How yo get DS 4 to eat better?

[Santastealer]

My 4 year old has got more and more picky with food. He is starting a new nursery soon where he will be given lunch and looking at the menu there is so little he will eat. I’m really hoping to try and improve his diet in the new year- does anyone have any advice?

Things he will eat are:
Pasta (in tomato sauce only)
Ham sandwiches
Cheese
Any fruit
Cucumber
Carrot
Peas
Green beans
Sausages
Chicken
Fish fingers
Chicken stir fry
Spag Bol
Beans on toast
Pizza
Chips
Mash (very small amount)

If we are having something he doesn’t eat (tonight is risotto) then I will do him some pasta and put a little bit of the new food on his place but he won’t touch it.

My little boy is very fussy at home but eats most things at nursery.... very frustrating!

Sitting to eat with other children works wonders.

I’m hoping sorting with the others helps! He has quite high anxieties though and is worrying already and having lunch there. If presented with chicken curry and naan bread he will just break down in tears because he won’t even touch it. Something like pie mash and veg is better as he can eat the bits he likes.

That’s not too bad for a four year old. I always put something new, usually something we were having for tea on the side of DDs plate along with her familiar dinner.
I would then make a big fuss if she tried it or would say that she could choose dessert (from healthy options I had ) if she had a tiny try.

It worked but took a long time before she tried new things on her own steam. It did increase the number of dinners she would eat.

Also don’t shy away from weird combinations of food! We’ve had a few interesting dinners, by letting her help, but so long as it was balanced and allowed her to feel in control a bit, it seemed to help a lot.

Oh I see you’ve already tried the putting your dinner on their plate to try. No doubt you’ve tried everything as you know your DC and what will work.
Is there not a cold option at nursery for him? Ours did a ‘packed lunch’ option as well as something like curry and naan. I think it’s okay not not like curry.

I think what he eats is fine. It’s more than my DD would eat at his age.
No advice for nursery I’m afraid, but I had to pull my DD out of nursery because she wasn’t eating there.
They started off making her a cheese sandwich but then wanted her to start eating what was on the menu, such as fish pie 🤢
Apparently all the other kids just wanted a cheese sandwich too and it caused anarchy !!!

I actually don't think that list is too bad!! It would be good to try and introduce some fish but it's not bad apart from that. Don't worry about nursery, my experience is that children can behave completely different at nursery than they do at home.

I really believe the best thing you can do with young children is to offer a range of healthy foods and then leave it up to them what they want to eat. Making a big deal of what they eat or bribing them can be the start of an unhealthy relationship with food. Kids won't starve, they'll eat if they're hungry, just offer healthy foods most of the time and limit the snacks.

Looks ok to me too OP. I think one of the main things that helped me with my dd was to take away choice.It sounds harsh but she always ate what we ate and that was the only option she got! This was after 6 months of her deciding to be picky!! She will eat almost anything now except lettuce..I have no clue why she just can;t eat that!