cheese please!!

[sue40]

please can someone help! i have a 4yr old who won't eat meat of any sort (have tried chicken,sausages,stews,cottage pie etc) and am fed up with cooking the same thing ( rice,pasta and veg) he has also just decided he doesn't like anything "wet" this is gravy,soup etc. I can't understand where i've gone wrong, as we eat a wide variety of foods and I never thought I would have a fussy eater, or is it a faze?
would love to know if anyone has a similar problem? I feel like I'm just making the same things over and over ( most of them containing cheese although I can hide Salmon and Trout in his rice dishes and that seems to work).
He seems very set in his ways and although I want to try different things I don't have money to waste if he decides not to eat what I've cooked please tell me I'm not the only one with this problem !!!

[Ellie H]

Welcome to AK.

You're not the only one.

My son went through a (long) phase where he was very fussy. Drove me to distraction. I started a thread about it here.

My son was younger but there's still lots of good advice and tips there.

These days we're quite firm with him; We all eat the same food, if he doesn't eat we don't offer an alternative. He will just go hungry. Won't kill him and doesn't happen often as he knows the consequences. Seems to work. Of course there is the odd wobble but that's to be expected I guess.

Perseverance is paramount.

I hope you find a solution as I know it is really frustrating.

[cathyg]

Freddie used to eat everything, but now only eats a few meals, & sometime even the favourties don't get eaten, my sister whos son is 8 has the same prob & has done for many years, we all eat everything, so it doesn't run in the family, think its a phase & a independance thing. i personally only make meals i know he will eat & occassionally add new things to try. i feel for you, its hard work & stressful, but i'm sure when he's a teenager, he'll eat everything & anything!. xx

[JulieBannon]

from my own experience it isnt something you grow out of. i was the worlds pickyest child and mum gave me whatever i wanted expecting i would grow out of it.

i never did, and the result of only giving me my favourite foods was a very limited choice of foods as an adult.

i would be tempted to go stricter and cook normal family meals but include one thing that they do like. no dessert if they dont have a fair go at the main meal and no snacks in between. i know when i dont snack i eat more at mealtimes.

thats my own expercience and i do realise that not everyone is the same but thought i would share with you as an alternative perspective.

[isabellasmum]

Originally Posted by JulieBannon

i would be tempted to go stricter and cook normal family meals but include one thing that they do like. no dessert if they dont have a fair go at the main meal and no snacks in between. i know when i dont snack i eat more at mealtimes.

This is what we do too, if she doesn't eat what's offered then she doesn't get anything else.

Also sometimes Isabella does it for a reaction/attention saying 'urgh I don't like this' etc so we'll just say give a non committal response and ignore her and to be fair she does mostly eat her dinner. They do all have phases, sometimes you just have to ride it out and take no notice of them!

[kellyv]

Hi there, Thought i would chip in too!! I was an incredibly fussy eater as a child and drove my mum to distraction, with a very limited selection of food. It;s only when i ate my husband at 18 that i started trying new things (i.e curry, chilli, pizza) and have only just recently started eating a wide range of veg (broccolli, courgette, aubergine, peppers, mushrooms) and i am 30 now!!!!!

My LO is an incredibly fussy eater, but was fine when she was a baby. I find meal times a nightmare, and ven got to the point of making myself ill over it. Now i just go with the flow, since the doctor told me as long as they are eating and drinking chill out!! I give her a multivitamin every day to try to compensate a bit.

I tried the 'if you dont eat it you will go hungry' but that only resulted in making myself and my LO distressed, and i dont see the point of making a massive deal out of a meal time. I know alot of mums on here do take that approach and it works for them - all i'm saying is it doesnt work for everyone, and in my experience if they truly are fussy eaters you could offer the world to try to get them to eat something new, and they wouldnt!

Try to chill a bit, he eats better than my LO believe me, and just think like i do....i was a nightmare, and now i eat almost everything.

Hope this makes you feel a bit better. xxxxx

[kellyv]

Ps, didnt mean to put 'ate' my husband at 18, should say 'met' Duurrrrrrr xx

[cathyg]

Originally Posted by kellyv

Ps, didnt mean to put 'ate' my husband at 18, should say 'met' Duurrrrrrr xx

hehe, thought that was funny, specially on a "food" thread.

[cathyg]

i try not to be too strict at meals times about eating, its just yet another thing for me to get worked up over. so i cook what i think/know he'll eat & if i'm having a better more motivated day, i might give him something new to try as well. I don't agree with not giving snacks, Freddie is so lively & energetic, 3 meals a day would not be able to sustain him. he can only eat so much at one sitting, so he usually needs extra in between. Think in the toddler taming book it mentioned this too. I wouldn't give a snack in place of a meal, but if he only managed a bit of a meal, i would still let him have a snack later on if he asked. he also helps himself to food too, whenever he fancies, fruit/yoghurt/dried fruit.

[sue40]

Thanks to everyone who replied ! Have decided to try the slighty stricter route but with at least one food he likes and also am going to chill out about it as it certainly seems I'm not alone and am sure that he will eat if he's hungry!! Thanks again everyone for advice now fingers crossed !!!