Concerns re grandchild's diet.

If he seems otherwise normal, then I'd just give him the usual vitamins; make sure fruit & veg are available, and leave him to it.
Very few toddlers like meat as such and many dislike vegetables. They grow out of it as long they get good opportunities to eat well, and they don't get much attention paid to their fussing.
However, 2 things make me wonder: he is very sensitive to smells, and he will only eat cookies from a packet. Your wording makes me think you are not in the UK, so I don't know how you would sensitively check his general development.
In the UK, I'd say ask nursery, or check with the Health Visitor.

Sounds pretty normal to me. Cookies from a packet are sweeter than home made maybe this is why he prefers them.
Is his diet perhaps the only thing in his life he has some control over.

Step back

His doctor will raise any concerns if any
and his parents will address this if worried

Different kids from same parents have different diets and degrees of pickiness

Don’t let the child see that his diet concerns you ,
not all children like vegetables or fruit
Some children can’t abide the texture of meat , it sometimes takes too much chewing
Fussing about what he eats or doesn’t eat makes things worse, if the rest of the family are eating different things and setting a good example he might come round to broadening his diet
It’s the parents job to oversee his meals , so go with them

Never a good idea to get involved in parenting grandchildren, unless they are in your charge of course.

DGS5 - aged 5 - eats chips, toast and pasta with cheese. He ate pizza the other day too.

He is bright, sparky and a brilliant footballer - or so he tells me!! His older brother and sister eat completely normally.

I am baffled by some grand parents stressing about their grandchildren. It's not really, generally, anything to do with the grandparents.

As others say, probably nothing to worry about. But there is an eating disorder called 'Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)'

Here is a link to a website that gives a very balanced overview of the subject and also has lots of sensible hints and tips - like getting the child to help prepare and cook food, they usually eat what they have prepared. eating-disorders.org.uk/information/avoidant-restrictive-eating-disorder/

Can I just say my son would eat no vegetables except a tiny bit of carrot no fruit except bananas no cheese milk cream He loved Frosties or similar and ate meat
He is now in his fifties has been an athlete all his life running now in extreme Ironman races and has a body and apparently organs age much younger than his years He’s never smoked
Please don’t worry too much

Oh I should add when one of my grandaughters daddy died she ate nothing but noodles for a year she’s a very healthy and beautiful girl age 20 in her last year at uni now
Please do not worry

My cousin only ate Weetabix for the first 5 years or so. My aunt was so worried she spoke to the doctor who told her that her child was perfectly healthy and to stop worrying. Even now, in his 50s, he's a picky eater.

My nephew, now mid fifties only ate Rivita and peanut butter until adulthood. He's now a fit, healthy vegetarian/vegan.

unless you have parental responsibility for this child, it is not your business.
and beware of making it an issue in front of the child; that could be detrimental to him.

A lot of autistic kids will only eat beige food like crisps, pastry, chips etc and are extremely sensitive to smells and foods touching each other.

Don’t worry about it. A) it’s his parents responsibility not yours b) children are all different. Some are what can be called ‘fussy eaters’. Least fuss, soonest mended

A friend’s child is autistic and eats a very limited diet, mainly pasta and cereals. He is now 18 , very thin but seemingly healthy so do not worry too much.

Children, like adults, struggle with disordered eating.

The absolute worst thing anyone can do is to put any pressure on at all to eat anything. You run the risk of creating a phobia and a food phobic child has the capacity to not eat at all

The best thing you can do is offer choices, make it clear that they do not need to eat what they don't like and remove all stress for the child, and the adults because the child will sense the adults stress.

Then identify what nutrients may be missing and look for them in the food they do like and vitamin gummies etc

Honestly, I have seen children grow into healthy adults on a diet of chicken nuggets and crisps (also vitamins) try not to worry

We knew a child who lived on cucumber, ham and apple juice for 6 years, sounds pretty healthy compared with some here!
My GD was adopted aged 4 and only ate "crisp" food, things like chicken nuggets, oven cooked chips, crisps and biscuits. We think this was largely down to the carer she was living with. Two and a half years later she has a pretty normal diet, though she still prefers things crisp and doesn't like anything in a sauce such as macaroni cheese. Also she doesn't like cooked carrot, an aversion which I share!

My grandson had severe food issues after gastroenteritis at 10 months. His diet for the next 12 years consisted of pesto pasta, every night, bread rolls, crisps occasionally cake. Last week we celebrated his 15th birthday at a steak restaurant, where he ate every type of meat going with lashings of salad. Last night he had chicken mango salad with peppers, radish, etc etc. He's a climber, incredibly strong and fit. Try not to worry...he'll discover food eventually!

My son lived on chips (UK) not chips (US) plus tomato sauce.
He's in his 30s and now eats anything

Firstly, he’s not a toddler at 4, secondly many many children are exceptionally picky at this age (3 out of our 4 were) and thirdly this is so common in neuro-divergent children (autism etc), so long as he’s not desperately underweight, active and sleeps well I would not worry and I certainly wouldn’t be talking about it to the parents

We have a clearly overweight grandson who is now 6. For me, as the “fat child” in school I know the trauma that awaits him. Grandpa would like to say something, I do not think it is our place, and to me’body shaming’ is the most counter productive thing you can do. But, what CAN we do to assist. We have not yet broached the subject with our daughter - but I would expect a “stay out of it” response if we did.

Perhaps he’s on the autistic spectrum…

I have twin Dgs's. One is neurotypical & eats everything, the other has autism & global development delay. His diet consists of milk, pink wafer biscuits, salt & vinegar chipsticks & the occasional crumpet. He has vitamin drops. My Dd was told not to make food an issue, she has more important battles to fight on his behalf.

My 4.5 yr old great nephew has a texture issue with food. His mother enrolled him a therapy class introducing new foods - some of which took, the rest ignored. His Dr is amazed at how healthy he is - and Smart!! He is autism spectrum. He could read at age 3.5. He’s like the healthiest most vibrant kid.

We worry for nothing sometimes. Let the child progress as naturally as possible. Forcing him to eat differently may have an adverse effect.

The ones who may change his pattern? His peer friends and playmates when he observes how they eat other foods with gusto. They get curious.
USA Gundy