When my daughter was a toddler, she was what we considered a “picky eater.” As she got older and her picky eating habits got more severe, we began to seriously worry. She didn’t just clamp her mouth shut or shake her head “no” when new foods were set out for dinner. She would gag or choke if she tried anything new. Meals became a battle, with us trying to get her to eat something healthy, and her continuing to refuse.

I was first diagnosed with anorexia nervosa when I was 12 years old. It was 1996, and I had never heard of the term in my life, as eating disorders were not discussed anywhere near as often as they are now, and it was before the explosion of the internet, social media, etc. When the doctor told me I had anorexia, I had to ask what it was – I thought it was cancer or something!

Our family has a son with an eating disorder. He’s had it since the age of three, and his condition has not really changed. We found out by accident that he had a food allergy to peanuts (and tree nuts), which happened even earlier than the eating disorder. Certainly, having a food allergy makes the cautiousness around foods - especially "new foods" - even more present.