The frustration of dealing with a fussy eater

Right guys, I’m struggling. I’m having a bit of a tough time feeding Izzy.

Izzy has gone through periods of being a fussy eater. Unfortunately, her eating habits have become very set in their ways.

I have to put this into perspective because this isn’t a case of straightforward fussyeaterism. Things could be considerably worse.

Izzy will eat a reasonable variety of fruits and some veg. She will also eat a few salad items, albeit tentatively.

You’re probably reading this and wondering what the issue is? After all, the kid can’t be too fussy if she’s eating some salad, fruit and vegetables.

The problem is main courses. Any attempt to deviate away from tomato-based foods like spaghetti Bolognese is doomed to fail. I can’t deny I’m finding this very draining as the kids keep having the same meals in rotation.

Well, they were eating the same meals in rotation. As much as it sticks in my throat to do this, I have started catering separately for Helen, Izzy’s older sister.  There’s little Helen won’t eat, or at least try, so she’s generally very easy to cater for.

Other days I’m sitting both kids down with a finger buffet of pitta, fruit, olives and so on. I’ll get a bit creative and put the food into shapes or spell words out. Helen and Izzy really enjoy meals like this. While it’s great for providing them their five-a-day, it does nothing to teach them good table manners and it doesn’t broaden their dietary horizons.

I feel that I have to take responsibility for what’s happened here. I find myself wondering if I’ve done enough to introduce Izzy to new foods.

I think the honest answer has to be no, I haven’t. When your child has refused to eat their food for the third meal in a row or you’ve had to go through it and pick out every single tiny piece of chopped onion, it is easy to slip into a routine of giving them what you know they will eat.

This, my friends, is the situation I find myself in. I’ve got a bit lazy, but at least I know the kid is fed with nutritious food.

Needless to say, the situation when Izzy is at school is quite different. She’ll eat entire meals at school including curry, something she just wouldn’t touch at home.

This is something of a contrast to Izzy’s older sister. She will at least try any food placed in front of her.

I hope this is just a phase. I think, however, I need to make a greater effort to get Izzy trying new foods, especially main dishes.

If you have any ideas and suggestions, I’m all ears. I need some new ideas so if you have any, please leave a comment below because I’ll give anything a go to get out of this impasse.