The kid refuses to eat. What to do if the baby refuses to eat

From the first day of his life, the child in the family becomes the object of general attention. Young parents are ready to go all out to provide the best for their child, and this is natural. Childhood is a wonderful time, and it is impossible to describe in words all those wonderful moments that parents experience with their child. However, how many problems and questions stand in the way of this happiness, and one of the popular stumbling blocks is when a child does not eat.

As a rule, seeing that the child refuses to eat, parents fall into a real panic, especially if this is their first child. They are driven by hyper-increased anxiety - after all, if a child does not eat, his immunity decreases, he can get sick, he can develop allergies, he can go to bed from exhaustion! But do not be so scared, in fact, most of the reasons why a child does not eat well are easily solved. Let's consider them.

If a small child does not want to eat ...

If at the age of one year the child does not eat well, then the refusal to eat can be explained by two main reasons:

he doesn't want to eat at the moment
he's really worried about something.

If you have a baby - you should always be on the alert. In any case, the parents of the infant should undergo a medical examination with the child as often as possible, so if you think that the baby is not eating due to tummy problems, consult a specialist.

It does not hurt to clarify how to feed the child: what exactly besides breast milk or instead of it, what is the correct diet for the child. If the baby has no digestive problems, just try to change the child's diet. Most mothers feed their baby on a flexible diet, that is, when he asks for it, taking approximate breaks between feedings. You can try to make these intervals longer or, conversely, feed him more often, but in smaller portions. Some parents adhere to a strict schedule and feed the child by the hour, which not all children are satisfied with such a schedule. After all, his tummy is only adapting to this world, to new food and active growth, and he simply physically cannot eat when you decide.

When children do not eat from a year and older

In the case of an older child, the problem of nutrition may be complicated by psychological barriers. But do not forget that at any age, both children and adults, there may be problems with the gastrointestinal tract. As a rule, a child suffering from such diseases is easy to figure out: his stomach hurts even from the most innocent food, he is often sick and sick, he has problems with stool, and many food smells cause him disgust or even a gag reflex. Such a child should be urgently taken to the examination of a specialist.

Just remember, this is no longer a dumb baby that you could put in your arms and carry wherever you like. This is already a person, nature with its own interests and principles, and sometimes going to the doctor can cause a scandal. You can simply not tell him about going to the clinic in advance, but simply take him there as if for a routine examination. It would be nice if you send a child who is especially sensitive to his nature to take a walk for the duration of the conversation with the doctor. Of course, it will be important for you to indicate to the doctor the color and consistency of the same stool, and this may offend the child. If you do not see symptoms of the disease, and the child does not eat regularly, then it is worth considering several other reasons.

So, what are the underlying reasons for the tragic "child does not eat well"?

As a rule, a child suffering from such diseases is easy to figure out: his stomach hurts even from the most innocent food, he is often sick and sick, he has problems with stool, and many food smells cause him disgust or even a gag reflex. Such a child should be urgently taken to the examination of a specialist. Just remember, this is no longer a dumb baby that you could put in your arms and carry wherever you like. This is already a person, nature with its own interests and principles, and sometimes going to the doctor can cause a scandal. You can simply not tell him about going to the clinic in advance, but simply take him there as if for a routine examination. It would be nice if you send a child who is especially sensitive to his nature to take a walk for the duration of the conversation with the doctor. Of course, it will be important for you to indicate to the doctor the color and consistency of the same stool, and this may offend the child. If you do not see symptoms of the disease, and the child does not eat regularly, then it is worth considering several other reasons.

What are you feeding him?
Is there a specific diet for a child?
Is he eating right?
Negative environment in the house!
How do you feed a child, is it by force?

Even if it seems to you that you have not met your unique reasons among these reasons, you should analyze them.

1. He must eat baby foods. Luckily, it's hard to find parents trying to feed their two-year-old baby sushi or smoked lamb every day these days. But nevertheless, consider your menu: once the child has learned to hold food in his hand and bite large enough pieces that then fall into his mouth, he can and should eat what the whole family eats. However, he still needs baby cereals, fruit drinks and fruit puree, he still needs to cook semolina or oatmeal. Too fried, peppery, baked in mayonnaise dishes are harmful even for adults, and a child may simply not tolerate them. If a child goes to a kindergarten or school, find out his menu there, and try to bring his diet at home closer to the "foreign" diet.

