Alright so... This is going to be long winded and possibly confusing. I just need some insight.

My kid is a 'selective eater'. My son's father and I swore up and down we were not going to be one of 'those parents' who just didn't give the child a hard lesson about eating what's on their plate, but we were wrong. So fucking wrong.

His first foods were avocado and butternut squash, which he promptly spit out everywhere. Ever since then it's been an uphill battle. We've had vomiting, panic attacks, hunger strikes and so much more. The first few years I figured we could starve him out but when he finally relented and tried his damn food he would often vomit or gag. It's a bitter fucking scene every single dinner time I give him something new and I'm just over it. He's not spoiled nor does he try to avoid any of his obligations at home or school except for eating his damn food.

I dunno if it's neurological, psychological or physiological. He does eat many foods from all the food groups, his problem is foods mixed together for the most part. I do believe he is not faking for attention or anything, and I've tried rewards and punishments and not offering him anything but what's on his plate, but we're pretty much at the same spot we were when he was 1. Now I just make stuff I know he will eat for dinners, but sometimes I just give him a sandwich, some vegetables and milk or a hot dog and vegetables for supper if we want to have something else.

That said I'm getting really tired of him being this way and wonder if I am, in fact, a pussy bitch about getting him to eat his food. It's just SUCH a fucking struggle to even get him to take a bite of a new food, with so little reward (often vomiting) that I don't even want to try to force him any more. I've been told by literally everyone to just starve him out until he eats what we give him, but when he finally does and pukes/gags/whatever it just seems so pointless. But I believe this is a double edged sword because now I have set a precedent that I will be understanding if he doesn't want to eat something new past the first bite.

He's fucking 6 years old and this has been, by far, the biggest and most chronic issue of parenting. I need to either be content with the fact that he's just 'different' from other kids and is still healthy/normal, or find some fucking way I haven't thought of yet to persuade him to try new things (I know damn well forcing him isn't an option by now).

So yeah. Any advice or commiseration? Thanks in advance.