Good Morning B.~
I never allowed my child to be picky and at age 8, she eats anything and everything pretty much. She has a few dislikes, like Jelly and onions. Now, my daughter loves to eat and help me cook.
My step-son, who is 10, is a very picky eater. His mom makes him whatever he wants, mostly canned chili, spagetti and meatballs, corndogs and stuff like that. When he is at my house, he eats what we eat...we don't let him get away with it. He cries and gets angry that we won't make him his own special meal, but he gets what we get. We are making this a success, after one year, he tries everything, and really enjoys alot of it...but it took us this long to make it work. I made meatloaf one night, and he fussed, cried, moaned and groaned...but you know what? He tried it, loved it, begs for me to make it when he's at our house and went home to his mom and asked her why she never makes it! He is also eating all sorts of vegitables, and sometimes they are what he eats first! You have to follow through! You have to stand strong. If he doesn't like it, make him sit with you through dinner time, while you are washing your dishes, and until you are ready to leave the kitchen. A trick that I also use, is that if he is still sitting there and refuses to eat, I will choose to make brownies or cookies, maybe even pudding...so he will eat so he can have dessert, but I wait until dinner is done to start making it, so he will have time to eat. I don't know if it will work with you, but it is working with us, and it is a success!!! IF you have any more questions, let me know, I will try to help! Good Luck! Stand strong!