Fussy 4 year old

[Glitterbomb123]

I know this is a really common subject so just after advice from those that have had a fussy eating child and what actually, genuinely helped.

My 4 year old is quite a fussy eater but not too bad. He has a decent breakfast (toast/crumpet/cereal, fruit) a decent lunch (sandwich or toastie, crackers and cheese, fruit, yoghurt) doesn't have loads of snacks, maybe just an oat bar or biscuit. Evening meals there are around 5-6 meals that he likes and basically that's all I serve him (nuggets or fish fingers and smileys or chips, macaroni cheese, pizza pinwheels or homemade pizza with courgette, pasta bake, rice with chicken and veg one pot) he basically just has these meals on rotation.

I know it could be so much worse but I feel like I'm not actually doing anything to get his eating more varied because I just give him what he wants and likes because it's fairly healthy. For example I'd love to do a roast for tea but I know he won't want any of it. I don't want a battle but don't want him to go hungry. Do I just serve him what he likes seperately? Do I just give him tiny portions and if he doesn't eat any of it, offer him some toast and that's it so he's not hungry? What really works!?

Family meals, put it all in the middle of the table for people to serve themselves. No pressure to eat any particular thing or a particular amount of anything. I make sure there is a vegetable, carb and protein that everyone likes on the table. So e.g. if I'm doing Fajitas, there will be vegetables with fajita spices, plain chicken for the meat eaters, beans for the veggies, wraps, sour cream, guacamole, grated cheese, tinned sweetcorn and cucumber. Or if I'm doing pasta I'll serve plain pasta, a bowl of sauce, ham/bacon/chicken, beans, grated cheese, garlic bread, broccoli, peas. If we are having something they are unlikely to eat any of (like tonight's aubergine daal) I might do them breaded chicken they can have with the naan/rice and some plain carrots or sweetcorn. But it is all on the table for everyone, not separately plated. My almost 8yo used to only eat about 10 foods and will now try most things, 4yo is still very much in the throes of pickiness but I'm hopeful we will get there.

That sounds like an approach that only works if you've got a lot of time and money, and don't care much about food waste, as you're essentially making multiple different meals.

With my fussy eater I found a roast to be a good place to start, I'd make a normal roast but put a couple of fish fingers in the oven too so there would be something she would eat. Gradually the chicken was accepted, then the roasties, then the yorkshires and so on. I won't let them go hungry and refuse to make it a battle ground, although I found this quite hard because I'm a real foodie from a big foodie family. So I would add a little but of something she would eat to whatever I was cooking, not ideal but she would go hungry rather than eat something she didn't like. She's 7 now and eats an OK range of foods.