3 YO dinnertime dramas

[QFmum1]

Advice please! DD just turned 3. A couple of months ago she started to get fussy when eating, especially at tea time (I think because she is most tired then). Anything new or unusual and she turns up her nose completely. With familiar/favourite foods she will have a few mouthfuls but then lose interest and refuse to have any more. We make her sit at the table with the rest of us and mostly focus on positive actions such as promising her a yoghurt if she has a certain number of mouthfuls, etc. Sometimes we get fed up and put her on the naughty step but that doesn't seem hugely effective. We normally succeed in getting her to eat what I would call a reasonable amount but it can take an hour or more.

It's doing my head in and turning dinnertime into a stressful, energy sapping experience. I'm guessing/hoping it's just a phase but it has been going on for a good while now.

So any tips...anyone else been through this? Did it get better by itself or are there any suggested interventions? Anything else we can do to ease the pain in the meantime (games to keep her interested in eating, that sort of thing)? TIA!

just put the food in front of her and remove after half an hour. she won't starve. she is loving all the attention, games etc will just make it worse.

What is her schedule the rest of the day?nursery? Childcare? Other meals snacks?
Could you offer some components of the meal at an earlier time (eh time she would have a snack? Eg if a pasta dish for eve meal offer large pasta pieces as finger food pieces of chicken, cherry toms/other veg all as finger foods in cute small containers or mezze style?

Doesn't seem to matter what the rest of her day is like...makes no difference if it's a nursery day or not. Yes she will snack like anything the rest of the day given the chance, I do try to restrict it in the late afternoon as I want her to sit down and eat a proper meal with the rest of us.
Ummmmmgogo, I suspect you are right but am always nervous to do this as don't want her going to bed hungry! I think it's the next step to try though, as you say she won't starve herself!