How do I get my 3 year old to eat decent meals!!

[milsna]

My ds is nearly 3 (on wed) my problem is he won't eat at dinner time!

throughout the day he eats brekkie,lunch etc.... then when we get to dinner he just won't eat anything! unless it is the quorn veggie sausages .... then he won't eat anything else on the plate anyway

he will eat raw carrots when I am preparing meals but thats it!

I am started to get worried now, today he had a lot of wind and going to the toilet is a little harder for him!!

what can I do?

I would try giving him a big breakfast and a cooked meal at lunchtime, that way he can just have a sandwich or toast at dinner time and it doesn't matter if he doesn't eat much.

agree with piscesmoon - if he eats well during the day, it doesn't matter if he doesn't eat at night from a nutritional perspective.

If he eats veg/fruit and fibre at breaky and lunch I'd be surprised if sausages gave him wind, even if he has it every day.

If I were you I'd give him a sausage for dinner, with a small helping of whatever your having, and don't worry if he only eats sausage. Alternatively, just give him what you're having, no sausage, and if he eats nothing, don't even mention it, just take it away. I'm sure he'll grow out of it...frustrating though huh?

thank you for advice!

he used to be such a good eater! but now isn't! ... I have tried cooking lunchtime but he still won't eat it! (maybe I should take a hint about my cooking! lol ....)

I suppose my dd1 was the same! she is 6 now and is quite a good eater! loves veg and fruit so am happy there!

maybe ds will be the same!

Try homemade soup-you can get away with lots of things they don't eat if you liquidise it-just make sure the main ingredient is one they like!

my ds1 has just turned 3. We've found that all sitting down to eat dinner together helps him. He also knows that if he doesn't try just a little bit of everything that's on his plate then there absolutely won't be anything else to "go with it" ie. dessert. We've been doing this for a couple of month now and are juststarting to see abit of an improvement. As long as your ds is eating a varied diet throughout the day then he won't be lacking in anything in particular but I can understand how frustrating this is for you.

The 'what to feed fussy friends' thread might help. One suggestion is putting everything in bowls and letting them help themselves.

has he started nursery? I found my DD bacame more adventurous when she saw other kids trying things at nursery too.

sounds just like mine - until starting pre-school (and school lunches) he would only eat breakfast plus one meal per day. Simply was not worth fighting over. He now eats 3 square meals a day and will eat anything outside our house (a little bit fussier with my cooking, but overall ok)

dd is 2 and is v similar - am signing her up for school lunches from day 1!!

thanks again

He has started preschool but..... I have to stay with him as he gets himself so worked up about me leaving him that it upsets everyone, and he had nightmares about it, he is now starting to settle and get more confident so am going to start leaving him soon.

and then he doesn't stay for lunch - maybe I should make that an option.

we do all eat as a family - well with execption of dp who works and home different times... but generally we do.

As Soon as I put the meal in front of him, he says 'yuk don't like it' and gets up,

I am sure he will start to settle soon with it and eat a little more! I was just a little conerned with now! - my dd was the same but is now a good eater!