ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses two main categories of under fives with eating problems. In the first group, children present with general developmental delays including problems in the area of feeding. These children are unable to move from taking in liquidized, mushy foods to eating lumpy, solid, and crunchy foods. The second group include those children who have mastered the skills of chewing, biting, tearing, and swallowing food, but for various reasons, have to stop eating and to take control over what they eat and how or when they eat. Gianna Williams, in her recent book on eating disorders, has explored in depth the "no-entry system of defences" that is, the conflictual relationship with the feeding object and the denied dependency on it. The psychological disposition of families with children with eating problems often resembles the anorectic type, in that they are very controlling of the counselling.
