Help....he's a fussy eater

[Happy]

I have a two and a half year old son and he doesn't eat much. He likes certain things like apple, grapes, cruskits, sausages and watermelon to name a few but these things are all he eats and not much of them..I'm concerned he's not getting enough nutrients etc. How can I get him to try & eat new foods - at the moment he just looks at new foods and says no -- does anyone have any ideas.

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[Baby Girl]

My daughter is a fussy eater too. She has her favourite foods and is wary about trying new things. I have found that letting her serve her own food onto her plate has helped with the amount she will eat. We have a rule that if you serve your own everything you put on your plate you have to eat, you can always go and get some more if you are still hungry. That way we are not forcing her to eat more than she wants and she feels good about making the choice herself about what foods she wants to eat.

I also make sure she can reach the fruit bowl, snacks in the cupboard and snacks and drinks in the fridge. Basically the bottom 2 shelves in the pantry and the fridge are all toddler foods. Every time I shop I buy something different to put in each area (I even leave new vegies on her shelf for her to check out) so she has just one new choice every week or so and I stop buying one of the other "usual" foods so she loses that choice but she doesn't seem to worry too much about that because usually after a couple of days of examing a new fruit, vegetable or snack she is asking me if she can try to see what it tastes like.

Sorry to ramble on but I just have one more thing...

I have been told by my doctor and many other parents whose kids have survived being fussy eaters that toddlers at around 2 years old are just starting to notice their surroundings and food becomes less of a priority but if they are hungry they will eat.

Try not to worry about it because your son will notice your tension at meal times and this may make him react by not eating. That was one thing I had heaps of trouble with!!

Good Luck.