"This is what's for dinner - take it or leave it - Is 2 and 3 too young for this?!

[pipkin35]

Have unwillingly made a rod for my own back, as the saying goes.

DS 3, refuses 'wet' food and gets very upset. Am sick of making everyone different meals, previously UNfussy 2 yr old, now copying him.

I don't think I should keep serving the same old food, am willing to try new approach just need to know how to get started.

What's wrong with a meal that looks like a picnic? Also raw veg are actually HEALTHIER than wet overcooked ones IMO you're all obsessed with 'cooked ' meals like yr mums.

Well quite. Picnic food is fine, as far as it goes. But you are not doing your kids any favours by letting them call the shots with regard to what they will or won't consider eating or trying, or even having on their plate. A very restricted faddy diet is not a good thing on either a social or nutritional level.

Once you go down that route, they may well restrict the range of acceptable options further and further, and unless you develop some serious strategies there won't be much you can do about it. That's how people end up with 5yo kids who will only eat crisps, unbuttered crustless bread and a particular brand of strawberry yoghurt.

I fully agree with Anaxagora, and that is absolutely what we do here.

(I mean, the 'this is dinner' thing, not the only feeding crisps, buttered bread and strawberry yoghurt )

i did take into account my D.C.s tastes as i took into account my own and DHs and everyone eats quite normally now as i said earlier it's a stage of child development.

referring to child development;you wouldn't stop a D.C. trying to talk 'cos the noise is inconvenient would you? or on 2nd thoughts maybe you would. Buy a book by Penelope leach for some sensible advice.

I am so glad I found this thread! DS1 is 3.5 & since 8mths when he started to develop independence, he has become fussier & fussier. A couple of months ago we started a reward chart to get him to actually eat 3 meals a day & clear his plate, as he was refusing breakfast most days & picking at his other meals. He now eats 3 meals but it is only what he is willing to eat, & rather than let him go hungry I have been a pushover & gone along with it. His current repertoire is fishfingers, chicken goujons or plain pasta served with either baked beans, sweetcorn or broccoli. Breakfat is wither toast & jam or cheerios with no milk. Lunch is either houmous or jam sandwich & fruit or beans on toast. It makes it so difficult to eat out anywhere, go to people's houses or even birthday parties!

DH & I decided that we need to be stricter so have removed all choc/sweets/treats from his diet until he starts eating more varied foods. But we've been doing it all wrong I now realise. We've been alternately cajoling, pleading, bribing, threatening him to eat whatever the new item is (peas last night), and if he eats it he then gets the fishfingers or whatever. Mealtimes are now like a battlefield & last forever. It's horrible & I dread every meal! We also have a 10mth old & I dread to think what sort of impact this is all having on him as he sits in his highchair watching it all :(

I will follow the guidance on here. We need to remove all the emotion & stress from mealtimes & try not to get hung up on waste. DH had a strict upbringing & always ate all his food or was sent to bed hungry (or given the belt by his father!) & so although he wants ds to be equally good at mealtimes has always been really lenient with him & given lots of treats as he wants to be the opposite of his own father.

How are you getting on, zeeky?