Toddler being a fussy eater

[MummatoaMunchkin]

Hopefully you ladies can reassure/help me!
My son who is 2 at the end of this month has become such a fussy eater its starting to worry me.
He used to be such a good eater, would eat anything you put infront of him. He had such a varied diet!

He wont really eat meat (maybe fish fingers, quorn mince, chicken pieces or sausages) or many vegetables.

Luckily he eats most fruits, pasta, cheese, cereals, bread, and yoghurts.
He does also like eggs, couscous and rice but does depend on the day if he will eat it or not.

He is very active and does drink alot of sugar free squash, i dont really want to stop giving him drinks when he asks especially in this heat, he wont drink water (accept at nursery!)

Today for example he had:

Porridge and blueberries for breakfast with an orange

Wouldnt eat lunch but i managed to get him to eat crisps and half a muffin with me (bad i know but we were out!) he did however drink alot!

I made home made pizzas for dinner but he wouldnt eat it! So gave him strawberries, mango and another bowl of porridge with raisins.

I know theres alot of sugar in there with the fruit but i just want him to eat! Im not a great cook and really struggle to think of healthy meals that arnt the same but i do try. And i try everything time i cook to give him vegetables and meat and different things to encourage him to try them but its wasting so much food and money is tight as it is. Meals he previously liked and demolished he will no longer touch!

What is really odd is he apparently eats loads and is not fussy at nursery but at home whether its me or my husband cooking he is fussy!

What can i do? Will he be ok with such a limited range off food? He is thriving and like i said an active happy child who is slim but not skinny.

Sorry for such a long post!

My DD is 2 in October and is going through a similarly fussy stage. There are about 6 vegetables she will eat, then fruit, cheese Yogurt, toast, porridge and weetabix are the only things she won't turn her nose up at at the moment. I'm still offering other foods and will continue to do so until she grows out of it. I wouldn't worry too much, its not like he's eating junk all day.

That makes me feel better than its not just my son!

Thats what the logical part of me thinks just keep trying him with different foods its a phase but the food waste is getting silly now!

I do try and avoid junk food as i dont want him to be like me and have bad habits!

Ignore ignore ignore. Provide a meal, ideally what you are all having anyway as long as there is at least one thing on the plate you think he will eat. It doesn't matter what it is. Don't put much on his plate, just small portions.

Don't try to persuade him to eat, don't encourage him to try things, just let him get on with it. If he doesn't eat it then make no comment other than maybe 'have you finished?' and just take it away and give the pudding he was going to get anyway. Nothing extra. If he says he is still hungry later on, then a slice of bread and butter or some apple will be fine.

The example you have given is rather overloaded with fruit, which is really high in sugar and won't be all that good for his teeth in the long run.

It's easier said than done, but try not to stress about it and keep offering different things when you can. To be honest, if my DD ate half the things on the list of foods your DS will eat, I'd have wept with happiness. Some days it literally felt like she ate nothing at all. She's now 3 and beginning to turn a corner with food (I was unreasonably happy when she ate a quorn dipper a few months ago and said it was nice!!). My strategy has been to generally give her what she wants, but I always put one extra thing on her plate. Most of the time she leaves it, but occasionally she tries it (and almost always likes it), and gradually we've been expanding her diet that way. For the sake of my own mental well being, I also give her multi vitamins.

What ithinkiammelting said.

Offer his meal as normal. If you're giving him something new or a food he has previously rejected then make sure there are also 1-2 "safe" foods on the plate that he'll definitely eat. Don't try and persuade him to eat, don't beg, don't bargain, don't negotiate, don't do "two more bites" or any of that other stressful stuff, simply take the plate away at the end of the meal without comment and offer him his pudding as normal regardless of how much he has eaten. Don't offer anything else until the next meal, if he's eaten nothing and seem really hungry and you don't think he can wait for the next meal then wait a little while (30-60 mins) so it appears to be a different meal rather than an alternative to the rejected meal and offer him food. The main thing though is to not react and don't let mealtimes turn into a battle.

I completely agree ithinkiammelting its a lot of fruit and sugarand not great for his teeth, i guess at this point im just happy he is eating something. Thats some good tips though i will bare them in mind.

I must admit i dont beg or plead with him, i give him his dinner and then leave him to eat while i dish up mine and the eat, and just say is that yummy and are you finished when i think hes done.

Really wavingwhiledrowning? That actually makes me feel alot better! I get excited too when he tries something and likes it 😂. I have been lax with the multivitamins i think i will start them again!

I like your ideas too MauishouseonMaui, i dont want to battle him or make it an issue or give him a complex. He does tend to eat loads when he is really hungry so i have to remember that!

Thank you for your tips ladies 😊 you have made me feel alot better!