Any tips on getting a toddler to try new things?

[lizzlebizzle33]

My 2 yo is quite a fussy eater, he was great at the start, lived broccoli and carrots but after some lazy months while I was pregnant with Ds 2 we have him the dreaded fish fingers and waffles and now he won't eat much else.

He likes bananas and apples but just will not even try any other fruits. Just looks at them and throws them on the floor.

I'm so fed up of buying strawberries and raspberries To see them smushed into my carpet. What can I do?

He'll get there when he's older - just buy things you like and offer him little bits, then there's not so much wastage. It's OK if he has a limited diet at his age.

Stop buying fish fingers and waffles. Disguise things you actually want him to eat like veg and salmon by making them into goujons/fishcake style patties.

So I've jut mashed up a load of raspberries and put them in his yogurt and he's eating it! Funny look on his face but he's eating it, why did I not do this before?

Spoke too soon, it's on the floor 😩😩

Quietly frustrated acceptance! Most 2 year olds I know are fussy to some degree or other. Offer small amounts (to reduce waste)and try not to get too stressed about it. My dd would live on bread and bread related products. I have watched that child eat her own bogies, chalk, soil......won't touch a bloody green bean.

One thing that helps with getting them to try new things is to serve the food on platters in the middle of the table and everyone helps themselves. If they see other people enthusiastically enjoying the food on offer they might be tempted to try a little bit, but they are in control. Even if it's only a tiny taste its a start.
Can he eat meals with you? I'm assuming that you don't live on fish fingers and waffles. You could try to involve him in planning and cooking what he would like to eat - for example, vegetables are non negotiable but he can choose which ones he would like and find interesting ways to cook and serve them rather than just boiled.

Telling her 'it's mummy's not yours' seems to work well for my 15mo

In all seriousness though she does seem to respond well to wanting to be the same as us and has eaten all sorts if she sees us eating it. If we just put some on her plate she might try it or she might not but if she points and demands some from our plates it seems to have a very high success rate.

Agree about serving themselves DD loves meals like that.
My kids will eat anything that has cheese sauce on so that could be a start.
Add something new onto their plate with stuff they will eat. Keep doing this and they will try it eventually. I find the more I encourage the less likely they are to try so I just eat my own dinner and talk to them about something other than food.

Yy to ‘Mummy’s special food’. My daughter has become fussy. I now just make sure she has something on her plate she will eat along side whatever we are eating. So if we have a new dish, I serve it with peas.

I hardly ever give her different food to us.