Suddenly super picky at 4.5 years old

[ENMS]

So my DD, who's never in her life been a picky eater, has now decided that she is going to be super picky.

Her main thing is that she doesn't want to eat food that is supposed to be cold but that is heated, nor anything green - mostly tomatoes, peppers, chives, and really just about anything that is served in a 'sauce' type of presentation.

She makes a big deal out of it at every meal, starts off every meal saying she doesn't like the food being served, and then after a while finally ends up eating, after removing all the unwanted things from her plate.

I'm not entirely sure how to approach this. I don't want to give in, so obviously there is no alternative proposed for dinner, but most times I allow her to pick everything she doesn't like and end up eating only what she wants. For example tonight will be sausages in a tomato sauce, and I know she'll make a big fuss about the fact that there are tomato pieces in the sauce, as well as mushrooms.  but if I were to serve her, for example, only the sausages, she would be fine.

My DH would like to go with the 'tougher' approach: you've always liked it, suck it up and eat it. Stop being picky when we know you like it. I'm not 100% sure whether this will work with her, but was wondering what BW mamas in the same situation have done in the past?

The other thing about this is that DS (almost 2) is now also starting to be picky - I'm sure from watching his sister do her shenanigans at meal time! So I want to end it ASAP!

[grace annes mommy]

My DD is a great eater, and also went thru a phase like this.  It lasted about 2 months and now, she's more or less over it now. Still picky about a couple things, but eats well in general.

I tried really hard not to make a huge deal of it (which was hard some days when it seemed like she was living on air!!).  We did not serve her different meals - she was served what the family was served. However, when possible and if easy, I would separate foods on her plate.  For instance, if we did pasta with meatballs, I'd serve her a plate with a corner of meatballs, a corner of plain spaghetti, and a corner of sauce.  Usually, she'd eat the plain pasta, avoid the sauce, and maybe nibble a meatball.  It gave her more control and it made me feel like she wasn't starving herself.  The other thing we focused on was being polite if she didn't want something.  We would say, that's fine if you don't care for peas today, just push them aside.

Hopefully it will just pass soon!

[ENMS]

Thank you! That is very reassuring.

I will try to 'separate' the different foods in her plate. I really want to avoid the drama and I'm trying to stay cool about it, but it's so hard sometimes!!

Glad to read your DD got over it, hopefully my DD does the same very soon!