Eat it or lose it for under two?

[NoNoNoooooo]

Hi. My 21 month old has gone from being a great eater to a fussy eater and is refusing most hot meal type meals and all veg. She eats fruit.
I believe in the theory behind not making meal times a battle ground and taking food away if not eaten but no alternatives etc. but I don't know if this is appropriate at this age?

She has always previously eaten what ever we are having. So far if she refuses food then I just give her porridge or weetabix later on

This has been a couple of months now where it has been getting worse so not related to teething or an illness.

Can any one advise how I should handle this, or just keep offering and hope it passes?

I've always done to my son eat it or lose it. He's alive and healthy they soon learn to not be so fussy

Depending on the child taking food away if not eaten and not providing alternatives may well be making food a battleground. My children absolutely didn't bend to this and asked for something different for hours, getting increasingly upset. I interpreted that phrase to mean the parent needs to flexible and let the child make choices, not the parent needs to be rigid and unbending in an attempt to force the child to comply.

Thank you for replying.
Chocolate this is my dilemma, my DD is already stubborn and will probably hold out too!

You may have done this but have you tried keeping the dinner aside and offering it again later if she says she is hungry? We rarely offer something different but will offer the same thing repeatedly. Often dd may not eat something at mealtime but will pick at it later on.

My DD, 3,5yo, is only now becoming more consistent about food. Up until now it was always phases, e.g. no meat and then nothing but meat, then nothing but fruit. I have always offered alternatives, we get to choose our food, why shouldn't children get the same choice? I try not to make a big deal out of these phases, they pass on their own.

My DS helps pick his dinner so he may go to the freezer have veg, fish fingers and some pasta.

If he refused it after he picked it and said he wanted it it stays on the table till bath time about half hour to two hours later depending on when he eats and if he still refuses then he goes to bed on time. More often than not he'll eat it.

he went through a phase of eating breakfast a bit of lunch then refusing dinner at about 20 months but he soon snapped out of it.

Otherwise can't you offer her dinner and if she refuses and wants something later could you give her something really bland like toast and butter or offer to warm up her dinner again?

Thanks everyone, reassuring to hear that for most it's a phase. She eats enough during the day and still has milk at bedtime, so I'm not at all worried about her starving.
I can't wait until she's old enough to understand ultimatums, consequences etc
I suppose I was just worried about her growing up into a fussy eater. My DH and I enjoy such a wide variety of food, I thought it would automatically rub off on her.