Hi everyone, I'm looking for some help/reassurance on my 3 year olds fussy eating. When he was first weaning he literally would eat everything under the sun, was no picky at all! Then slowly, as time has gone on, he started not eating vegetables. Then it moved to not trying anything new. Then he stopped eating dinners that he previously ate and the past couple of days he's started to leave his favourite fruits.
I unfortunately have experience with disordered eating in the past, and because of this have done plenty of research and read many books on the subject of intuitive eating. I really don't want him to go through that hell and torture. Because of this, we do follow the rule of the adult chooses what is served and when, and he chooses what, if any, he eats. We don't pressure him to eat or stop, if he asks for more (depending on the circumstances) he is allowed more. I regularly expose him to different foods alongside 'safe' foods that I'll know he will eat such as bread, crackers etc. We don't bribe with food and don't label things as 'good' or 'bad' in the hope that he will develop a positive relationship with food. He is offered food at regular intervals throughout the day.
We've tried getting him to join in with making things, helping to choose what meals we will have this week (his answer is always pizza 🤣) and sitting down to eat with him as much as we can (this isn't always possible due to our working hours).
But I'm starting to worry at how little he is willing to eat. He won't touch rice full stop. He will only eat pasta if it is completely plain. The only fruit I am sure he will eat is strawberries (but he's even left those on his plate a few times recently). Anything new he just won't even try. He'll occasionally take a small bite of cucumber, but other than that, will not eat any other vegetable.
I guess I'm posting as I'd love some advice or reassurance, maybe from those who have been there already, that it gets better. That this is just a phase and in time he will be more open to trying more foods and eating a wider variety.
This is a very sensitive subject for me, so please be kind with your replies.