to not give in to my DS?

[kidcreoleandthehotcrossbuns]

He will not eat or even taste his lunch (homemade pizza). Usually I give in and just make him what I know he will eat....toast, bagel or philly, marmite, peanut butter sandwiches, he has this for tea too.
It gets me down that he won't eat what the rest of us will eat and won't even try things. I have told him today that he only gets his apple juice if he has a bite of pizza. So he's having a tantrum.
What should I do? Give him nothing else until teatime? And for tea will still be the same old stuff he always eats. Hope that this makes him hungry and try him again at teatime with what we're having?
In the past I've just let it go and thought he would grow out of it but he hasn't (he'll be 4 in Aug).

Oh I don't know.....i've been told in the past that when he gets hungry enough he will start eating things.....but I'm not so sure.

I would make him waht he likes but also have the pizza/different foods on the table, he may try some if it not made into a big deal, i hate ishoos over food, just makes everyone miserable.

Its very difficult with picky eaters! My ds (3 in may) went through a stage not so far back when all he would eat was pasta and cheese. Put anything else in front of him and it got pushed round and dismissed. However I have never made him a second dinner if he hadn't eaten what I made to begin with. He either ate it or not, if he was hungry afterwards I would tell himhe needed to eat more dinner first. Not all of his dinner at this point as that would have been pushing it!

Now he is soooo much better, he is still not overly interested in food but will try most things with a bit of encouragment (And light bribery!).

I have to say tho when he did go through the pasta and cheese phase I did do that for his tea a lot of the time, probably hte majority of the time as I wanted him to eat.

Do you all eat together in the evening? I think that helped us. As the rule was that I don't cook two different meals. So he had to eat it.

I don't envy you though - I don't think there's any right answer to this business. And I don't think you're being unreasonable to not give in.

My ds is a picky eater and I do at every meal give him 1 thing I know he will eat. If he would only eat bagels and sandwiches etc I would give him half bagel or 1 sandwich etc and the rest on the plate what we were having.
It is an EXTREMELY slow process but I make no fuss if what he eats is ONLY the thing he likes just take it away. Still give him pudding etc if we are having it. Will not lie and say it produced miracles BUT the small circle of foods he is eating is growing slowly as he just gets so used to seeing these things on his plate that he seems to forget he doesn't usually like them and will eat them woithout thinking. Sometimes he has got half way through something and remembers it is on his hate list other times he has actually realised he is wuite enjoying it.

HAve you tried getting him more involved with food - shopping, preparation, cooking etc. Helped with my ds to get him more interested and adventurous. Also try giving him his usual meal of what he likes and one spoon of something new each time, that he must taste. That way he isn't overwhelmed with new stuff and perhaps more likely to try.

DS ate what I made or went hungry - I don't have the money to buy two sets of meals per day or the impetus to cook two meals.

But, I am a very mean mum - he refused to drink from a cup at 18 months old so I took away all his bottles and left only cups - it took him 5 hours to give in!

Hiya, my DS2 who is 4 next week is also very fussy and a small eater. I'll just do "snacky" things during the day now - little bits of lots of stuff rather than a lump of something. Like today he had bread with dairylea, some grapes and cucumber. He ate some of the bread but not all and that meant I could negotatie with him to eat the grapes and cucumber which is what I really wanted him to finish. Think that's called a diversion or manipulative!

You have my symptahy though, it's very frustrating but please try not to get angry, it's not worth it and he won't starve. It does feel like a slap in the face though doesn't it? After you go to all this care and he just goes "nah"!

Mary - we don't all eat together in the evening as DP arrives home too late. I usually give DS and DD (13 months) their tea together. DD will eat anything so she usually has pasta, scrambled egg, cooked veg, fruit etc. DS will have his usual sandwich. Then me and DP eat when the DC's are in bed, usually saving a portion for DD for her lunch the following day. At lunch time we sit down together when me and DD will eat the same ( or she will have last nights leftovers) and DS will have the same sandwich again!

ComeO - With the pizza today he helped me to make it. So he does have some involvement with food. The same with baking a cake, he helps but then wont taste it.

LewisFan - I wish I had your willpower not to give in! Incidently he used to be a fab little eater and he hasnt had a bottle since he was 11 months. I think he's just exercising his independence?

tough one this because i went along with the whole giving in and letting him have what he wants and he is now nearly 15 and i am still bloody cooking three different meals every night . I can undersatnd if a child doesnt like one or two items of food ,but tbh i think you might end up making a rod for your own back. when i think back to my childhood ,i never had a choice about what food i had for tea,it was cooked and on a plate and tough if it wasnt my favorite . Children will eat thier favorite food every night of the week given the chance ,but is it good for them ?