2. In addition, every person, with rare exceptions, has such dishes and products that he simply cannot stand. Give your child such a right - he may well refuse a particular dish or two, but if this list grows - do not succumb to provocations. It happens that the rejection of certain foods disappears with age, and sometimes it remains for life. In any case, no matter how you convince him that it is useful, and "well, you just try" - you will not achieve anything, except to increase hostility.

3. The child must have at least an approximate daily schedule. Yes, yes, not only the diet, but the daily routine. So that the child does not begin to suffer from breakfast refusals, he must be hungry for breakfast. He didn’t eat anything all night (which is important), which means that he is hungry for sure, it just needs to be awakened. This is facilitated by morning exercises, and water procedures, and cleaning the bed. Active movement + washed face - the best way to a healthy breakfast! This rule should be subordinated to other meals. Before dinner, a walk in the fresh air, active movements, long hikes (comparatively long ones) will help. Before dinner, you can collect toys, clean the room, watch a cartoon together, meet dad from work, etc.

4. How to feed the baby correctly? Eating conditions must be appropriate. The child, like all family members, should eat in the kitchen at the table. Near the TV or with a book, you can drink a cup of tea or eat a donut, but nothing more. In the kitchen during meals, there should be order and relative cleanliness. The air must be fresh (it is unacceptable for the room to smell of tobacco, fumes, paint, etc.), the child must sit on a stable chair at a stable table if he has already grown out of a highchair. It is very good if the child has his own cutlery - his own special plate, spoon, fork. It happens that the child flatly refuses to eat from another plate or someone else's spoon - do not worry, this will pass with time. Numerous snacks between meals can also spoil the matter - you don’t need to take him a bag of cookies for a walk, just take an apple and a bottle of water if he really becomes very hungry during a walk, but it’s better that the child doesn’t eat anything on the street - this more reliable both from the side of food and from the side of hygiene.

5. Negative home environment. This is not a common reason, but even a two-year-old baby is able to arrange some kind of hunger strike in protest of what is happening around. Scandals and screams between family members, your irritation, work problems brought into the house - all this can cause a child to eat poorly. He does not do this on purpose, he is simply sensitive and attentive to family problems. We repeat, this does not happen often, many children cannot limit their food even subconsciously, and some, on the contrary, seize stress and problems. And yet, think about it: do decibels rise too often in your house?

6. Force feeding is not an option at all! This is one of the most popular reasons why a child does not eat. Do you want him to eat? Feed him! But pushing food into it is not an option at all. Of course, it pains you to see that he again pushes a full plate away from him, and it is so difficult for you to resist the request to eat "well, at least a little more." But you have no idea how stubborn your child can be, and with what persistence (sometimes to the detriment of himself and his stomach) he can refuse food. Even a child with the best and most brisk appetite can be made a “refusenik” if, in addition to food, you feed him with kicks and moralizing. If he hasn't eaten anything at the table, let him go. Even if this little stubborn man goes hungry all day, nothing will be done to him, but he will learn a good lesson: eat while they give.

7. Numerous horror stories about children who didn’t eat anything and became so thin that they were blown away by the wind and their mother couldn’t find them anymore can not only not help, but also upset the baby so much that he refuses to eat again and even with tears on the eyes. Various bonuses and gifts for a good appetite are also a sure way to the abyss - each time the child's requirements will increase, and in the end you can get to the point that the whole family will have to sing and dance for one spoonful of mashed potatoes. No need to promise anything, no need to threaten or punish - just let him go. As a rule, seeing that the mother no longer hangs over her soul and does not show interest in the contents of the plate, the child calms down and returns to a normal diet. The main thing here is not to overdo it in your indifference and not toss a plate with an air of "I don't even care where it will fly to you." Be friendly, you can keep a light and not too intense conversation with the child, not about food or something exciting, but about extraneous topics: Aunt Masha is moving to a new apartment, grandmother called and said hello to everyone, it looks like it will rain tomorrow and etc. If you do not eat at the same time as the child, you can do your own business in the kitchen or in another room. The atmosphere should not be stressful, and this is not a performance - in any house where people love each other, there is no place for tension and irritation.

Remember the main thing!

The general rule that must be applied in the fight against "refuseniks" and small children: do not escalate. You can’t scold a child for a poorly cleaned plate, unless, of course, he threw it against the wall along with all the contents. And in order not to bring the matter to such an epic finale, be patient and do not give up. In fact, any child is a living growing being, and he wants to eat properly and fully, and does everything for this, just on such a childish scale that you sometimes don’t see it. Your task is not to push him off the right path and help your baby.

