Boy who ate 20,000 jam sandwiches is cured

[rep...@mic.dundee.ac.uk]

The following was reported by Andy C using
the Fortean Times - On line reporting service

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Seen in The Toimes on 19 Feb 1997

<i>BY KATHRYN KNIGHT </i>

A BOY aged seven who ate nothing but jam sandwiches for three years has
finally managed to beat his addiction after hospital treatment. <p>

Craig Flatman refused to eat anything other than strawberry or
raspberry jam with margarine on white bread after developing an
aversion to solid food as a baby. <p>

After chomping through about 20,000 jam sandwiches, he was taken by his
despairing mother, Almira, to see specialists at Great Ormond Street
Hospital for Children. With gentle persuasion, Craig was able to eat
fruit, meat and vegetables. <p>

Yesterday, Mrs Flatman, 35, recalled how she had used five loaves of
bread and two jars of jam every week, making her son nine rounds of jam
sandwiches for his breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. "He used to
insist that I cut the crusts off and only use soft margarine and
soft-set jam because he did not want anything with lumps in," she
said. <p>

He refused to eat solid food as a baby until, when he was nine months,
his father Alan fed him a sandwich with a sugar filling. It led to an
initial infatuation with chocolate spread sandwiches until, when he was
four, Craig announced he did not want them any more and asked for jam.
<p>

"I started making him three rounds of jam sandwiches every meal
breakfast, lunch and tea because it was simply the only thing he would
eat," Mrs Flatman, of Stowmarket, Suffolk, said. <p>

"We used to try to make him eat other things almost every mealtime. But
he just used to sweat, shake, scream and make himself sick. In the end
it was so stressful that we could not carry on trying to force-feed
him." <p>

The hospital treatment, over six months, enabled Craig slowly to start
to get over his fear of solids by playing with food and eventually
taking tiny bites. Now, in common with most other children, his
favourites are chips, baked beans, pizzas, pancakes and porridge. <p>

Mandy Bryon, consultant clinical psychologist at Great Ormond Street,
said it was normal for children to be faddy about food at some stage,
but Craig's case was unusual. "I think his problem stems from a fear of
food, probably going back to when he first started eating solids as a
baby and gagged on some lumps. We encouraged him to become familiar
with food through touching it and eventually tasting it." <p>

Craig has never had a filling in his life, while his five-year-old
sister Amy, who eats normally, has two, Mrs Flatman said last night.
"He still has a long way to go, but he is trying new things every day
and getting more confident with food." <p>

"He has still not given up jam completely. I allow him one round of jam
sandwiches in his packed lunch for school and another of cheese
spread." <p>
Contact email address: aco...@mic.dundee.ac.uk

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