There are certain appetite disorders. For example, when a child is constantly hungry and is chewing something non-stop; or he refuses all kinds of food but one; and it also happens that the child has no appetite at all, and there is a complete refusal of food.
The psychologist explains: in the first place, the parents kill the pleasure of eating in a child. And this is how they do it.
1. Cartoons, games, other theater during meals. At this moment, the brain ceases to fix the pleasure of eating, it is easier and faster for it to get joy from the cartoon. The child eats automatically, the importance of what is happening is not laid in the subconscious.
2. Monotonous food. At a certain point, children begin to eat only one type of food or another, and it is convenient for parents. Doctors say that this is not very scary, but only if such a period lasts for a relatively short time, no longer than two to three months.
3. Frequent meals and endless snacks. Sometimes, so that the child does not twitch or distract, they constantly put something in his mouth. But the amount of food consumed per day should be clearly regulated and appropriate for age and weight. The trouble is, these snacks are often sweet, filling, and high in calories. And then the child categorically refuses vegetables and gains excess weight.
4. Forcing to finish the portion to the end. This is another parental extreme – to shove food in, even if the child does not want to eat anymore.
5. Blackmail and threats. “If you don’t eat, you will be punished.”
6. Negative events accompanying food intake. If parents always swear in the kitchen or rudely force him to eat objectively tasteless food, the baby runs the risk of losing a positive perception of food, and in the future he simply will not have an appetite due to his unwillingness to repeat the negative experience experienced in early childhood.
What to do
1. Remove all entertainment.
2. Eat with your child at the table – to create a culture of food consumption.
3. At the meal – only calm conversations and no quarrels.
4. We establish the correct diet for the whole family. It is not necessary to eat by the hour, but it is advisable to keep a flexible schedule.
5. Doesn’t want to eat – don’t force. By the next meal, the baby will definitely be hungry.
6. Food should not only be tasty, but also beautiful.
7. At the same time, food must be healthy. It is important to maintain a balance between tasty and healthy; it is impossible to force a child to eat insipid, tasteless food.
8. Don’t put too much on the plate. If he asks for supplements, that’s good.
9. Do not force to finish every last crumb. Let some of the food stay – this is a healthy approach to eating. But do not eat up for the child yourself, “so that it does not disappear”: this will backfire on you with extra pounds.
10. Monitor the composition of the products. Flavors and other additives can be addictive, creating and developing cravings for unhealthy foods.