What if the child is not eating?

It is quite obvious that a baby's lack of appetite causes serious anxiety on the part of parents. After all, good nutrition is simply necessary for a growing child's body. With food, the baby receives important vitamins and minerals that contribute to the proper development of all organs and systems. Therefore, the concern of moms and dads is quite justified. What if the child is not eating? The answer to this question will be presented in this article.

Causes of poor appetite

Often, the baby's reluctance to eat is caused by inappropriate parenting behavior. Pressure from their side, incorrect formation of taste preferences, encouragement of pampering at the table - all these moments negatively affect the child's appetite. Let's take a look at the most popular reasons for children to give up food.

Parental coercion

A very common situation is when a caring mother forcibly pushes another spoonful of porridge or soup into the mouth of a wrinkled crumbs. This behavior, as well as the requirement of parents to eat every crumb, forms a negative attitude towards food in the baby. It is better to give the child a small portion of food and be given the opportunity to ask for more than to sit him in front of a full plate and force him to empty it in record time. The kid will eat exactly as much as his body needs. You should not worry, he will definitely not leave himself hungry.

Healthy food

Many parents stubbornly refuse to reckon with children's taste preferences. They persistently offer their children healthy, but not too appetizing food, sincerely surprised at their negative reaction. Liver, broccoli, zucchini, pumpkin porridge - not every adult can boast of love for these products, what can we say about little fussy. When preparing food for a child, it is important to consider his taste preferences. If necessary, you can add a couple of healthy ingredients to your favorite treat. Most likely, the baby will not notice much change. So, "diluting" spaghetti with grated cheese or cottage cheese, you can get an even more tasty and healthy dish.

Frequent snacks

In between meals, parents indulge their fidgets with all sorts of harmful delicacies. Sweets, ice cream, chips, chocolates - all these products kill your appetite and are absolutely not suitable for snacks. A much better solution would be to offer the child some bread or dried fruit. Due to their low sugar content, they do not reduce appetite and do not entail such dire consequences as obesity.

Health problems

It is not uncommon for diseases and all kinds of ailments to cause a decrease in appetite in children. At this time, the toddler is categorically forbidden to offer any snacks, otherwise he will ignore the next meal. Most likely, active games or a walk in the fresh air will soon make the baby hungry and demand from their parents their legal portion.

Do not restrict the child in his desire to taste food from the common table. So that such culinary experiments do not negatively affect the health of the crumbs, parents need to rely on correct and healthy food. Instead of frying in sunflower oil, it is better to use the steam method of processing food or baking in the oven. As for the child's personal menu, it should be as varied as possible. Indeed, from a standard set of children's products, you can create a huge number of delicious dishes, you just need to show your imagination. If no cunning tricks work on the stubborn child, you should invite him to take part in cooking. Such experiments will not only arouse genuine interest on the part of the child, but also encourage him to taste his culinary masterpieces.

Parents who are seriously concerned about the nutrition of the baby should keep a special food diary. By adding all the foods eaten by the baby to it every day, you can calculate the daily number of calories consumed. In the process of keeping a notebook, in no case should you cheat and cheat, because in this case we are talking about the health of the child. Even small snacks should be recorded in the diary, be it a piece of cheese or a candy bar. Often, as a result of the observations, parents are surprised to find that the level of calories consumed by the little one is almost twice the established norm. If the calculations indicate a significant lack of nutrients, you need to take decisive measures to correct the situation.

Thus, a child's lack of appetite can be the result of many reasons, some of which directly depend on the behavior of the parents. By preaching a competent approach to organizing baby food, it will not be difficult to achieve tangible results. If the child not only refuses to eat, but also noticeably loses weight, it is necessary to urgently consult a doctor for advice. Having carried out a thorough examination of the child and prescribing the appropriate tests, the specialist will be able to identify the cause of the problem and take steps to solve it.

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