2 yr old fruit refusal - not always so, advice & reassurance please!

[lucamom]

My 2 year old son is what people call a good eater - eats most if not all food given to him, with a good variety from the major food groups (I'm lucky enough to have/find the time to cook family meals which he shares with us - the house is a tip and I joke that we 'live like pigs but eat like kings!'), so I feel/hope I'm doing the right things to set him up with good habits.

As a baby & young toddler he used to love fruit, he'd practically inhale a banana, loved grapes/apple slices etc, but for the last 6 months or so has developed an aversion to whole fruits. If I mash a banana in porridge or weetabix, make a smoothie or even puree fruit he woolfs it down, so I know it's not the taste he's against, so wondered if anyone else has experienced this and how you overcame it?

Peculiarly, he loves veggies and has no issues with their texture/sliminess, as he'll happily chomp through all veg whole/in chunks.

I probably shouldn't worry as he's good in every other way with food, but I'd like to be able to give fruits as a snack - it would make life easier and be one less thing to worry about!

My 2 yr old DS is like this as well. He used to happily hoover up blueberries, strawberries, bananas etc, but just won't touch them anymore.

My 2 year old dd2 won't touch fruit. She doesn't seem to like the feel of it

lucamom - I feel your pain. My ds is 8, and hasn't eaten a piece of fruit since he was 13 months old!

Loves vegetables (especially sprouts!) but can detect even the most hidden fruit. He seems to GENUINELY not like it - he'll always have a go at any food he's offered but not fruit. I've stopped trying to change him now - there's always fruit in the bowl and everyone else in the family helps themselves all the time. I give him raw vegetables as a snack. I agree it's a pain in the neck though.

lucamom, I'm going through a similar phase with ds1 (3yrs). Used to eat anything but has suddenly turned really picky! I would say not to force it, keep offering fruit to him but if he doesn't want it then leave it. The blending them up is a great idea, its what I have to do with vegetables!

Funnily enough, ds1 has started eating fruit again lately, think that's the influence of Sportacus & his sports candy

I think I used to do this as a child. It was probably down to laziness on my part. If I was given an apple or a banana I wouldn't eat it, but if my mother cut it up for me and handed me slices then it would go down a treat. Worth a try?