Ooh I remember days like this. Sorted it out with everyone being able to choose one meal a week rule and the must eat at least one mouthful of something you don't like and has to be witnessed by an adult rule!

Aw...poor Head Chef! I have a feeling this will be me in a few years as Little Miss is a bit on the fussy side. It's amazing how personally I take it when she rejects my food! I'm trying to be a bit more "laissez faire" about it as if she doesn't eat, that's her choice and she'll go hungry but it's hard to not be a bit offended!

Hope the customers have learned their lesson! ;)

ha ha love it. Fingers crossed my boy isn't a fussy eater and will generally eat most stuff. I'm sure that will change in time though...

I have put in place the same rules. I am not a short order cook.

I always take it sooooo personally. It always seems to be the days when I have made extra effort and worked really hard to make us something special we can all sit and eat together.

Annoying!

I fear I have years of this to contend with. Kai gets fussier by the day... *sigh*

Lol, very funny letter.

BG can have very fussy days and we no longer offere her anything else, its seems to be working quite well. She is good at trying things, I ask her to 'try one little bit' and she does

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I think I am really in a minority here. And I am not being horrid and I really feel for mums like yourself, and some of my friends. I get asked a lot about why my kids aren't fussy. I am starting think we are weird in someway! OR perhaps it's because I know what I didn't like as a kid so I have never bothered giving it to them as it comes, I hide so many veggies in pies and cakes lol :D

I've found it a lot easier to get the boy to eat his dinner since I've been giving him the choice of what the family eats. I'll let him have the ingredient options for meat and carbs and then throw something together with his choices and lots of veg.

Love it! I wish I cooked the same meal for the three of us but it never happens! Amy's a good eater though and she rarely complains.

CJ xx

Fabulous letter. I've said the same to my two monkeys. They like very simple foods and as I am vegetarian I often cook them different things anyway. The thought of cooking three different things fills me with horror. Miss M has improved hugely since having school dinners, but I still cannot wait for the day when they will eat foods with a little more flavour and variety.

My little boy has been a fussy eater since he learn't to say "No" which is quite a while ago! He doesn't like veggies only ones I can get him to eat are raw carrots & occassionally beetroot. He doesn't like milk so he has dry cereal or toast for breakfast. When he went to school I made him stay to school dinners I had to break him in gentley at first staying 2 days then 3 etc He stays every day now & tries all sorts of new food that he wouldn't at home, he now encourages other picky eaters to try a bit of everything.

It really is draining to have kids sit staring at their plates, picking and gagging. I have found that since we've been able to have most meals as family meals, there's a lot less of this. (I don't cook different meals other than holding the red sauce on the pasta for one child.)
I love the idea of letting the kids choose meals. Not sure I'm organised enough though.

We have the same rule in our house - evryone gets the same food and if you don't eat it, then that's fine but nothing else until breakfast.

But hearing 'That's disgusting' on lovingly prepared food does wind me up....

Of course it really hits the Head Chef when the family decides that the food is crap. Yup the smoked salmon risotto that could just have easily graced a restaurant table, is not to their taste. Why do I bother? I wonder sometimes if it would be easier to just bulk buy McDonalds. Sigh. Sorry I don't have any advice, just empathy.

When my son was little he was an extremely fussy eater and it got to the stage I would stuff individual hula hoops with cream cheese (I can't believe I've admitted to that). My husband ( a doctor) stopped me getting hysterical by saying as long as he got some protein, carbs, fat and some fruit/veg then it didn't matter whether it was chicken dippers with a side order of baked beans!
Month by month his palate improved and he got used to different tastes. There are plenty of things he's not keen on but enough variety so I don't get exasperated any more.

We have two rules in our house. The first is "eat what is served or starve" the second, if it is a new recipe or unusual veg is the "two bite rule". This means the kids have one bite to taste the new food/veg, and another to make sure if they say they don't like it. At least they know that they must try it before moaning.

The eat it or starve rule works well. We do not have an a la carte menu. Only one meal is cooked for everyone. If there are things they want to pick out, fair enough, but they must eat 75% to get pud. There is only one choice of pud if I have made one or if I haven't it's fruit and yoghurt (either frozen or from the fridge) or sorbet with sprinkles.

Good Luck!

Excellent letter and shall be cc'd to all offspring immediately.
My three-year-old has learnt at nursery, 'If you don't like it leave it and if you love it, marry it.' It's a mantra we've adopted and neither of my boys will be slipping through any drains in the near future.

I can so relate to this, though one of my children - the two-year-old will eat anything including curry - anything spicy, onions and gerkins - but little other veg! The other - plain meat and two veg - plain pasta - absolutely no sauce ever...drives me mad between the two of them...

We learnt "Who's going to be the dinner winner?" from a friend. Not sure it's good for their digestion, but it helps clear their plates. Luckily mine aren't too bad. Couldn't cope with fussy eaters in South East Asia.