Is it always necessary to make an effort to keep a child’s plate clean?
1. The baby may also “not be in the mood”
First of all, pay attention to yourself. Sometimes, when you are really hungry, you will eat everything that is prepared with great appetite. And there are times when there is simply no mood for food – and this will apply to any proposed dish.
2. Have you eaten or not?
Having been born, a healthy child understands perfectly well when and how much he wants to eat (in this case, we are considering a healthy child, because the presence of a certain pathology makes its own adjustments to the baby’s nutrition). It is completely useless to worry that the child did not finish 10-20-30 ml of the mixture at one meal. And a grown up healthy baby does not need to be forced to “eat another spoonful for mom and dad.” If the child does not want to eat, he was called to the table too early. He will be hungry until the next meal, or finish his 20 ml over the norm after the physical activity that he has planned before lunch.
3. “War is war, but lunch is on schedule!”
The main thing that mom needs to clearly follow is the time of eating. It is easier and more physiological for the functioning of the digestive system to have a clear time schedule, which consists in setting a certain time for eating. “War is war, but lunch is on schedule!” – this quote quite clearly reflects the physiology of digestion.
4. Just one candy…
Another very important point for adults who love to pamper their children with all sorts of sweets in between feedings. The absence of such snacks between breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner is the key to a good appetite for your baby or an already grown child!
5. “You won’t leave the table …”
When you force a child to finish eating, you increase the amount of food that he actually needs. Over time, this leads to unwanted weight gain. It is harder for the child to move, activity falls, appetite grows. Vicious circle! And overweight in older and adolescence.
Teach your child to politely refuse food if he is full or does not want to try the offered dish. Allow your child to determine their own serving size. Ask if it’s enough? Put a smaller portion and be sure to remind you that you can ask for a supplement.
We can safely say that when a child is hungry, he will eat everything that you offer him. You will never have a question about what to cook today. Your baby will turn out to be practically omnivorous (“practically” let’s leave it to individual intolerance and taste claims)!