Stop when the meal becomes a fight
If you are begging, and they are crying, the meal is over. Clear the new food. Leave them the familiar one if they still want it.
Shrink the offer
Try again another day, earlier, with a smaller piece. A fight is a reason to shrink the offer, not to push harder.
Begging is the sign to stop. The familiar food can stay. The new food can go.
Repair is the next plate
The next meal should be easy: a food they accept, a short time, you sitting down. The new food waits.
A scene every night is more than a phase to push through. Talk to your child’s doctor or a feeding therapist.
What you drop
Drop the extra bite, the countdown, and the speech. End the meal.
Worry about growth, choking, or distress still means talk to your child’s doctor. This page cannot sort those out.
A sentence you can say
“We’re stopping. Your banana can stay.”