Help me expand DDs tastes

[Deliaskis]

Hi,

This is a little challenge rather than a big one, but hopefully there will still be some wise words out there.

DD is 2.10 (3 in Feb) and has a pretty good diet, but is not great at trying new things. Things she likes are:

Fish pie, shepherds pie, chicken potato pie
Spag bol, lasagne, mac & cheese, other pasta dishes
Chicken or veg risotto
Sausages, fishfingers, bacon
Mash, chips, rice
Broccoli, carrots, peas, sweetcorn, beans, cabbage
Baked beans
Sandwiches (cheese, ham, tuna), bread, toast, crumpets
Pizza
Cucumber, cherry tomatoes

The thing I am finding is that she is getting a bit reluctant to try new things, and often will only eat things that are kind of mixed up, so loves fish pie and peas & broccoli, but if I gave her fish, mash, peas & broccoli, she wouldn't eat it. It's not a chewing thing as she eats bacon and sausages and all sorts of fruit that need a bit of 'work'. It And she will eat a roast dinner if it's cut up small and a bit mixed together with lots of gravy, and won't eat just a piece of chicken on its own.

If we try and offer her new things, she inspects, smells a bit and then just says 'no that's Mummy's' and tries to get me to eat it.

How can I encourage her to be a bit more gregarious in her tastes, without forever cooking meals that she will refuse. I'm also not really sure if this is quite typical for her age and she will mature in her eating eventually. To be fair, I can't remember gnawing on a piece of chicken at a very young age, and remember my food being cut very small for quite a long time.

Any thoughts/experience to share?

Dx

Forgot to add, she also eats fruit: bananas, strawberries, raisins, apples, pears, peaches.

have no advice but my DD (3yrs) is exactly the same - she eats every vegetable and fruit known to man, as long as its mashed together and has gravy with it, vegetable that is, not the fruit. she will however eat beef or chicken on its own, but only when she feels like it!
if i want her to try something new, i will put it on her plate and praise her if she attempts to try it, but say nothing at all if she leaves it. the next meal i will do the same again until eventually she gets used to it - this is how i eventually got her to eat sweetcorn and peas on their own.

i think i'll just carry on doing that - i'm pretty sure i won't be mashing veggies together when she's 6 to get her to eat them

Be a little more adventurous in your cooking? Or take her to eat out.
At this age my kids lived going to different retaurants, Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican. etc.
Allow her to cook with you- make pizzas, fajitas etc. At this age my kids loved tearing the shells off prawns to find the juicy flesh inside.

I think I will keep putting new things on her plate as you suggest awwwwman as she will eventually try them I guess.

It's quite hard to be adventurous msmiggins because both dh and I work full time so she is in nursery two days and with grandparents the other days, so it's just the weekend with us and I guess I then try and play it safe so that I know she will like it. I should get out of that mind set tho. We do eat out quite a bit at the weekend and thAt is nice, I just don't think I have been brave enough to try Indian etc with her yet. I should try and remember that the worst that could happen is she doesn't like something and has toast when we get home. We do cook things like pizza together and she loves that so we should try and do that more.

Believe it or not I have always been a pretty good and adventurous cook, but I think because she was difficult to feed as a baby, I have stuck to a bit of a safe route, when perhaps she just needs a bit of exposure to more New things now.

Thanks replies, I appreciate your thoughts.

D

My ds is the same with the mixed up thing and the gravy! Will gladly eat fish pie but not separate ingredients, def won't eat any meat unless it's slow cooked, chopped up and in gravy. Again, he loves sausages and raw carrot, so not a chewing issue.
He won't try new things either. At the moment, I just try to get him to lick it at least, and give lots of praise if he does.
I have no idea what we can so improve the situation, just wanted you to know you're not alone! Ds is 2.5 by the way.

Be very careful. Trying to get children this age to change their eating habits can result in them eating an awful lots less and mealtimes turning into battle grounds.

She eats a good diet and this will widen naturally as she gets older anyway. Why do you feel the need to hurry this?

If it ain't broke, don't fix it is a good adage around toddlers and food

That's a good point Goldmandra I hadn't thought of it that way. To be honest, I am not in a hurry personally, I think it's when other people's kids are eating curry and olives and things that I wonder if I have not been doing the right thing so far. Thing is though, actually I don't remember eating more 'adventurous' things until much older (mostly because of money at home and I think culture in the 70s as well where non-traditional English food was not as widely available), and I eat anything and everything now and have since I was maybe 7 or 8.

So perhaps I just should give her opportunity to try new things, but let her do so in her own time.

Thanks for another viewpoint.

D

I wonder if I have not been doing the right thing so far.

Not at all!

Toddlers are programmed to be conservative about food at this age and often will only eat things that are very familiar. It's a self defence instinct to prevent children who are just starting to roam from eating things that could be poisonous. Other people's children are also generally eating things that they are very used to eating.

The best thing you can do is have a variety of food around, let her see you enjoying it and allow her to try things if she wants to.

I'm so relieved to see this post. My Son is a carbon copy of yours except won't eat fruit at all. Will be watching this with interest!