I'm a ridiculously picky eater. If there's anything about myself that I truly loath, rooted in some weird deep psychological damage I don't understand, it's my reluctance to eat more stuff. I've gotten better in a lot of ways, but it was even bad enough to be an issue in my first marriage. Now I'm worried that Simon might be headed down that road. The only comforting thing about that is the advice that suggests this is just what toddlers do.
Simon will be three on Tuesday, and generally he has been a good eater. He loves fruit in particular. He's also one of the unusual kids who won't eat a chicken nugget or pizza. (Disclaimer: By chicken nugget, I mean some kind of chicken finger or fritter, not the pseudo-food they serve at McDonald's... we won't take him there.) He's good on hot dogs for the most part, especially the good, all-beef kosher variety. All other proteins are a non-starter. He won't even finish a PB&J sandwich lately, which is super weird considering he would have two of them in one sitting, crust and all, just a few weeks ago!
Tonight it took everything in my power to not show how frustrated I was, when he wouldn't eat a hot ham and cheese sandwich. The kid will eat American cheese slices all day if you let him, but in this context, he wouldn't do it. We theorize he has some very strong texture preferences. He won't eat a potato in any form other than fries, and even then, only steak fries.
For an evening snack, when he doesn't eat dinner, we give him dinner again. Sometimes this works, and he relents and eats. Tonight it didn't, which concerns me because he doesn't seem to sleep well when he doesn't eat.
I know, we probably over-think it. Wouldn't be the first time. The frustration has less to do with what's good for Simon, and more to do with what makes life easier for us. I mean, you can get chicken fingers and pizza at pretty much any restaurant, and if he ate that stuff, we wouldn't have to pack for him. Eating at home would be easier, too.
It helped me internalize it less when I read in one of the toddler books that this behavior is adaptive. It is what helps our species survive, that a toddler learn to be very picky and only eat things they recognize. It's one of those lizard brain throwbacks that makes sense from an evolutionary standpoint. I know it's hard not to worry about it though! He'll phase through it!