I agree with Laura. My child would only eat a few things at first - wierdly enough, salad, fruit, bread and chips (quite healthy but still very restrictive. I do the same - ask him to taste something new every so often - I've managed to increase what he eats and also do home made versions of the junk food he likes; ie potato wedges, home made chicken nuggets etc, but that probably wouldn't work with the child you are referring to as he is obviously very clear as to what he will like
My son is also going through a stage right now. He's 20 months and he is turning into a little vegetarian. He won't eat any type of meat. I've talked with his doctor and he assures me that this is normal and that almost EVERYTHING with kids is a stage. He also recommended to continuously try to introduce new foods. Sooner or later he'll give them a try. He also assured me that it is the parents (guardian's) job to provide a healthy selection of foods, but it is the child's responsibility to eat them. You can't force the child to eat what you want. So, if there are a few healthy things they will eat, let them. Just keep introducing new varieties. Best of luck to you!
My son is the same he is really picky with his food, he'll only eat plain pasta, cheese, root vegetables, fruit and sweets of any variety! However at his childminders he eats anything she gives him!
I dread dinner times as its always such a battle, however recently I have started to make it into a game, we all sit together and play who can eat the chicken the fastest, he starts off by saying I don't like it. After he sees his Dad and me playing and laughing he joins in. It took a long time though and a hell of a lot of patience and encouragement. I often do the old reverse psychology "You can't eat all that chicken" that often works!
