Fussy eating for 3.5 year old especially around protein - is this normal?

[LizziBee]

My 3.5 year old used to be a great eater but has slowly become more fussy since he was about 2. I know this is fairly normal but it seems to be becoming more pronounced - particularly around what protein he will eat.

We don't cook separate meals but he doesn't like sauces or foods combined so will do a deconstructed version of what we are having eg if we are having a stir fry, he will have egg fried rice and some veg etc or if it's Mexican, wraps, cheese, sometimes a taste of refried beans. We will also put a bit of the mixed version on a plate for him to try, which he will sometimes.

He will happily eat pasta, wraps, bread, rice etc, basically any fruit, raw veg chopped up, some boiled veg but no fried veg, cheese, nut butters, some nuts, lentils (if with pasta) sometimes baked beans, yoghurt. He is still quite adventurous with flavour - loves curry spice, will try new things generally but then often won't eat them again even if he says he liked them.

My main issue is that he doesn't really like any meat other than sausages which I don't want to give him much (and even they have become a bit hit and miss). He wont touch a sauce or soup with a bargepole so can't sneak in lentils/pulses there. So I am worried about his protein intake. Even the things he will eat - eggs, baked beans, cheese, nuts - he only eats a small amount!

We keep exposing him to a wide range of foods, keep the pressure low, don't use food as a reward, limit snacks and stopped doing fruit after dinner to encourage eating more at meal times.

Is it just a case of sticking it out and eventually he will be back to scoffing curry?! I do wonder if it is a classic 3 year old control thing but it's driving me crazy 😅

It's about as normal as it gets. Children who don't go through this phase at some point are probably more unusual

Milk ?

Apologies - too blunt. Protein can come all over the place. Milk is a key source for kids . There is protein in oats or weetabix and pasta. Meat isn’t needed - unless he stops growing well and gets lethargic then his diet is likely to be fine

Ah yes, he absolutely hates milk! As do I so I can't get annoyed about that 😂He will eat yoghurt though so I do give him some greek yoghurt every day

Mines the same. I try to buy ‘healthy’ sausages and also different meat sausages - so pork beef chicken.
mine will eat nuggets too, so I make my own which is just chicken breast. I give tons of Greek yogurt. They will also eat pistachios because the activity of deshelling them is quite fun.
and I do some chickpeas in the air fryer and pretend they’re my treat, and that makes them quite exciting.
I read that only need two small portions a day though, so with Greek yogurt in there that’s only one more portion you need. So 2 days a week it might be sausages, 2 days it might be nuts, 2 days different types of cheese. You could add in eggs too, mine won’t touch them. I just try to think about it like that and lower pressure. Sounds like you’re hitting quite a few protein sources already though.

Ds is 19yo and has never been keen on meat. He'll eat it in burgers or similar, but if we have a roast, he'll often just eat veg.

Honestly your kid sounds like a great eater for his age. At 16 and 18, mine do not have this kind of variety. He’s having a balanced diet. As others have said, it’s not necessary to eat meat to get protein and he’s having plenty of healthy food. You are doing great.

Thanks all, this is really helpful and has made me feel better! I think it's also the fact he doesn't eat huge portions but he is growing fine (although a skinny boy!). Great idea on air fryer chickpeas @Jackospice - he's got quite into lentil crisps recently so I think that could be a hit too

Try him on vegetarian protein sources? Some kids just don't like meat. I never did, nor did my niece.

Thanks, I know and I have - he will eat some lentils and beans but not in huge quantities. Not keen on tofu or any veggie 'meat' (which I don't really want him to have anyway as it's got so much salt in). Happy with cheese but there's also a limit to how much he will eat! The ironic thing is I am veggie but he's become so fussy about protein I just want him to get it from anywhere he can!

Try him with meat on bones, it is fun and tactile, as long as you can cope with the messy eating. Ribs, lamb chop, a pork chop with most of the meat cut off, a chicken drum stick with the skin removed. Also keep pushing eggs in all the forms you can. I make extra eggy pancakes if I feel our is not getting enough 'proper' food.