Is this just a normal food phase? (2.4yo)

[sleepcrisis]

Hi everyone

DS has always eaten really well, and pretty much anything we give him, sometimes it takes a little persuasion to try something new but if he sees us eat it he always tries it. There are only a small handful of things he's refused in the past (eg egg, boiled potatoes, salmon)

For the last couple of weeks he's been a bit fussy, in that he will not try anything new. For example, I occasionally buy random pots of fresh soup for a quick lunch and he's always eaten them on the basis that soup is soup, or so I thought. Today we tried a new one and he said 'different soup' and refused to try it.

This evening I put cannellini beans in his sausage casserole when I usually use chickpeas or kidney beans - he picked them out and refused them.

I know I am lucky in that he eats a wide enough variety of meals already that I can easily provide a couple of weeks worth of meals without having to offer anything new, but thats a bit boring for the rest of us and I don't want to give up. Do I just ignore? Carry on offering fruit/yogurt after a meal (we don't do proper puddings but he always always wants fruit)

The other thing is that he isn't eating green veg as willingly as before, he's fine with salady things, carrots, corn, peas and courgettes but not a lot of other green stuff.

SO, is this a normal phase and what should I do about it?

Thanks in advance

I think it probably is. My ds is nearly 2.3 & doesn't like anything new; new winter coat had him in floods of tears, of a choice of clothing he'll pick the oldest & most recognisable. Unless new looking food is chocolate based he'll have to seriously encouraged to try it.

In the past we've had weeks where he'll eat nothing but beans, eggs, toast, yoghurt to fruit. I've just gone with it to a large extent.

I'd just carry on as normal. Give him new & firm favourites & have a backup with fruit etc so you don't stress too much about how much he's eating.

Morning, yes completely normal at this age and I'm sorry to say but expect that it may go on a while. My ds ate everything then around this age started being funny about food and I just couldn't believe it. Now almost a year later, he's back eating everything again. All he ate for a year was yogurts, fruit and mashed potato. I simply didn't make a big deal out of it, asked if he'd had enough, offered banana etc. It really was a phase but I do feel for you. It was so annoying cooking him a lovely dinner and him not even looking at it but as long as you don't push it, it will be fine

We had/have this phase with dd1 (now 2.8) we are lucky she has got slightly better since we weaned her sister (7mo), she is enjoying trying new things like her sister thankfully. As dd has got slightly older we have insisted she try everything once.
At one point she would look at her dinner and push it away - we just ignored this and say she would have to wait until me or dp had finished for any fruit/yoghurt, mostly she would take the plate back and eat reasonably well.

Thanks for the comments. I do try to ignore but it's so hard! I always end up cajoling eg you can have your fruit if you eat 3 mouthfuls. i dont bother so much if its something i know he loves, its easer to ignore that and carry on like nothings happened. We eat together at lunch but not evenings and that's when I find it more difficult. Also I think recently he's getting more impatient about getting back to his toys and he finds the whole meal time thing boring and restrictive. I never offer alternatives, that's the right thing to do isn't it? Only problem with that is that he'll more than likely want a snack early afternoon. Not so much a problem in the evening as he still has big cup of milk at bedtime which he drinks no matter what he's eaten.

I guess I need to stop being a bit smug about my excellent eater! It's come as a bit of a shock tbh!

Children this age aren't supposed to enjoy trying new food. From an evolutionary point of view, toddlers who were adventurous with what they ate didn't survive very long.

Kicked in at 2.4 with my first, got worse and worse until he had quite a restricted diet. Lasted at least a year and then improved almost over night and he now has a pretty wide range of things he'll eat (although only about 5 different veg). Honestly, I think I over-reacted a bit and tried too much cajoling etc and probably made it worse. We also ended up rarely eating as a family, as DH and I couldn't face eating fish fingers AGAIN! DD is just two and I can see the signs that the phase is starting. I intend to be much more relaxed if it does happen and to serve family meals and just ignore what she does / doesn't eat. Not sure how successful I'll be though!!!

I think its normal, keep giving him food as you normally would and don't make a fuss over it.

I experience the same thing with my DS (2.5). He goes through phases of it. Just keep offering. I think he's refused courgettes about 20 times, picked them out etc, and all of a sudden last week he ate them. Same with some other stuff. Then sometimes all of a sudden he'll stop eating something he's eaten fine for months. I just let him get on with it.

I think what's helped a lot with my DS is having him involved with cooking. He likes being in the kitchen when I cook and I tend to show him stuff, talk about what I'm doing & get him to 'help' (whisk an egg, get me a measuring jug etc). I'll also offer him raw bits of whatever I'm cooking with (e.g. bits of carrot, pepper, mushroom, anything that is edible raw) which allows him to explore those things more on his own terms.

DS (2.8) is pretty much the same - and I've started cajoling too! Today I saw a woman with a similarly aged child doing the same in a restaurant - waving it in front of his face, etc.

Unless I'm worried he hasn't eaten ALL day, my attitude is that if he leaves it, he leaves it. Once he gets hungry enough, he'll wolf down anything, and if he asks for food an hour or so after a meal, he can have a banana. Luckily DS is a big lad (very tall, energetic), so I never have to worry about him wasting away.

Things that help ... as rrreow said, him being involved in the cooking. He loves making pizza (puff pastry with veg piled on it, and cheese). Adding his favourite food to whatever it is? DS loves cheese, so even a small grating of it will make him eat something he doesn't 'like' e.g. broccoli - once he gets going, he's fine - admittedly not great if favourite food is chocolate!

Also, eating out. Maybe not an option every day, but DS is a LOT better if we're in a restaurant, not sure why. Once he's had it there, he's a lot more receptive to it at home.

I wouldn't worry, honestly. Sometimes DS seems to get by on a couple of bites of banana and air, but it never seems to affect him...