I posted on this in the last thread, regarding eating issues and adopted children. It is common for adopted children to have struggles with either eating too much, or with not eating enough. Here it is:
The social worker who visited Sherin Mathew's family for follow-ups records that "eating has become more and more challenging for the family". "She likes to eat food outside but not at home".
The fourth, and the last report before Sherin's death, notes, "We discussed several different strategies that may be helpful" and that "additional mealtime strategies are needed to break this cycle and avoid more serious long term eating concerns".
The social worker also recommended "webinars and other resource for feeding issues in adopted children that may be helpful in developing different strategies for Saraswati's (as she was known before her adoption) feeding concerns".
https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscr...issues/1175180
Perhaps articles like these, which talk about patience, letting children choose to eat, not forcing, etc....
https://www.adoptivefamilies.com/ado...pted-children/
http://www.chop.edu/conditions-disea...oster-children
I found this article to be especially interesting (see quote below)
https://blogs.psychcentral.com/weigh...-katja-rowell/
First there may be a challenge from the child, like reflux, cleft palate, a history of a drug or alcohol exposure, or any condition that leads to pain, discomfort or mechanical difficulties with eating.
Second is environmental factors: a child who is not attached to a care-taker wont eat well, a child who has experienced abuse or neglect around feeding will be more challenging to feed. For example, an eighteen month-old who has only had a bottle with thickened liquids will be behind in her oral-motor skills.
Often, there is a combination of factors. Perhaps a child was punished by withholding food, or only was exposed to a limited range of foods and so has anxieties around eating. Stress, chaos, anxiety, poverty and food insecurity play a big role in shaping a childs early relationship with food. These are occurrences that are simply more common in the more vulnerable population of children in foster care or who were adopted.
What this makes me think is that f
eeding issues can develop as a response to abuse, and
feeding issues can lead to a cycle of control and punishment. JMO