5yo with extremely limited diet

[Grommit]

Help anyone! I am going mad with my 5yo dd. She will only eat the following:
Fruit - most, breakfast cereal, yoghurt, peanut butter sandwiches on brown, pizza, vegetable fingers (frozen Birdseye), shepherds pie, Broccolli and corn on the cob.

I am really trying to get her to eat healthier evening meals. have tried getting her to cook with me - no luck, star chart for trying new foods, no luck. This week we have made roast chicken, spaghetti bollognese and fishcakes - all tried and rejected. She genuinely does not seem to like the taste. Previously I have tried her on chicken casserole, sausages, vegetable or meat lasagne, veggie pasta, macarroni cheese - no luck.

What next? Help! Thanks

My 5yo DS loves eggy bread - maybe you could do eggy bread peanutbutter sandwiches. Or maybe not, that sounds disgusting to me but it might sort of introduce eggs into the diet.

I heard somewhere (where??) that you could show a new foodstuff to a baby about 5 times before they try it, but with a five year old, you could have to show it to them about 25 times. If this is true, just persist. Don't get angry, ignore them if they don't eat, masses of praise if they do (or even if they try it and then say they don't like it). All this is easy to say, hard to do, especially as it is such a horrible, rejecting thing when they will not eat what you have so lovingly prepared. I tell myself (over and over) that they will eat everything and with a voracious appetite by the time they are teenagers, just as I did. But boy is it hard sometimes.......

Thanks Cha - guess it's a long road.

Anyone else have any good ideas?

I can only offer sympathy, my ds1 also aged 5 is going through the same and I have been at my wits end especially with main meals! Have tried the soft approach with letting him eat as little as he likes and taking it away and have also tried the heavy handed approach by trying to make him sit there and eat it - niether brought success.His list of likeable food consists of very little (sausages, fishfingers, yoghurt,carrots, runner beans, pasta,rice, ham and cheese) My HV says that despite this he looks healthy and that they are more concerned with children with obesity, so not to worry. But it doesn't make it easier to sit at mealtimes and have to encourage them to eat something.So any ideas would be gratefully received.

My sympathy too she eats similar (if not more than) my dd2 (nearly 5)! She eats : frosties, choob fromage frais, raw carrot, apple, banana, roast chicken (dry only - no sauce or anything like that) potatoes, gravy and packet chinese chow mein noodles , oh and sausages of course. I try not to let it worry me (notice I said try!) I do give her a vitamin pastille when I remember. But having said that she is usually full of energy so something must be ok. Dd1 has nearly as good an appetite as her dad, had hoped that would rub off on dd2 but no such luck. I had a very limited diet as a child - it took me til when I was a teenager to become more adventurous I'm afraid. I don't know what else to try so will watch this thread with interest.

Actually, Grommit, that diet isn't too bad, at least she's eating some veg, even if its limited. I heard that a child has to taste something 10 times before they will try a new food. One dietician suggested putting 5 new foods on a plate, just bitesize pieces and insisting they taste 3. Keep doing this and eventually (apparently!) their tastes diversify.Ds1 used to be like your dd but now at 8 he's MUCH better. They grow out of it eventually. How many adults do you know that are that fussy?

Things I have tried with my two sparrows:

Bribery (if you don't eat your dinner you won't get any icecream)
Feeding them myself
Letting them 'help' me make dinner
Making meals off Big Cook Little Cook (forget it)
Asking them what they would like today
Making them leave the table if they won't eat
Making them sit at the table without a plate and only giving any dinner if they ask for it
Telling that I will give their dinner to the dog / sibling
Making it a competition who can eat the most / fastest
Ignoring any silliness and loads and loads of praise and clapping if a good effort is made or new foods are tried.

Some work (bribery is the best) and some work occasionally, depending on their mood/individual characters. My policy is to only give what I have made for all of us (the family eat together) and if it is not eaten, nothing else is offered apart from fruit. I also give very small portions as I think a huge plate of food puts them off. As mine have very small appetites rather than being fussy, I try not to allow too much snacking, bottles of milk etc close to the next meal as this puts them off. Hope that helps.

My daughter was exactly the same at that age... she was like your Daughter, she just didn't seem to like the texture/taste
She is aged 8 now and is much better... Do you eat with her? We have recently started to eat together as a family more (hubby does shifts so it not always been that easy).. I put more food in dishes on the table and the kids can help them selves... ie... slices of cucumber, carrot sticks, peppers, bread, peas, sweetcorn...
Daughter even tried spaghetti bolognese the other day... I nearly fell off the chair! I think the secret is to stay calm.. Good luck
ohh I nearly forgot to add, they are eating about an hour later than usual, and they have no snacks before tea.. and they are starving...

Grommit, out of curiousity how does your dd's diet affect her behaviour?
My ds is irritable, stroppy, uncooperative etc. I have tried Eye Q,and Minidex (as opposed to vitamins as this contains iron)to try and supplement his bad diet, but they have very little effect. So it's just not meal times that are a battleground - it starts from the moment he wakes - or is that just kids!