fussy 3 year old

[breaghsmum]

my son is and always has been a fussy eater. its totally my fault as i myself am the same and have been since childhood. the problem is im not at all a confident cook and as much as ive tried, i just dont like the foods im expecting my son to eat. im now pregnat again and i dont want this to rub off on no2, so i want to sort it now before the baby arrives and before he starts school next year and gets labelled the fussy one, as i was.

any advice or anyone in the same situation??
i really am desperate.
helen

[Marne]

What will he eat?

My dd (4) is very fussy, won't eat veg, anything in a sauce, anything spicy or any chewey meat.

[breaghsmum]

ditto, he eats fish fingers, chicken dippers, pancakes, beans, chips, sausages toast, cereal, apples, bananas, grapes, yoghurts, pasta at a push but doesnt want sauce on it or meat in it!!!!.

wont eat potatoes, eggs, veg, any fish other than fingers. have you tried or do you just let her decide?? my mum says just let him choose himself but keep offereing. i do this but if its not on his list he just flat refuses, i dont want him being like me

[Buckets]

Do a big colourful list together of everything he will eat. This will help you when your mind goes blank or you are too tired/fed up/busy to argue.
Make 'we try new things' your motto and be positive when he does, even if he doesn't like it and won't eat it. When he does like something and eats it on 2 occasions you can put it on his list (he can scribble a picture under it).

[Marne]

I offer dd different food, for a while she would eat some veg, i just put a little on her plate each day until she ate it, but now if i put it on her plate she wont touch any of her food (even the bits she likes).

At the momment she eats, pizza, sausages, chips, bread, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, apples and yoghurt.

Im not too worried as she is eating fruit, at the momment she chooses what she eats as she is too skinny to go without.

We also give her vitamins.

When she was younger sticker charts worked well.

[breaghsmum]

mite try sticker charts!!! dont want him to think its an issue tho, it always was with me and i hated it, vame to the point where even if i wanted to try something i knew a big deal would be made so i just didnt. DS also quite small aswell, was 3 in july and some 18-24 trousers still fit him. that doesnt concern me much cos were not a tall family but would hate to think its my fault.

[Marne]

I agree with not making it an issue, i had the same problem when i was a child, my famiy made a big deal out of it, i used to hate it when we ate out and my mum would make a huge deal out of what and how much i had eaten. I hate eating infront of people now, i hate the thought of people watching me eat.
At least he is eating fruit and some dairy (yoghurts), his diet isn't that bad.

[breaghsmum]

he's really good with breakfast stuff so i try and get a good variety in him at breakfast normally he has;

banana/apple/ grapes
yoplait yoghurt drink
porridge/weetabix
toast/pancake
tea/ pure fruit juice/ milk

i know its quite a big breakfast but i know he wont be eating anything substantial for the rest of the day and id hate to think he was hungry, maybe thats the problem, that he's too full!!!!

its the lunch and dinner times that he struggles with, it just seems that everynite i end up throwing some fishfingers under the grill, i even tried homemade ones with secret veg in them but he was having none of it.

[Buckets]

TBH what you listed sounds pretty good to me! I wouldn't worry so much about the meals, at school the atmosphere is different and they are more likely to try new things. My DD won't eat any sauces where I might possibly have hidden some veg but will eat spag bol at school to please her favourite dinner lady.

If you are worried he's not eating enough or want more variety, how about dried fruit? Try the really plump dried apricots. Rice cakes and corn cakes are handy so worth a try. Does he eat cheese? Primula is a bit more fun. Could try pancakes filled with cheese and really soft cooked broccoli?

[breaghsmum]

he wont eat cheese or ANY veg at all!!! its the veg and meat that concerns me, he really doesnt get enough of that, he does eat dried fruit no problem. ive got two book for toddler cooking, annabel karmel being one of them and i try to get him involved in the cooking but when it comes to eating it he just says no.