@BunnyRuddingtonthis is a constant struggle. My son had a milk allergy as a child and used to refuse to feed when uncomfortable, and will do the same if he feels uncomfortable emotionally or if he isn’t sure about a food or what he fancies. He is what you’d call a “happy starver” because he really does have an iron will and absolutely would not be motivated by “he’ll eat when he is hungry” type behaviour. I only feed him whole milk as a drink for extra calories, add olive oil and Parmesan to pasta, butter toast very liberally and our family eating is quite skewed towards things he will eat a lot of (luckily he is a good eater, so meat and potatoes, curry and pasta dishes are all good).
Breakfast is a real struggle, as he can be a bit unhungry and demand resistant. I am assured he eats well at school (and did at pre school) - lunch and snacks morning and afternoon and I really do my best.
This morning, he had toast and butter (one slice, crusts off), a cup of whole milk, a slice of melon and a handful of walnuts. He will bury a pain au chocolat, but it has to be Gail’s, which could get extremely expensive so I do it once a week before school.
Evenings, he will eat a big meal, but sometimes i think he probably doesn’t fill up quite enough. Maybe I’ll try a banana whilst we do stories, as that worked for a while. Last night, he had one chicken drumstick, one and a half sausages, two little Yorkshire puddings, broccoli and carrots, half a jacket potato with butter. Plus a glass of milk and a homemade chocolate cookie whilst we did his reading. I gave him some nuts, an apple, and two chocolate rice cakes after school. I thought this seemed quite good, but I’ll have a look at your document and see what I think in terms of the comparison.
For anyone who is about to criticise me on sugar or amount of chocolate, please don’t do this. I lived a large part of my life when he was a toddler using “gateway” foods to try to make him comfortable before introducing things to try and his diet is, I think, pretty good for a child who will refuse to eat. He is very active (and always has been and is a normal height, having dropped centiles as a baby, although he is quite slight compared to his peers). I imagine that someone will say to be he is likely neurodivergent, which I am very aware of! But I don’t know if his needs are severe enough to pursue a diagnosis just yet.