I'm after some suggestions as to what we can try........

Jacob just seems to be protesting to all food with the exception of peas, corn, yoghurt, fruche or petit miam, apples, crackers (e.g. rice crackers, snakatas, water crackers) and of course the 'bad' things he likes of course which he gets as a treat, e.g. biccies!

We've tried various different ways to try and get him to eat which include:

~ Giving him his own spoon to feed himself (we've done this for a long time but he's not even interested in doing that ATM, all he does is throw the spoon or play with the food and tip the bowl up so that all the food goes onto his tray!).

~ Giving him his own spoon to feed himself which we attempt to shovel food in with a spoon ourselves (this previously worked to a certain extent, but isn't now).

~ Giving him things that he can easily feed himself with, e.g. a few crackers or a few vegies like peas and corn that he can easily pick up with his own hands, whilst at the same time attempting to shovel in food with a spoon.

~ Doing all of the above (spoon for him, spoon for us, snacks on the tray).

~ Doing all of the above in front of the TV to distract him. We've also done it all away from the TV, but to no avail.

Part of me is saying that he is trying to assert his independence and say "I don't want that, I want X" therefore he refuses to eat the things on offer. Part of me is saying that I can't offer umpteen different things all at once or one after the other, otherwise it teaches him that if he refuses something, he ultimately gets what he wants. I don't feel like it's the right example to be setting, to be preparing different meals for him as well as us (particularly when he would previously most of the things I made). I feel like if I did that, I'll be setting myself up for a big trap (not to mention a lot of work).

On the other hand, is he really saying that he simply doesn't like the foods offered any more? Obviously it's natural for everyone to have their own likes and dislikes and if he genuinely doesn't like something, then I don't want to force him to eat it (that would only create more dramas). I'd rather find an alternative if that was the case.

Jacob seems to be not quite himself these past couple of weeks also..... we've had HUGE tantrums (every day) which seem to stem from communication issues and trying to get his own way (he has also been throwing toys/food and hitting us heaps) and his sleep has also been a bit disturbed, plus I think there may be 2 y.o. molars on the way and he's had a bit of a cold these past couple of days.

We're getting pretty stressed about the whole food situation because it is always resulting in tantrums and food being thrown about all over the place! Thank god for the messy mat! LOL But obviously having him getting so upset about food, and us getting upset about it, doesn't do anybody any good at all!

Can anyone give us some suggestions on what we can try? Interestingly enough, the one day a fortnight that he spends with my Mum, he does none of this.....he will quite happily eat his food without throwing it around and doesn't tip it out of the bowl and will happily let her feed him and help feed himself also.

Going out of our brains here........sorry for the long-winded post!!! Thanks for reading it if you got this far! LOL

ETA: We have also tried feeding Jacob whilst sitting on our lap (both in front of the TV and away, whilst also providing snacks or going without them LOL), and we have also tried feeding him whilst he is happily playing on the floor (this often works but only with certain foods such as those listed above). Jacob is also going through separation anxiety in a big way, with DH and has been since the start of January, so we're in our fourth month of that.....eeeek!!