My best advice is however you choose to fix the problem, stick with it. Consistency is key here.

Personally we have some rules about eating in our house.

-Our house is not a restaurant. No one gets a different meal from everyone else (unless there is an allergy issue)

-You must eat 3 bites of everything on your plate. Doing things you don’t like to do is part of life. 4 isn’t too young to start learning that. Especially with food. Keep offering new foods to kids over and over again. Eventually they may acquire a taste for those foods. It takes time for lots of kids.

-Don’t want to eat your meal? No snacks. You will wait until the next meal time to eat.

*In really bad times where there is an out and out refusal, I have resorted to allowing my kiddo to leave the table without eating. And then that same plate is offered again at the next meal time, not another new meal. Don’t want to even try that meatloaf and potatoes? Fine. But know that you will be presented with it again tomorrow until you eat some of it and give it a chance.

That being said I do try some positive things. I put out fresh fruit with every meal. I have found quite a few that my son likes and this way there is always something he can add to his plate that he is a fan of.

Serve a variety of foods. Kids, just like adults, get tired of seeing the same old, same old. A spaghetti hater is not gonna move on his position if you force him to eat it every single Wednesday night.

If there are some foods your kids absolutely can’t stand, make them on occasion only. If your kid really really really doesn’t like beans at all (or sauerkraut, or brussel sprouts, etc) limit the frequency in which you serve them. Everyone has a deal breaker or two, even grownups. Try to respect that.

Offer dessert every night. At our house we have dessert regularly. It is nothing fancy, not baked goods all the time. We regularly have sugar free jello, fruit popsicles, and sorbet in our house. A small treat at the end of the meal can be a light at the end of a tunnel for kids.

Perhaps engage him (as much as a 4 yr old can) in meal planning and cooking to get him interested in what he is going to eat. Even just 1-2 times a week and he will be so proud about what he has helped create he will want to eat it too.

Sending some **Sanity Vibes** your way – I can emphasize with the stress of picky kids!
.-= Accustomed Chaos´s last blog ..Review: Bumps to Babies Childbirth Preparation Classes =-.