No matter how similar nature makes us, all people remain individual, and children are no exception. Each child needs his own approach, no matter what: in nutrition, in clothing, in upbringing, in learning. Loving and calm parents intuitively and without prompting find this approach and go along with their child along the path of childhood. Even if this article were ten times longer, it would not cover all the subtleties and nuances in nutrition and the reasons why a child does not eat, just as it is impossible to embrace all the children of the world with one hug. In any case, remember - no matter what problems you encounter in the way of raising your child, you can easily overcome them with love and perseverance, and we will try to help you with this.

Author of the publication: Elena Pivovarova

In every family, sooner or later there comes a moment when the child begins to selectively approach food. To some category of products, he is indulgent and can have a snack, refuse some completely. Without knowing the reasons for the child's refusal to eat, grandmothers and mothers immediately begin to sound the alarm. They try to find in this refusal an illness or, in extreme cases, a bad mood.

What are the reasons why a child refuses to eat?

Each person has their own appetite. And if at one time dad and mom ate poorly, then it’s not surprising who their child went to.
Illness. Do not panic, even a mild inflammatory process can affect appetite. As well as teething, stomatitis or beginning SARS.
Incorrect behavior of adults at the table. The process of eating should be quiet and calm, without unnecessary words, reproaches and notations.
Stress. A child, like an adult, knows how to experience, only his experiences are longer in nature, he is more vulnerable and endures everything harder. The reason for this may be the death of a loved one, litter in the family, going to kindergarten.
Fluctuations in weather, change of seasons.

Never force you to eat everything on your plate. If he doesn't want to, let him not eat.
Do not scold the child when he refuses to eat. It’s just worth explaining that the next time you can eat no earlier than 3 hours later.
No snacking throughout the day. Only three meals: breakfast, lunch and dinner.
The most important thing is the routine. You need to get used to eating at the same time.
It would be nice if the family had their own traditions of eating. He sits down at the table, only in its entirety, wishing you a pleasant appetite and saying thank you, buy beautiful dishes for your child, lead conversations at the table on pleasant topics.

To increase the level of appetite, outdoor games, long walks on the street will help. And obligatory, it is necessary to do, morning exercises.

Minutes of independence will help maintain appetite at the proper level, when the child himself will have to eat with a spoon and drink from a mug. Of course, he will not be able to eat, but he will show his independence.

Don't turn your meal into a game. This negatively affects his character as a whole.

You should remember one golden rule, if the lack of appetite dragged on and on your own, you can’t cope with it at home, then you should seek help from a medical worker-child nutritionist.

Komarovsky rules for feeding a child

What determines a child's appetite?
What to do if the child does not want to eat
What could be the reason for not eating?
Is it necessary to force the child to eat, what can malnutrition turn into?

One of the many questions young parents have is what to do if their children refuse to eat.

Most often, loss of appetite is temporary, but it happens that child refuses to eat systematically. Why is this happening and what can be done?

What is appetite

The word "appetite" from the Latin appetitus literally means "desire", "desire". This special sensation arises from the need for food, the next stage is the feeling of hunger.

Before looking into the reasons why child refuses to eat let's see how this feeling is formed. The work of the digestive system is controlled by the brain, more precisely by its separate center - the food center, in which, due to the concentration of nutrients (mainly glucose), separate sections are excited - the center of hunger and the center of satiety. If under the influence of stimuli the food center is excited, you want to eat. Then impulses are sent to the salivary glands, saliva is released, the work of the digestive glands starts - and the baby begins to show signs of hunger: it opens its mouth, licks its lips, smacks, makes sucking movements, even cries. An older kid will reach for a bottle, plate or spoon. If the food center is inhibited or blocked, the appetite disappears, and then the baby will refuse to eat, even if you offer him his favorite dish.

Here are some tips to help you understand why child refuses to eat and fix the problem.

Taste baby food

Often the problem is the taste of food - bitter, salty, too sweet. Food for children is recommended not to salt or sweeten (at least up to 1.5 years). Refusal can be caused by too high or low food temperature, large pieces, especially if the child choked a couple of times and remembered it. It is usually enough to make the pieces smaller, let the soup cool, or note which flavor the baby likes the most.

