Please reassure me!! RE fussy eating...

[ScarletLady02]

DD is 2.4 and has become SO fussy. I know it's common but I'm unsure how to deal with it. She's normally pretty OK for lunch and breakfast but she often refuses dinner, even things she ate only last week. I'm guessing she's testing boundaries maybe. If she doesn't eat her dinner, I take it away and don't give her anything else...is it OK to do this? I'm of the thinking I don't want to get into cooking a million meals a night, and if she was really hungry then she'd eat it.

She's usually OK with cooked veg if it's in sauces...she'll eat curries and pasta etc...but she won't touch salad, or fruit and it's driving me mad. This is the only problem that isn't a recent thing. It's like she doesn't see cold crunchy things as food...she doesn't even try it. She plays with it as if it's plastic and will put her to her mouth and say "mmm delicious" but won't actually take a bite...texture issues maybe? I'm really funny with certain textures but I LOVE salad and veg and eat it lots in front of her.

I'm at my wit's end with it to be honest. We eat healthy meals and both cook from scratch. I've tried to get her involved with cooking which she loves, but she won't often eat the results. All she eats at the moment is toast, cheese, ham, pasta with lentils or tuna in tomato sauce, rice cakes and yoghurts and sometimes vegetable curry and rice.

She was eating quite a lot of snack type food (DH is a soft touch when it comes to things like that...he was physically abused and has compensation issues that we're trying to tackle), but we've stopped this now to see if it helps. She's much better about not asking treats now, but her eating still hasn't improved. I know it's bad we've let it get like this, but it's hard when they won't eat anything else. We ARE trying to change!

Do I just keep offering her stuff? I don't want to make a massive issue out of it, because often that can make things worse, but I really worry about her diet.

[startwig1982]

Her diet doesn't sound that bad really. If she'll eat pasta then maybe you could purée some veg and add it to the tomato sauce if you're worried about her veg intake. I think you're doing the right thing, just persevere!! My DS is 23 mo and eats most stuff. I always give him pudding, regardless of how much main course he eats, so hopefully he doesn't see it as a reward, more of a second main course.

[awwwwmannnn]

she sounds like she's doing ok tbh....
my DD (2.4) eats very basic plain foods, not fussed at all on curries and totally refuses pasta!!
she will only eat veggies if they are mashed up (apart from peas and carrots), she'll eat broccoli, cauli, suede everything like that as long as its mashed. potatoes she loves as well...has even been known to eat them raw..ewww!!

fruit, she'll eat oranges, apples and bananas and grapes but won't touch any other fruit.

she LOVES cheese and will eat it all day everyday if we let her, and to snack on she'll have a yoghurt (or 4) and those breakfast bar biscuits, or a bowl of cereal with some milk.

the only meat she'll eat is chicken, refuses beef, lamb or pork!

beans and toast is by far her favourite all time meal food to eat lol

she will quite happily ask for a bar of chocolate or crisps for breakfast but accepts you saying no to that sometimes !

i used to think DD was a fussy eater but when you actually sit back and look at what they eat, they're actually doing ok. as long as they are not eating crap all day every day i really don't see a problem.