Picky/fussy eaters are tough! I've got an absolute doozy of a fuss pot when it comes to food, and this is all down to sensory issues and not just being picky.

At 6 (next week), my son is probably the fussiest eater I have ever come across and I'm not exaggerating I promise! Haha.

18 months ago he had a list of about 10 foods he would eat. No fruits. No veg. No meat. No sauces. No pastas. No rice. Specific dairy. Specific branded chicken nuggets which had to be crumbed and not battered. He ate home brand cheese slices, but refused coon/ bega slices. He would eat block cheese slices but freaked when it came to shredded cheese. Plain yoghurt only. Any lumps meant a total melt down. Basically he only ate white foods, but an extremely small variety of them. Handling things like watermelon would cause meltdowns.

The food component of his issues was only one part of my special little mans sensory difficulties which I won't go into depth about here, but were big warning signs that he wasn't just a fussy eater. My Concern with his eating was the fact that he's one of the oldest in his class, but the shortest and skinniest by far, and we are no small people on either side of the family. I have had 5+ years of guilt over his terrible diet. 5+ years of searching for help and not getting back as much as I've liked, so we've been on our own.
Over time, we've extended DS' diet a little. I won't lie, it's been extremely tough. Lots of tears, fights, stress but also lots of positive steps.
For example, we discovered that DS liked muffins. So I decided to start making my own banana muffins. I've never hidden the fact that they have banana in them. He sees me making them, he knows that real bananas are in them, yet he loves them. He wont touch a banana on its own, but he'll down 100 of these muffins in one sitting. It was incredible to see and to know that even a teeny tiny bit of fruit was getting into his system.
When he was 2&1/2, his younger sister started solids. Mainly baby led weaning, but the occasional purée. DS decided that one purée looked appetising and asked to try it. Voila - puréed fruit was a winner! So for a while, I'd try and encourage him to have puréed fruit as often as possible. He's now decided he doesn't want it anymore, but its always offered as I know he will eat it if no other choices are available.

I cook different meals every night. I've tried force feeding (at my lowest point and several times ) and it's not worth the stress. I've tried only serving him up what we eat. Contrary to popular belief he DID go hungry and lost weight. The best way for us as a family is to allow DS to eat 3 meals a day of things we know he eats and encourage him (VERY gently) to try new things. 99% of the time he refused, but that 1% of the time, he might lick a new food. Or he'd hold it. Even more rarely, he'd bite it. And maybe a handful of times he'd swallow a bite. We praise him a little but try not to go overboard. I've found that excessive praise is actually detrimental as he thinks he can lick a food and life is grand. No need to actually eat it. It also put too much emotional emphasis into foods instead of just teaching him that we eat because we need energy to live.

Encourage play with food. Any contact with a new food is positive. Whether it be driving a car through it, holding it, putting it in his mouth and spitting it out, or creating pictures on his plate with it. My aim is to make him comfortable enough that he knows the new food won't harm him. That it doesn't hurt to touch and that maybe on day he will be confident enough to try it.

Something brand new for DS is banana pancakes. He has always hated homemade pancakes and would only ever eat bottled mix crud. Last week, I tried banana pancakes made from 1 banana and 2 eggs (eggs he normally won't touch). No flour, nothing else. Whizz in a blender and cook. Didn't tell him what was in them Until he'd taken a few bites and said he liked them. He loved them and wasn't upset at all when I told him what they were made of. I said I was glad he liked them, and that I could make them again if he wished, which he emphatically replied yes to. No other conversation about them, I acted normal and then went to my room and pretty much threw myself a victory party!

I've gone into a fair bit of depth (sorry if it all seems pointless) but having been on this path for so many years and having tried everything there is to try I thought I'd comment. This really only is the very tip of the iceberg when It comes to all things DS, but there are ideas and strategies out there to help try and cope. This has been such a massive part of our lives and we're just starting to see some positives after so any years of stress and trying things. It's a long road but I'm confident that as he gets older, his eating habits will get better. I also refuse to lie down and let him get his way, but I have to be very very gentle in my approach.

I've finally found an OT to see DS about his toe walking and other sensory issues after the paed waved us away. I'm hoping that we can find some more strategies to help with his diet.


Sometimes it is as simple as fussiness. Sometimes only serving them what you cook works. When you've got other issues that also stand out, such as my little guys sensory issues then food becomes a whole new ball game and playing by the standard rules wont work.

Good luck with it! Pick your battles and try not to make meal times too emotional. I was your run of the mill fussy eater when I was younger and I have quite a varied diet these days. It will get better.
If you'd ever like to ask me any questions please feel free. Apologies if my post is insanely off on a tangent - I'm pretty passionate about the whole fussy eating thing