Is the child healthy

There are a number of diseases that in one way or another affect the fact that child refuses to eat. In case of constant refusal to eat, the first thing to do is to visit a pediatrician or gastroenterologist.

These diseases will be revealed by examination, blood and urine tests, additional studies (ultrasound, ECG, X-ray). The recommendations in this case are extremely simple - until the reasons are eliminated, feed the child as he develops a desire to eat.

Pretty common reasons why child refuses to eat- pain during teething, especially molars, or with caries, as well as the development of stomatitis and gum problems. Sometimes it is difficult to figure it out on your own, you will need to see a doctor.

The needs of the child

Child of the first three years life is not able to describe their appetite, so parents have to evaluate it based on their experience and feelings. But it should be borne in mind that all children are divided into small children, who eat medium and large. Their metabolism is different, respectively, and the need for food too. Of course, parents are worried about the situation when there seems to be no illness, but the appetite is disturbed. However, sometimes this happens due to physiological reasons. The growth process is maximum in the first year - so the child eats a lot and often, quickly gains weight. But in the second and third year, its needs are reduced.

In addition, you should objectively assess the child's lifestyle - how much energy he spends, how much he walks, runs, jumps, how warmly he is dressed, whether he sweats. Appetite is affected by energy costs - in the summer, in the heat, fewer calories are spent, there is no need to heat the surface of the body. Therefore, in the summer child refuses to eat more often than in winter. An active fidget will spend more than a calm, quiet child, which means that they will eat differently.

There are objective signs that the child has enough nutrition:

age-appropriate physical development, weight gain;
proper neuropsychic development, cheerfulness, activity;
normal exercise tolerance, without fatigue (the baby runs on the street on a par with everyone else, he does not have shortness of breath, he does not sit for a long time next to his mother, resting);
a balanced character without lethargy and hyperactivity (both a lack of nutrients and an excess of proteins and fats disrupt nervous activity);
smooth skin, elastic muscles;
regular stool and urination.

In pediatrics, there are about 200 indicators of children's health, ranging from weight and height to the amount of salt excreted in the urine. Each has limits on acceptable fluctuations, and parents are very worried when a child does not fit into all parameters. However, the norms are just conditional guidelines. A strong deviation will force the doctor to examine the child in more detail. But this does not mean at all that your baby is obliged to add exactly 10, and not 8 or 12 kilograms, by 1 year, and there are exactly 250, and not 150 or 300 grams. Each baby is individual, and each has its own norm, which is known to parents and the doctor who constantly monitors him. This is the norm that you should adhere to, not comparing your child with the neighbors.

A little higher, we talked about signs of health - if the baby grows, develops, he is happy and satisfied with life, then his appetite is adequate to his needs, even if, according to his parents, he eats little.

What to do if the child refuses to eat

Often, young parents, after listening to the "valuable" advice of relatives and friends about the lack of fatness of the child, do their best to cram as much as possible into the child. In the course are games, persuasion, threats, dances, bribery and even performances. Each spoon is a holiday, and refusal to eat is grief and anxiety. As a result, eating turns into a battle.

Such feeding, unfortunately, brings little benefit, and most often only harms. It is better that the child does not begin to eat, but usually he simply refuses to eat at all. The fact is that appetite is not just a desire to eat, it is also evidence of the body's readiness to eat: the production of a sufficient amount of digestive juices in the pancreas and liver, activation of intestinal motility and its release from the previous portion of food. If you force feed a child, most of what you eat will not be digested and food intake can be considered useless. A big problem is forming - the digestive system is overloaded, and the child is trying hard to feed, no matter what.

Do not focus on selectivity in food.

Parents often complain that child refuses to eat, avoids certain foods, such as dairy or meat. However, changing preferences is quite natural. Children under 2-3 years of age obey mainly instincts, so selectivity in food reflects the real need of the child at the moment. For example, giving up vegetables or meat in favor of dairy products in the first year of life may indicate a need for calcium during tooth growth. You should not worry, although it is still necessary to offer other products from time to time, perhaps after some time the baby's preferences will change.

Give the right to choose

Even the smallest ones already have their own preferences - someone likes pumpkin, someone likes potatoes, and someone likes cottage cheese. If the child is picky - offer him a choice, from the realization of his own participation he will eat with great pleasure, even if he is only a year or two. It seems to many that this is difficult, but in practice it is simple - get the baby cottage cheese and fruit puree for an afternoon snack, whatever you want, then let's. For lunch, offer two options - meat puree or porridge. Go from the opposite. If the baby does not like porridge, and you want him to eat vegetable stew, offer porridge and stew - against the background of one unloved dish, the second looks more profitable. Or add to the rejected foods that the child will eat willingly. For example, if he likes pumpkin, add it to porridge or soup, it will give a familiar taste to the whole dish.

