I like to think I'm generally a pretty relaxed, go with the flow type parent. Which seems to work for us because both kids sleep through the night, rarely have tantrums and are just overall well behaved, happy kids.

But lately I've been struggling to keep my cool when it comes to mealtimes.

What's my almost 2 year old eaten in the last few months?

Bananas. Vegemite on toast. Dried fruit + peanut mix (I might as well get a pet monkey!).

Oh, I of course can't forget to mention the odd bowl of vanilla ice cream on nights when I give up and figure it's better than him going to bed starving or me loosing the plot.

Come dinnertime I am faced with flat out refusal to eat anything other than the earlier mentioned foods. Hands over the mouth, twisting away and of course "no, no, NO!".

The amount of food wasted could probably feed a small country and if it keeps being thrown to our pet dogs I'm sure they will soon become overweight.

I've made every attempt to try and get him to eat lunch or dinner.
I've tried to get him involved in the cooking side of things to spark some food interest, I've banished snacks unless it's fruit, meat or vegetables (in which case he then usually doesn't snack either), I've cooked every toddler meal idea on pinterest and read every article about tricks to feed picky eaters.

I've also had weak parenting moments where I resorted to bribery and tried playing "good cop/bad cop".
Still it seems like nothing works and I'm hanging in by a thread.

I don't want to dread going to dinner with family and having to lie through my teeth about what a big, late lunch we all had when my son doesn't eat anything but bread for dinner. I don't want to worry about him being starving all night once he's gone to bed after not eating a bite.

Sometimes I leave a drink of water and a fruit bar on the toy chest at the end of his bed in case we wakes up starving in the middle of the night.

I can't bare to feel like I'm failing him every, single, day when I can't get him to eat anything but bananas.

Some say it's just a phase and he'll grow out of it...I really hope that's true because if not I'm completely lost as to what to do. Invest in a banana farm perhaps? Buy shares in peanuts? Learn to bake my own bread?

Someone tell me I'm not alone in this... I'm desperately seeking any parent or caregivers out there who have experienced the battle of feeding a picky eater and if you somehow got them to start eating other foods then I beg of you to enlighten me, share your glorious secrets and tips with the world!

Until then, if anyone needs me, I'll be rocking back and forth in the pantry praying we haven't run out of bananas.