I have seen a lot of parents in my work as an RN with this question (and of course my own do this too,
). The main thing to remember is that they don't need much food. 1 Tbs of veggie and 1 -2 pieces of fruit are most important. Try not to make food a fight, since you'll always loose. There's not much a 2 year old can control, but he can control what goes in and out of his mouth. So what you're doing right now, taking his plate away without a word when he doesn't eat is great! No negative or positive attention for his behaviour... (so also no rewards, just make fruit part of dinner and offer it when you eat dessert or so, when it's time for dessert, you take his plate away and give him dessert. That way it's not a reward, but normal and you've not given any attention to his behaviour)
And try during the day (and this was hard for me, since I wanted him to eat SOMETHING) to not give him candy, cookies, crackers, goldfish etc, since these are "empty" calories. Instead only offer chopped up fruit (or puree it if he likes that better), pieces of cucumber, little bit of cheese (stay away from to much cheddar if he's constipated though, try gouda cheese instead, this is less constipating), yoghurt etc. If he likes spaghetti with red sauce sneak veggies in there by pureeing them till they're unrecognizable, or if he likes soup puree tomatoes, celery, leek, carrots etc. in there. KEep offering him "normal sauce" too though, you never know when threy give up their craziness
My almost 3 year old is doing this too right now, an I just keep reminding myself that they don't need much. And every little piece of fruit is one piece, YIPPEEE. Also a reassurment is that children are waaay more in tune with their body then we are and they will eat what they need if we don't make it a battle of the wills. (If it does become a powerstruggle, the power struggle will override their need for food, because of course it's waaaay more important to have power than nutrition!
)
One last little thing, it is also normal for children to only want to eat one sort of food, sometimes for months...again, go with the flow, keep offering a variety of healthy foods and eventually this too will pass.
If you suspect he's not eating because of other issues (i.e. something socially that's bothering him, he looks like he's hurt (auwie tummy, auwie throat etc) take him to a doctor to rule out anything physical...
Anyway I hope this helps. And remember you are not alone, I think almost every 2-4 year old does this and it will eventually go away...
Hugs to you!