Let the baby take part in the preparation of food as much as possible - this will interest. If a child refuses to eat- it means that he is simply not hungry yet and you need to offer to eat a little later.

Avoid Mistakes

Eating will become more enjoyable if mom takes into account a few simple things.

Don't be in a hurry to introduce complementary foods. According to modern WHO standards, all children, regardless of the type of feeding, are recommended to introduce complementary foods at about six months. The enzyme system must mature and adapt to the new food, then the new food will benefit. Each new dish, so that the baby tastes and loves it, should be offered in the amount of ½ teaspoon about 10-15 times, gradually the baby will get used to the new taste and will eat with pleasure.
A strict feeding schedule should be followed - breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner should be clearly distinguished. This allows you to streamline the work of the digestive system, enzymes are activated by a certain hour and the food is completely absorbed.
If the child is excited, ran, just returned from the street, cries or is upset - you should not put him at the table. Give him 20-30 minutes to recover, calm down and switch to food. Then the process will be easier. For example, if a child is passionate about the game, you can start warning him about an imminent dinner in 15–20 minutes.
Follow the rituals, involve the baby in them - make eating a meal no less exciting than playing or reading. For example, the ritual can be as follows: first we prepare a table, the baby spreads a napkin on it (he chooses it himself). Then the baby chooses a spoon from several proposed ones, washes his hands and sits down. He will try to eat everything to see who “hid” at the bottom of the plate today. You can buy several identical plates with different pictures on the bottom, and every day there will be a surprise: who is there - a fish, a little man or a car.
Between feedings, do not give your child high-calorie foods, especially starchy foods and sweets, otherwise child refuses to eat as they discourage appetite for a long time. By the way, contrary to popular belief, juice is a very high-calorie product. It has a lot of sugar, it gives a feeling of satiety for a long time.
It is useful to decorate dishes and beautifully set the table. In addition, the place for feeding should be comfortable, matched to the height of the child and located so that the baby sees everything and can take part in family lunches and dinners.
A great way to work up an appetite is to spend a lot of time outdoors with your parents or peers, run, jump, ride on a swing, play outdoor games. Walking at least 1.5-2 hours a day is important for a good appetite.
The psychological state of the child has a great influence on appetite. When the baby is constantly forced to eat, he develops a protective reaction at the sight of the table. the child refuses to eat.

A common problem is the slowness of children. If the child does not have time to chew food, the mechanism of protective vomiting may work and there may be a fear of repeating it. To cope with such problems, you can try to draw, change the environment, tell an exciting story about food - in a word, try to break the negative associations between eating and negative emotions. The game "stubborn kid" helps a lot. Let your child feed you - and you refuse and indulge, showing what he usually does at the table, but avoiding the phrase "I will be capricious, like you ...". Such statements give a direct indication of the child and contribute to the development of negative associative connections with food intake.

Of course, the problem of appetite, when child refuses to eat, especially if it exists for a long time, will not be resolved in one day. Often this takes more than one week. Children are conservative and difficult to rebuild, including in food habits. But if you approach the issue creatively and interest the child, make him a participant in events, and not a passive executor of the will of the parents, success is guaranteed.

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1. Do not let your child eat in front of a TV or laptop. If the baby watches his favorite cartoon or any other program, he will definitely become distracted from food.

2. Too active babies need to be calmed down during meals. This is an interesting book. The kid needs to read a short fragment from the fairy tale, and when he calms down enough, you can offer him food and promise that then he will hear the continuation.

3. Do not force the child to eat if he does not want it at the moment. When he gets hungry, he will gladly eat the entire portion without suffering.

4. It is desirable that the baby has his own set of dishes. Let these be not standard plates and cups, but special ones for children, for example, with the image of your favorite cartoon characters. The dishes should be small so that the child does not get scared looking at the huge portion that he needs to eat.

5. Children love to go shopping and choose goods on their own. If you let your baby choose today's menu, buy the ingredients, and even let him take part in cooking, he will happily eat what was cooked with his help. In addition, this way you can develop the creative beginning of your child.

