If your toddler has decided that yesterday's favourite dinner is today's mortal enemy, welcome to one of the most universal parenting experiences. Fussy eating peaks between ages 2 and 6 and almost always resolves on its own.
Why toddlers are fussy
Fussy eating is a normal developmental phase called food neophobia - a wariness of new foods that peaks around age 2. Evolutionary biologists think it protected newly mobile toddlers from eating harmful things in the wild. It's not a reflection of your cooking or parenting.
Toddlers also have smaller stomachs and more erratic appetites than adults. A day where they barely eat followed by a day where they eat everything is completely normal. Look at what they eat over a week, not a single meal.
What actually helps
Eat together whenever possible - children learn eating behaviour by watching you. Offer the same food as the rest of the family. Serve small portions - a mountain of food is overwhelming. Put a variety on the plate including one thing you know they'll eat, so there's no pressure.
Don't make separate "children's meals" unless your meal is genuinely unsuitable. The path to eating fish pie at 5 starts with seeing fish pie at 2. Keep offering rejected foods without comment - research shows it takes 10-15 exposures for many children to accept a new food.
Avoid using pudding as a reward for eating main course - this teaches children that pudding is the prize and vegetables are the punishment. If pudding is on the menu, it's on the menu regardless.
What doesn't help
Pressure, bribes, and negotiations around food consistently make fussy eating worse in research studies. "Just one more bite" and "you can't leave the table until you've finished" create negative associations with mealtimes. If they're not hungry, they're not hungry.
Restricting snacks entirely can backfire too - hungry children are more anxious and less willing to try new things. Offer structured snack times between meals with fruit, vegetables, or plain carbohydrates.