3yr old refuses to eat fruit/veg

[musicaljojo]

My 3 year old has never been the best eater when it comes to fruit and vegetables, but when he was weaning, he would eat apples, sweetcorn, peas, carrots, broccoli, raspberries but since turning 3, it's just a flat out refusal.

If it's hidden in a sauce he will eat it or for example tonight, we had raspberry and passionfruit cheesecake with raspberries in it and he ate it without questioning it.

However if they are just there on his plate, he won't eat and retches when they go near his mouth, if I ask him to try it, I try to ignore the retch incase it's just an attention thing, but then I have a strong gag reflex myself but it just frustrates me and I worry I'm doing something wrong?

Should I keep putting it on his plate, is this just a fussy phase they go through?

It wasn't ruit and veg for us more pancakes, sauces, but yes we kept putting it in the plate. Screaming wasn't allowed but she didn't have to try it at all, just keep it on her plate. We gradually eased up to trying a bit, then eating a spponfull, etc.

Could you try stewed or frozen fruits or even fruits in homeade ice lollies. Veggies from the garden have always been an easy hit with mine, pick and grow lettuce is quick and simple if you have a plant pot to hand.

My DD (just turned 3) was the same, but mainly with fruit. At her 2 year assessment the HV mentioned it could be a sensory issue; she ate bananas, pears and sometimes apples, but refused grapes, any berries, anything that would squirt juice suddenly in her mouth. With veggies, I'm massive on one pot cooking so I always managed to chop them finely and it went largely unnoticed. She's slowly getting better now though. Eats more fruit, more willingness to try new things, eating raw veg for the first time (carrots, cucumbers). I would say the same as PP, keep offering, with no pressure to eat.

Use exciting names for foods e.g. we call chicken in sauce 'sticky chicken' or soup 'surprise soup' or green beans 'squeaky beans' (can you hear them?) and ham up the name ...
My children are more likely to eat a food that’s colourful, cut into fun shapes or with a dip. They eat things that they wouldn’t normally eat if it’s on a skewer! We also had a cheese fondue at New Year and they were dipping things that they’d normally turn their nose up at.
Playing with food doesn't have to be a bad thing. We used to pretend we're dinosaurs eating trees when we eat broccoli – adds a bit of fun to the meal! Or try arranging vegetables into silly faces, writing his name in blueberries or peas etc...
Also take him shopping and let him choose out the fruit and veg. One success I've had is with broccoli. My son wouldn't touch it with a barge pole until I got him to pick the one he wanted at the supermarket. Then we came home and he washed it and broke it into pieces and popped it into a saucepan. He made a lot of mess and water went everywhere, but he also had great fun and has eaten broccoli ever since.
Sometimes, all my DC needed to eat a certain food was a little bit of dressing or for example, sweet potatoes with some ketchup. Don’t limit the use of condiments; eventually, he might opt for the items without them.
Serve small portions. He might be overwhelmed by a large portion of a food that’s unfamiliar or not his favourite. Also you’ll waste less food.
If you know another child who’s an adventurous eater, invite them round for tea – watching them eat different food might just encourage yours to join in. If you can’t at the current time, get teddy to join in – one for teddy – one for her.
Even if he doesn’t accept the food the first time you serve it for dinner, he might the next time. Apparently it can take up to 10-15 tastes of a new food before a child gets used to it, so it’s worth persevering.