6. You can use a tricky way. Its meaning is simple: you need to hide the unloved children's food in what he loves.

7. Very healthy and at the same time delicious smoothies will perfectly replace the usual dishes. In addition, children are very fond of sipping their favorite mixture from a straw.

8. Do not put several dishes on the table at once. The child will eat what he loves, and he will not pay attention to healthy food.

9. To attract the child's attention to food, it must be presented beautifully. You can make a beautifully shaped dish, you can decorate it. Also, do not forget about the table setting, on which you can also experiment.

10. In no case should you yell at the child and force food into him. This will cause a tantrum and spoil the entire appetite.

11. Sweet juices should not be given to the child during meals. Let him eat first, and then drink his favorite drink.

12. For a good appetite, you need to invite your child's friends to visit more often. Of course, they will not be capricious all at once. On the contrary, they will gladly eat the prepared dishes.

These simple rules will help make meals much more enjoyable. The most important thing is to be tolerant, not to yell at the child and not force him to eat. Any aggression on the part of the parents will completely discourage the appetite of the crumbs.

Pediatricians advise parents not to feed their children immediately after coming home from kindergarten. The fact is that after the arrival of the child may be tired, besides, they are well fed in the garden. The kid will eventually get hungry and ask for food himself.

For some reason, parents, for the most part, if their child refuses to eat, try to feed the little "negochuha" at all costs. Persuasion, promises, flirting, threats are used. And it turns out that instead of looking for the causes of the problem, we adults only notice the consequences. We are fighting them with all the means at our disposal. Sometimes without even understanding why we force our child to eat by force, and even not at all in small portions. Thus, layering on the already existing more and more difficulties and complications. Although it would be much more correct, for starters, to figure out why the child refuses to eat. And, based on this, take some action. Or not accept. After all, situations are different. And babies are all different. So let's approach the problem of unwillingness to have children when adults want and as much as their mothers, fathers, grandmothers consider it necessary, also approach it purely individually.

Reasons for not eating

Food is the foundation of our existence. Without it, a person cannot survive. From birth, the child has an instinct for eating. So why do you think that as an adult, the baby has forgotten how to feel whether he is hungry or not?

For some reason, many parents assume that the child is not able to determine whether he is hungry or not. But this opinion is very wrong.

If the little one grows and develops normally, and its height and weight correspond to age norms, then it’s not worth worrying about the fact that the child is starving. Even if it seems to you that he eats much less than he should.

Let's start by trying to understand: the very process of obtaining food is a very important moment in the development of the human psyche. And it is enough at an early age by nature itself to take and violate the sense of proportion inherent in the child, so that later, when the little one grows up, to face his inability to stop, get enough, withstand the golden mean.

That's why it's so important to follow your baby's own biorhythms. And offer him as much food as needed to meet his needs for vitamins and calories. And every toddler has different needs. And they depend on many factors.

Before forcing a child to eat, you should understand the reasons for his refusal to eat.

When your baby stubbornly pushes a plate of food away from him, before insisting and persuading him to eat “a spoon for mom, a spoon for dad ...”, try to figure out the reasons for this behavior. And they can be both quite simple and banal, and very serious.

So, what can prevent a child with an appetite to eat his breakfast (lunch, dinner)?

Satiety

It may sound rather trite, but it is a fact. A child may refuse food simply because he is full. Even if enough time has passed since the last meal.

After all, here you need to take into account the calorie content of the previous meal, and what the baby did in the interval between breakfast, say, and lunch.

If the baby spent the time between meals actively, then his appetite will be appropriate

If the little one sat in front of the TV all the time, then he spent the energy - nothing at all. But if the child spent an hour or two actively - playing football, riding a bike, making something - then, of course, he was hungry. And, believe me, you certainly won’t have to persuade him to eat for a long time.

Disease

One of the signs of many diseases is loss of appetite. Very small peanuts can erupt teeth. , accompanied, too, often become the reason that the baby refuses to eat, but only asks for a drink.

The reason for the lack of appetite in a child may be his poor health

Faced with persistent rejection by the child of the next meal, first make sure that he is in good health. Maybe he doesn't need food, but urgent medical attention?

And don’t worry about the benefits your baby hasn’t received. Only the little one will feel better, he will certainly make up for his own.

Food preferences

A child may not refuse food, as such, but a certain dish. After all, each of us has our own preferences, favorite treats and not so much. Try to make the menu so that it is both balanced and useful. But taking into account the preferences of each of the family members.

