Parents of finickety eaters - give me hope!

[LaTrucha]

Just that really. DD 2.2 is very loathe to try new foods and has a limited repertoire. I've worked out a plan to try and improve it so I'm not looking for advice as such, just hope that it might get better.

Sigh.

Thanks.

Dd1 would only eat Cheesy pasta, bananas, pancakes, strawberrys, porridge at that age.

Now she is 6 king prawns and garlic mushrooms with egg noodles is a firm favourie. She requested and ate muscles a few weeks ago. Garlic chicken and griddled asparagus is also a hit. Roast dinners less so, but she likes the puddings and mashed turni.

I would love to know your plan LaTrucha as I have huge problems with this

Yes, well both of mine were awful at that age, but have got much much MUCH better.

Ok. So I actually am quite interested in what you did to get them to eat better.

Emily - well, I got a whole raft of advice from a lovely MNer with children who eat well and I adapted it to what DD is like. I'll introduce other elements as and when I feel it's time.

My first stage is that we have slightly more challenging things - for her - for lunch. If she refuses it, she doesn't get anything else until dinner time, except that I will let her eat some lunch if she chooses to do so. She's got the idea pretty quickly. Sometimes she eats, sometimes she doesn't. Dinner is something I know she will eat so I don't fret about her sleeping (she used to bea terrible sleeper too!).

Unless she eats a reasonable amount of her plate (I limit portions to let her have a chance at this) there's no pudding. Pudding is yoghurt or fruit.

Ideally, I don't show I care. I do blow this at the moment but am gaining confidence.

Spinach is actually something she will eat mountains of. What she likes is pretty healthy, but it has to be exactly as she expects it to be i.e. no lumps in a smooth soup, bread like I make it - not white or with seeds, no shard of onion or herb showing in a sauce (she knows it's in there: that doesn't bother her)etc... This even goes down to the brand of butter and olive oil I buy I buy.

Dd1 just started eating better of her own accord once she was about 4. Saying that I did notice she would cope people she thought were 'cool' or 'grown up'.

The seafood addiction comes from my dad. The asparagus and garlic from my sister. Both of these people made a big fuss of what they were eating when dd1 was there i.e "Mmm, these prawns are lovely. Prawns are my favourite. Dd1 cannot eat any of my prawns they are too nice. They are very nice. Prawns are the best. Only the best people eat prawns. I am going to leave my prawns here while I go to the toilet. I hope no one eats them"

So, actually that isn't too many people saying that things got lots better, is it?

LaTrucha, things got better for us over time, and particularly when ds (now 6) started at school and having school dinners. He has tried new things because children he became friends with tried them, and now he will generally at least try something before saying he doesn't like it. dd is 3 and still at the stage where she'll say she doesn't like something even if she hasn't tasted it, but I'm holding my nerve. Good luck.

DS1 (9) had a very limited repertoire of foods he'd eat at that age (toast, weetabix, orange juice, milk, raisins) It all started to do wrong at around 20 months and he was fussy to the point of phobia. If you want I can link to other threads detailing my long and systematic battle approach .... .

I agree - 4 was when I really started to have a grip on things - I rewarded him for trying new things with a dessert. And again, when he started school I was determined that he would have school dinners. That lead to him eating several new foods.

BUT, the good news is that his diet is now pretty darn good. He's still a little particular about textures, and is better at home that at other peoples houses. But he's now a boy who will eat soups, stews, roast dinners, fish, and enough varieties of veg (3) and fruit (2, plus fruit juice) to keep him healthy. Keep Calm and Carry On !

DS1 was awful! He's still fairly picky but school dinners made a big difference. I almost sent him with packed lunches, thinking he'd refuse everything and starve, but thought we'd give it a go. Best thing I did - he's tried lots of new things and eats so much more than he used to.

here's a thread that has some tips

(I used to be screamingabdab)

LaTrucha - has your DD got an amazing sense of smell ? DS1 has and that will put him off foods - your comment about the olive oil rings a bell. He has said that one olive oil tastes like banana, and when I taste it again, he's right! I think DCs like this are called Super-tasters

My DD is fairly fussy (won't eat meat for starters and we're not vegetarians) and my DSD is very fussy! DSD is a very texture led fussiness - but I would say from her very limited diet a few years ago it is much better now, school dinners at senior school/good peer influence has helped too, plus avoiding making food a battle at home.
DD is 3 and over the last six months has made good progress, which to me means she has added several foods to her repertoire (such as mash and porridge, which was a breakthrough a few days ago!)
Personally, we've tried to ensure DD tries new things, but don't expect her to like most of them but we praise her for trying. I think it also takes lots of trying the same thing to acquire a taste for it - she's been 'trying' porridge for months without liking it and suddenly decided it tasted like rice pudding and she liked it.
I also think as long as you manage a reasonably healthy diet not to worry if its not too varied.

Thanks for you replies. I've clocked them and will be back later! DD wants to paint....

Jamieandhismagictorch - I'm not sure it's sense of smell or not, but I do often think that her perception of food is so precise that she'll turn out to be a michelin starred chef. I wouldn't be surprised. And thanks for the link. It's a very useful thread.

JaynieB - I'll definitely be doing school dinners after this thread! TBH, what she does eat is healthy. I'd be content if she added something oncein a while, which I guess she does. She also takes them away though!

Patience eand school dinner it is!

Relax, relax, relax! I've had a terrible time with my children and eating over the years and the more stressed you get the worse it becomes.

Look at this this way - many, many children are fussy eaters, it's v common. But most adults are not that fussy and eat most things. Children do eventually become more adventurous but it may take many years, even into the teens or adulthood.

I wouldn't pressure her to try new food, but make sure you eat and cook well yourself and one day she may get interested in what you've having.

I remembered something else, LaTrucha: ds would randomly surprise me by eating broccoli or chilli at someone else's house. Breathe in, breathe out...

Thanks, untypable name! Now I've got a plan i AM much more relaxed - and the pay off so far is a new obsession with spaghetti bolognese. One thing with meat in that she will eat. Yay!

Lio - grr DD does that to me at nursery. Sometimes I turn up and they tell me, 'Ooo she's been loving her cucumber!' Erm, well, not MY cucumber she doesn't. ALthough I have so far been able to introduce sweet and sour noodles as a meal after she had it at nursery, so it's nto all bad.

Obviously, school meals are the way forward.

More encouragement for you;

DD was terrible at that age. Bananas, yoghurt (but ONLY petit filou), cereal, anything sugary, cheese sandwiches was all she'd eat.

Now, she's nearly 8 and for her birthday treat wants to go to her favourite restaurant - Yo Sushi!

It has been a long slow process, and she still won't eat anything and everything. But she has 5 or more portions of fruit and veg every day and a healthy balanced diet.

Also, I now know it wasn't caused by bad parenting, because my younger children always have eaten anything and everything.