LIMITED MENU FOR 6 YR OLD - HELP!

[Merlin]

And I mean limited!!

Breakfast - toast and Marmite, very rarely Weetabix and maybe a few Cheerios (no milk though)

Dinners - Shepherds pie, meatballs, fish fingers, chicken,pizza. Only veg he will touch is peas/carrots/potato.

Likes tuna sandwiches and ham.

No milk, yoghurts. Only fruit he will eat is apple.

Won't try pasta or anything new.

HELP PLEASE!

How do I get him to try other things? I am sick of cooking one thing for him and something different for DH and I, but he just wont try anything!

Anyone else with experience of this - what did you do?

Hi Merlin.
Do you all sit down together and eat as a family? Perhaps if he sees you eating different things he may be encouraged to try new foods.
Would it be helpful to have a game about trying new foods-give him a tiny amount of a new food and if he tries it (even just a lick) then he gets a sticker or eqivalent.
I would recommend keeping it quite light-hearted and not putting too much pressure on him.

Thanks for replying Arctic.

Have to be honest and say that we don't often sit down together for various reasons and I have wondered if I have caused a problem there! Maybe I should try and put that right. But even when we do he just absolutely refuses to try anything.

I try not to get worked up about it but every now and again it starts to get to me and I wish he would just try something new - at least then he could be honest if he didn't like it!

..

Perhaps you could start eating together and also give him small amount of what you are eating. If he makes a genuine effort to eat what you give him he gets a nice pudding or something like that.

Hi Amynix - how r u? Yes, I think the time has come for a big change in the Merlin household. I usually wait to eat with Dh later so kids eat on their own (although I'm around but not necessarily sitting down with them . Pudding idea is good, but only dessert he will eat is ice cream, so I give him that anyway cos it's the only way to get a bit of dairy into him!

Maybe have to come up with some other type of reward idea.

Hi Merlin Good luck