To ask those of you with fussy eaters...

[CupidStuntSurvivor]

...whether you think your child had a varied diet as a baby while being weaned?

Just reading up on a few bits after a night feed and my brain's subsequent refusal to go back to sleep.

The stuff I'm reading echos what my HV has been saying and I try to stick to...expose DD to as many textures, flavours, etc as I can while her tastes are developing and I'll be less likely to have a fussy eater when she's older.

But most accounts of fussy eating I've encountered seem to come as a sudden problem rather than one that's extended from weaning days, if that makes sense?

Or am I being daft in my sleep-deprived state and it's actually most children go through a phase of fussy eating despite not always being a fussy eater?

Oh yeah, we once let her try one of her daddy's McDonalds fries (I refuse to eat McD's, bleurgh!), the look on her face was absolutely priceless! She reacted like it was the most revolting thing in the world. We gave her a good variety of foods and the occasional treat.

My DS could be described as fussy. He has a limited diet but what he does eat is healthy so it doesn't really bother me iyswim?

In retrospect I didn't give him enough meat when weaning him. I only wanted to give him organic food until he was 2 so that meant meat was very expensive so I couldn't afford it regularly. Therefore he never got used to the texture of unprocessed meat. He now finds steaks etc unpleasant to eat but doesn't mind the taste as he will eat mince and homemade burgers.

On the other hand we gave him much more of a variety of other foods eg cottage cheese, prunes, shredded wheat, avocado, sweet potato, kiwis, as a toddler than dc2 but she is now much more adventurous with food. (But then she likes the sweet things dc1 will refuse!)

Jackieharris same with my DD, I was so worried about her fussiness that I took her to a paediatric dietitian because if she was having a particularly fussy day she would just eat fruit and yoghurt but I was encouraged to write down what she ate over the space of a week and she was getting a balance of carbs, good fats, protein and plenty of fruit and veg.

Both mine were fantastic eaters when they were small. I cooked, they ate - a huge range of foods and nothing went to waste. Neither me or DH are fussy.

My oldest started eating a restricted diet whe he was 9! Suddenly he didn't like food that he had always eaten. He is now 16 and still eats a restricted diet of pizza, chicken, hummus, raw veg and the occasional piece of fish. He is fit and healthy so clearly is gating what he needs. He has however, recently been open to trying new things although he often doesn't like them.

My youngest, now 13, eats anything and everything and always has. He is very adventurous with food and even loves cooking himself new concoctions.

Who knows how or why these things start? My best advice to anyone with a fussy eater is don't fuss!

We did BLW and DS1 ate EVERYTHING until he hit 2 and then became very choosy. So his range of food is limited, but because we're a healthy household, he eats things like quinoa pasta with sardines and spinach, but it's one of only six or seven meals he eats. He's 3.5 and this week he retried and liked steak and hated gnocchi, but we are finally at the stage again where he's willing to give things a go.

I am in the same boat! My daughter ate everything from day one eating solids. She loved everything. Now at 2 she won't eat most things and some things varies by the day. Most foods are "yucky" and some days I feel like a bad mother because she never eats. But I heard that it's normal so no matter how much is wasted, I offer her everything we have every meal. Sometimes out of the blue she shocks us and eats some of everything.

I'm not sure how helpful anecdotes are, but as you asked:

Dd weaned onto a variety of food and textures (blw). She ate beautifully initially. After the toddler years she has become more fussy, but tbh isn't too bad. She will eat a selection of vegetables and nearly all fruit.