that they take would be quite well distributed and this type of eating behaviour is normal.

Some children take a small amount of food at a time and continue to snack. But at meal times, they would refuse food. Such children do not have any nutritional problems.

Picky eaters are not confined to children. There are adults who will not eat certain food. It is a question of degree.

There are various reasons for children refusing food. The obvious one is that the child is not hungry or unwell. Or it could be that the child associates eating with an unpleasant experience, such as being force fed in the past or falling ill after eating.

Every effort should be taken to find out the reason for food refusal.

Eating is a learnt behaviour. Up to a certain extent, we are nurtured from early childhood to take certain types of food.

Picky eaters do not follow social norms and may be exercising their independence. Most young picky eaters grow up with acceptable eating behaviour later on in life.

Professor Quak Seng Hock is the head and senior consultant of the Paediatric Gastroenterology & Hepatology & Liver Transplantation Division in the National University Hospital's University Children's Medical Institute.

This article was first published in The Sunday Times.