ABSTRACT
There is a wide range of eating patterns in childhood and adolescence. Only a few of these are really problematic and most would not constitute an ‘eating disorder’. Many children’s eating patterns cause concern to their parents at some stage and yet these are usually just normal phases of development. For example, most toddlers go through a phase of food faddiness during which they will eat only a very narrow range of foods, possibly just three or four different foods. As long as they take in enough calories to avoid feeling hungry, and are growing normally, they are eating adequately. No harm comes to them and the vast majority will move on to normal eating in due course. A few children persist with their faddiness over the years and we will discuss these later in this chapter (see pp. 16–18).
