There are few worse feelings a parent can have than being concerned for their child’s health — especially regarding nutrition.
But the fact is, maintaining a proper diet is a challenge for many kids. And for some, eating is a challenge period. They struggle with food in ways that go beyond picky eating, and some refuse to eat altogether.
If your child experiences these difficulties, they may struggle with a condition called Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder or AFRID.
It may sound scary, but don’t worry. It is highly treatable, and the best part is that your child does not have to be motivated to change their eating habits to benefit.
Let’s examine how SPACE-AFRID can help your child overcome their refusal to eat, and how you, the parent, can be trained to guide them.
Understanding AFRID
Children with AFRID have a hard time eating certain amounts or types of foods.
AFRID is distinct from conditions like anorexia or bulimia. AFRID sufferers limit their food consumption not for fear of weight gain or appearance concerns, but because of strong sensory reactions to foods.
According to nationaleatingdisorders.org:
…in ARFID, selective eating is motivated by a lack of interest in eating or food, sensory sensitivity (e.g., strong reactions to taste, texture, smell of foods), or a fear of aversive consequences (e.g., choking or vomiting).
Children with AFRID become averse to eating because of…
- A strong biological sensitivity to certain tastes of textures.
- Fears of what might happen if unpleasant foods are consumed. (i.e., Will I have to endure vomiting? Will this food not fit in my throat and cause me to choke?)
A few negative experiences with food can turn eating into an anxiety-inducing activity, and thus, make your child want to avoid eating as much as possible.
Here are the major signs of AFRID in a child, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders:
- Nutritional deficiency.
- Weight loss, stunted growth, or not meeting normal weight gain milestones.
- Dependent on oral nutrition supplements or enteral feeding (liquid nutrients).
- Their eating patterns negatively affect their lives psychologically, socially, and physically.
Major symptoms can also look like…
- Large restrictions in the types or amounts of foods eaten.
- Only eating foods with certain textures.
- Reported fears of vomiting, choking, or somehow not feeling safe while eating.
- Frequent lack of appetite.
- Stomach issues with no identifiable cause around mealtime.
So what’s a parent to do? How do you help a child who simply refuses to eat? How do you make sure they get the nutrients they need in a diverse and nourishing diet to stimulate growth and future health?
Put simply, you give them SPACE.
Treating AFRID With SPACE
SPACE stands for Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. Originally, it was a parent-only training program designed to help build resilience and alleviate anxiety in anxious children.
As practitioners began to see its effectiveness, they expanded the SPACE philosophy into other realms such as young adults stuck in “Failure to Launch” and AFRID in children.
The main objective is to train parents to not make concessions for their children’s extremely sparse eating, which are commonly referred to as “accommodating behaviors.” The process is done safely and systematically to not overwhelm the parent or child.
Here’s what it looks like in practice…
- Parents learn how to respond to their children when they refuse to eat certain foods.
- Parents learn how they should serve meals and expose their children to new foods to facilitate their desire to eat.
- Parents learn how to create a positive dynamic around mealtime to remove anxieties around eating.
- Parents learn to monitor the foods their children always eat, sometimes eat, and never eat.
- Once identified, these foods will be served on the table at mealtime, and no pressure is placed on the child to eat anything in particular.
SPACE focuses only on what the parent can control and does not revolve around forcing the child to eat anything.
This system of reinforcement without forcing encourages willful participation in eating different foods and makes eating less stressful for the child.
SPACE builds a kind of food resilience in children that allows them to expand their palettes and start being excited about the experience of trying something new instead of fearing its unpleasantness.
You Don’t Have to Fear for Your Child’s Health
SPACE-AFRID therapy is not just for children. It’s also for you.
It’s so you can sleep at night knowing you are doing all you can to facilitate your child’s healthy development. You won’t have to spend your evenings worrying about how you’re going to make your child eat anymore.
When you learn how to change your behaviors around your child’s eating, you will realize that you are doing everything you can. And this facilitates growth not only in yourself but in your children as well.
SPACE cultivates independence, and independence leads to boldness, and boldness leads to a willingness to participate in what life has to offer.
This includes wanting to immerse yourself in a variety of foods — to explore taste, texture, and how certain foods make you feel.
This type of curiosity can only be facilitated when parents…
- Make mealtimes into fun, positive activities.
- Take the pressure off of eating certain foods, but still present the option.
- Track what their child eats, including portion amounts and what types of foods they gravitate toward.
- Don’t exclusively serve foods to their children that they will accept eating.
- Keep their meals, and their process for serving meals, consistent.
- Reassure their children that their fears around eating are unfounded and that trying new foods can be a fun and enriching experience.
SPACE therapy is an over-time process that is proven to lead to great results. It gives children the ability to stand on their own, not just in regard to what they eat, but in developing a sense of self-reliance, trust, and self-esteem. And those traits are necessary for any growing child.
So if you feel like it’s time your child expands their palette, try SPACE and we’ll get them to finally start eating.
If you or someone you know is in need of support, we’re here to help.
Schedule a free consultation with one of our expert psychologists and take the first step towards healing and growth.
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