The child does not want to eat
Serve your child the amount of food they need based on their age on the largest plate. In this way, you will perceive that there is a small
How to deal with the lack of appetite of children. What causes or reasons can lead children to not want to eat?
Babies eat for their size, much more than adults. For this reason, in the process of becoming adults, sooner or later, they begin to eat less.
The reason for this change around the first year of life is a decrease in growth velocity. Some children stop eating at nine months and others wait until a year and a half or two years. During the first year, babies gain weight and grow faster than at any other time in their extra uterine life.
- What to do if the child every time does not want to eat?
- 7 tips to educate children's eating behavior
- 5 reasons why NOT force children to eat
What to do if the child every time does not want to eat?
However, in the second year, growth is much slower: about 9 cm tall and a few pounds.
According to expert calculations, children of a year and a half eat a little more than those of nine months and parents, who are not informed of this fact, think that if their baby eats as much at one year, at two they will eat twice as much. The result is an inevitable and violent conflict between the parent and the child.
How long do the children go without eating?
Many children start eating more around the age of five or seven, when their body size increases. However, the amount of food each person needs is highly variable, and some children eat much more or much less than their peers of the same age and size.
On the other hand, the expectations of the parents can also be very different and while some mothers would be satisfied with their son finishing the plate of spaghetti, others hope that after the spaghetti he will also eat a steak with potatoes, an apple and a yogurt. For this reason, it is important to respect children's natural wisdom regarding their physiological needs.
Parents can do a lot to correctly educate their children in their eating habits, in their way of eating, in their way of demanding food and in their perception of food.
- Create a pleasant atmosphere
Mealtime should be pleasant and necessary for the child which he should have it in a happy way. Avoid that the food is conditioned to the punishment, if it does not finish the plate.
- Change your perception of the amount of food that child does not want to eat
Serve your child the amount of food they need based on their age on the largest plate. In this way, you will perceive that there is a small amount of food on your plate.
- Promotes their autonomy
It can motivate him to set the table, let him serve himself and decide and have autonomy over his food tastes.
- Teach him to eat as a family with family
Whenever you can, allow him to eat with the family so that he appropriates the eating habits of adults, assimilating the behavior and models of the family.
- Promotes a balanced diet
Allowing him to choose his menu can influence the success or failure of his diet. Success means that the child must try a variety of healthy foods to get his palate used to different flavors.
- Avoid complacency and delicacies
Lunchtime has a place, a time and a clear and necessary purpose.
- Offer him only what he needs
Do not expect the child to eat the same amount of food as you. Let him decide and eat how much he needs to satisfy his hunger and develop his appetite in a healthy way.
5 reasons why NOT force children to eat
Each child is a world and unique in their way of being and also eating. According to a study conducted by the University, more than 80% of parents and caregivers force children to eat. Therefore, it gives us reasons not to force children to eat everything:
- Forcing a child to eat the food that has placed on their plate forces them to eat much more than they should. You advised to listen to them and respect their tastes and choices.
- Forcing children to eat everything makes mealtime a daily torment. Each time the child comes to the table with less enthusiasm and the parents with less patience.
- By forcing the child to eat, he makes him understand that it is normal for someone else to make decisions about his body and his needs.
- The autonomy of the child has also limited, repressing him.
- The obligation to eat favors overweight and childhood obesity.
