2 year old with terrible diet

[mslucy]

My 2 year old has a terrible diet - all he eats are carbs - plain pasta, rice, potatoes, bread etc - plus fruit, peanut butter and Babybel cheese. He also loves milk and all bad foods - cakes/crisps/biscuits etc.

He eats no meat, no veg (except sometimes a tiny bit of carrot) and hates any kind of sauce.

He was very hard to wean from the breast and wouldn't eat anything at all for ages.

I've read stuff on fussy eaters that says that they eventually grow out of it and forcing them to eat anything is wrong. However, I am concerned that his diet is damaging him - he's very small for his age. He's quite well built so I don't think he's starving himself but I am concerned that he's not getting the right balance of food he needs for growth.

He is the same at home and nursery so I don't think it's just me.

I worry that I am too soft and let him get away with murder; DH was forced to eat stuff as a child and is adamant that I must not do this. The toddler and I had a showdown tonight over a piece of broccoli - all I wanted him to do was taste it, he refused etc etc.

Any tips would be gratefully received. My older child was a bit fussy but nothing like as bad. I have a 3 month old and am keen to try and avoid the eating problems with DS2.

My DD is 2 and will also not eat any sauce or vegetables. Even if I chop them up into tiny pieces she will pick them out and put them on the side of the plate.

I have started to give her a liquid multivitamin and mineral supplement to make sure she gets her daily requirement.

As far as force-feeding her vegetables goes I wouldn't do this as it might develop a bad relationship with food in the future. Your DH obviously still remembers his horrible experiences at mealtimes.

All I do is put vegetables etc on her plate every time she has a meal, encourage her to try them and if she won't, I don't press the issue.

I read somewhere that it can take on average 16 presentations of a food to get a child to try it!

The other day after me putting salad on her plate everyday for about 3 weeks she tried a leaf. She said 'yuk' and spat it out but at least she tried it! :)
The thing that I have found gets her to eat food is if she has made it herself so we make pizzas, which she puts the topping onto and we make sandwiches which she fills and then we use cookie cutters to cut them into fancy shapes.

She absolutely loves it (she's in the 'I do it' phase).

Oh, and if he loves cheese, grate that onto everything to begin with!

Mostly, I just want to reassure you that you're not the only one. I am certain that DD will get more adventurous with food as she gets older and as 2-3 year olds only put on a tiny bit of weight anyway I'm not too worried!

Good luck!

thanks for this.
will buy multivits - good idea - and try making more food with him.
I know this problem is not uncommon - just been feeling a bit of a failure, esp when I see other kids his age or a little bit older tuck into hummus, peppers, broccoli, proper meat etc.

His brother improved when he started school dinners but he was never quite this bad!!!

Onwards and upwards.

handy hint - serve him the veg 15 mins before the meal itself. if hes hungry then he might just have a nibble. this is the only way my kids will eat salad. i don't have to force it - they treat food a bit like a starter

Hey, you're not a failure! Put my DD next to my friend's DS and you might as well just serve one plate between them! He'll eat the vegetables and the sauce and she'll eat the meat and fruit! They might fight over the potatoes/pasta/rice though! :)

Fruit smoothies and blended veg soups. Voila!