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I would keep offering variety and NOT just what he would eat. When LO went through a picky stage we just made sure there was at least one thing on her plate we knew she would eat.

She's 23 months and curretnly been going through a meat strike for about 2 weeks. Even her favorites, meatballs and meat off the bone like a drumstick are no gos. But it can also be from cutting her 2 year molars. But we keep offering at each meal. I personally feel when you just offer what they will eat is how the pickiness will stay.

We've gone thru two other picky stages and it comes and goes

I think in general it's good advice to keep trying and offering new things, but at some point, if they aren't eating enough to keep them in their percentile ranges, you have to look at the situation.

Are they hungry, what are they eating through the course of the day, what subsitiutions could you make, are there oral motor issues?

@Jenn23: I bribe. Lol seriously. She's a carb fiend and will always go for her carb first. If she wants more but hasn't touched any meat I will ask her to eat some meat first then she can have more carbs. Yes, she will whine, cry, stomp her feet, etc. But unless she's not feeling well I don't back down until she take one bite of a meat. I'm anal about it because LO was pretty severely anemic and has low iron levels compared to most kids. So even though she's on multi with iron it's important she gets iron through food. And meat is the best source.

The other thing I do is try to hide foods in foods she likes. Ie we're back in a no leafy greens stage. But leafy greens are an amazing source of iron. So I hide spinach, Kale, etc in mini quiche for breakfast, which she loves. Or make green smoothies.

I realize what works for my child might not necessarily work for others. So I hope you find a solution that works for you during the picky stage!

Also, I always keep in the back of my mind what a child nutritionist on the blog said. Look at their overall intake over the course of a week versus that day. If she's not eating much greens tonight but did last night then I'm happy. A friend told me at this age they're much more of a grazer versus meals. And some days that's definitely true for my 23m! She might not eat all of her dinner but if she's ate well throughout the day I try not to worry too much.

Sorry for the novel!

@Jenn23: If it helps, S won't budge either with the bribing. He just throws it on the floor or he'll totally ignore what's on his plate.

@septca: I feel your pain! S's only veggie right now is carrots. And even those he doesn't eat all the time. He used to eat pretty much any veggie except for peas, but now he's on a veggie strike. It's also few and far between that he'll take a pouch. I usually offer 3 out of 4 things that he likes and 1 veggie. He'll usually throw the veggie on the floor, but I just keep trying to offer it. I'm hoping he grows out of this stage too, but at 18 months, we're in the thick of it!!

@Jenn23: We try the firm "no" while grabbing his hand, but it's so hard when he's so high up. He's in the testing phase too...so it's definitely something he continues to test us on to see if we'll let him get away with it!

That's still a lot of foods!! During Wagon JR.'s picky phase he only ate eggs, cheese, pasta, yogurt, and ham. It lasted more than 6 months.. probably closer to a year... I thought I was going to go bananas.

We just kept offering. So frustrating but what else can you do?? I don't like hiding nutritious food because I want my kids to learn to eat and appreciate nutritious food, but during this phase we used veggie pasta and the yobaby yogurt that has fruit and veggie puree mixed in. He didn't even eat any fruits!! The pediatrician just told us to keep offering. Eventually he grew out of it, and now he will try pretty much anything, but he's 4 now and only JUST started getting less picky..!!

@2PeasinaPod: I haven't grabbed his hand, but have done the firm no and he pretty much laughed at me or just threw it again. This morning he threw all of his toast all over the floor.

@locavore_mama: I'm going to have to start implementing time-outs for this. I did try taking him out of the highchair when he wouldn't eat food (the things he won't try/doesn't like) last week, because he just kept doing the sign for "more" to get something else, but once I put him back in the highchair a few minutes later, he had a meltdown when I gave him the same food. And then threw that on the floor! Ugh! Sorry your LO is so sick.