May Call "The House of Tiny Tearaways" !!!!!!

[moosh]

Ds2 is will be 3 in Feb and he is so fussy about his food. He just doesn't eat !!!!!!!!
Ds1 was similar but at least I knew he would eat plain rice or plain pasta, he didn't like lumps and bits. He will be 7 in January and he has completely changed only because I made him have school dinners when he started school.
What really concerns me about ds1 is he has an almost FEAR of food, he'll pick it up look at it and if he sees a chipped bit off his chips or a piece of vegetable he will not eat it. Apart from breakfast (he's beginning to get funnny about that now) he could go all day without eating. He has apples and cucumber but has now gone off bananas, he refuses sandwiches, toast, and pretty much ANYTHING hot. With ds1 I would make a real fuss, but I am reacting in the opposite way with ds2 for about the last 18months or so.
I do as the books say and take the plate away and bring it back later but he won't eat it. At night he says hes hungry, and you can hear his tummy griping away at night. He sleeps quite erratically which makes me think its his lack of food.
WHAT DO I DO ? IT IS DRIVING ME INSANE, I AM WORRIED THAT IF HE CARRIES ON HE WILL DEVELOP A REAL FEAR OF FOOD AND NOT EAT AT ALL.
Help and advice please before I call on the "House Of Tiny Tearaways" !!

Its such an emotive issue this one isnt it?

i think it needs to be turned on its head a bit. Im not one for messmaking with food, however, I had to do this to get DS to start eating solids. He was 12 months before he would really actually eat something willingly - with me there, that is.

I had noticed that he would quite happily pick crumbs etc off of the floor though adn eat them when he thought i wasnt looking.

I think eating needs to be turned into something fun with no pressure involved and some over the top praise when he does eat, but absolutely no detriment/negativeness when he doesnt. Start off with something simple like toast or even something you know he likes now, and then the next day use the same food and introduce something new?

If texture is a problem - mashed veg all together might be an idea? maybe carrot potato and swede all mashed together with some milk and butter?