7yr old fussy eater

[GladioliBuckets]

Have probably asked on here before over the years but am back at square one again. Fed up with making plain food or trying to explain to DS why she's got different.
Have just tried giving her a tablespoon-sized portion of what we all had, promising she can have a sandwich if she eats it. Cue much melodrama, instant spitting out and tears. Said if she didn't eat it she'd have to wait til after Brownies for the sandwich, when the others are in bed.

Am I going down the right route here? Any advice appreciated please. She's quite an anxious child anyway and hypes herself up very easily. And she has no trust of sauces, soups etc so hidden veg has never worked.

This is probably not the advice you want but personally I wouldn't bother going down that road. I really don't think it will work - you might even make her worse. I ate a very limited range of food when I was young and couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Apparently I ate the same lunch every day for years(ham sandwich and fruit)! I do remember the horror of being made to eat food I did not like (especially fish fingers or baked beans). My son is similar to me, I offer him different things now and again, some he has tried but mostly he has refused. Please don't withold food fom her , I know you mean well and believe me there are times I want to scream when I have to make D sausage and mash for the fifth time in a week but if she really just wants a sandwich let her have one. - she will be a much happier little girl(and you a happier mum).

You know, I'm with pwpat on this one. I am in the same boat with my middle dd, also 7. She only eats very plain food, no soups sauces etc. She'd live on plain pasta if she could!

Take comfort from the fact that your dd WILL get better but probably not for some time yet. In the meantime you want to give her positive associations with food and make mealtimes as fun and pleasant as possible. If that means she eats a sandwich or bread and butter instead of the meal then so be it. It won't be forever.

I know it's difficult with a sibling asking why she's eating different things. What else does she like? Would she eat part of a meal? For example, if you made spag bol would she be happy to just eat the spag? Or rice? Or baked potato?

I have a similar problem with my five year old but what gets to me the most is the inconsistency.

Some days she will eat corn-on-the-cob, some days she won't; some days she will only eat plain pasta, some days she gulps down spag bol. Feel like this isn't really about the food but about control?

Any advice would be welcome.

I have exactly this problem and I find comfort in knowing I'm not alone. People look at me weirdly when I say ds is food phobic. DD8 would live on pasta - plain with no sauce and refuses to eat most meats.
DS is VERY inconsistant - he might love cheese potatoe one day and retch on it the next. I've got used to altering the meals to match each child and so far it's the best option I can come up with. It's so draining though and makes for tricky food planning.

If it was up to DS, he'd have chocolate spread sandwiches every night for tea but I've now started only giving him teas I know he'll probably eat. I've also decided to stop buying other stuff like cake that they beg me for when they haven't eacten their tea. If it's not in the cupboard they can't have it!

Nonnomum, it's totally about control! My DD has that perfectionist personality so unless she loves food she won't touch it.

My dd has been the same, only eating a very limited amount of food from the age of about 2

She was the fussiest child on the planet

The last few months however, she has started to ask to try different things, she tried (and liked ) baby spinach yesterday

I used to be very worried about her diet but it was all getting a bit stressy so decided that I wasn't going to make a fuss anymore, if she wants to eat marmite sandwiches everyday then that's up to her

Have faith that they will come out the other side of it, but ime, only if you don't keep pushing for them to try new things all the time

Hello Gladioli
SD was like this for a long time (from about 18 months old until about a year and a half ago) She would only eat: white bread, processed ham, sausages, fromage frais yoghurts, apple juice (oh, and any amount of crisps, sweets, chocolate and crap!!!)
She's 8, so not a disimilar age to your DD. It took me about a year and a half, but we are over it now!
I found with SD that if I tried (tiny) variations on what she liked, she might try a bit of it. I also got her into shopping, cooking etc with me, so she got used to food being 'normal'!
What will your DD eat?