Children, like adults, may have their own food preferences, which do not always coincide with what you serve on the table.

And gradually accustom the baby to new dishes. Recall how you introduced complementary foods to him in infancy. If the peanut does not want to perceive some products categorically, try giving them to him in small portions until the baby gets used to the unfamiliar taste.

force feeding

Systematic force-feeding of a child can, as a result, cause the development of a food neurosis in him. It is likely that with such methods you will ensure that the baby will cry, run away and even fall into hysterics at the sight of a plate of food.

The consequences of force-feeding can be various psychological problems in a child and even nervous disorders.

Here we are not talking about errors in education. Eating neurosis is a serious mental illness that, if not noticed and treated in time, can lead to other disorders.

Non-compliance with the daily routine

It is probably not a secret for you that nutritionists advise both adults and children to eat often, but in small portions, for the normal functioning of the digestive system.

The optimal break between meals is 4 hours. And so that you do not think that the baby eats little, be guided by how much food can fit in his two palms, folded together like a boat.

In order for the baby to eat and sleep well, you need to accustom him to observing the regime of work and rest.

Here is such a simple formula, which, you see, is quite easy to follow. But at the same time, it is also necessary for the child to lead an active lifestyle, spend enough time in the fresh air, observe the sleep and rest regimen.

If all this is absent in the daily life of your little one, then there is nothing to be surprised if he periodically refuses to eat. Strive to comply with the simple conditions outlined above, and the baby’s nutrition problem will disappear very soon, as if it never happened.

"Snacks"

Watch your baby and you will notice that he usually starts asking for cookies or candy when it's time for the next meal, or shortly before.

"Snacking" is the worst enemy of a child's good appetite at the dinner table.

In no case do not succumb to such provocations. Unless, of course, you want the baby to eat his lunch or dinner without whims.

Physiological features

You should not be equal to how much other children eat. One baby is bigger and more active. The other is small, thin, calm. Someone runs around in the yard all day long, someone at home "nibbles on the granite of science."

Children cannot eat the same portions due to the fact that everyone has their own height and weight, they have different physical activity and different temperament

All this must be taken into account. And even if the little one does not eat very much, just try to make his portions more meaningful in terms of proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and trace elements. But do not force the baby to eat more than he wants himself.

Psychological problems

Any child very subtly feels even the most invisible nuances in the team. The unwillingness of the baby to eat may be due precisely to his desire to draw the attention of parents (caregivers, teachers) to him as a person, or to problems that are important to him, that bother him.

Psychological problems can also cause a baby to refuse food.

And you don’t need to perceive such a crumb position as a whim or disobedience. Having delved into the essence of the problem, you will quickly and more rationally find how to solve it for the good of everyone.

Video "The child does not want to eat" (Komarovsky)

How to feed a baby?

What can you recommend to parents who are faced with the fact that their baby refuses to eat? First, of course, you need to analyze why the child began to have a negative attitude towards such a natural physiological process as eating.

Separately dwell on each of the above points and answer yourself the question: “Did I do everything right?”. If you find errors in your actions, start by correcting your own mistakes.

If the child participates in the preparation of food, he is much more willing to absorb it later

A few tips to help you

You may be surprised, but children need to be taught the right attitude to food intake from their very birth. This item, as you understand, is for those moms and dads who have just become such. When applying crumbs to the chest on demand. So, over time, the baby will develop a schedule that will correspond to his biorhythms. He will follow this routine in the future. You will only have to follow it. Artificial children are fed according to the schedule initially. When the frequency of feeding reaches four or five a day, stick to this schedule when the baby grows up.
Compliance with the daily routine is the key to a good appetite in a child. And there should not be any “snacks” in between meals.
Remember: the need for replenishment of energy is directly proportional to its consumption. The more active the peanut, the better it will eat.
In the case when the baby categorically refuses to eat, make sure that he is physically healthy.
Start a tradition at home to gather for meals at the family table. When a child sees that all his household members are eating various dishes with appetite, he is unlikely to want to be out of work.
A personal example is a very good incentive for little “repeaters”.
And if the baby will also help prepare dishes for a family dinner with his own hands, how can one not try such a “delicacy”?
It does not hurt, also, to attach the little one to the discussion of the menu. Why shouldn't he choose what he would eat today with great pleasure? After all, it is always possible to come to a common denominator in the process of dialogue.
It is not necessary for the baby to put a lot of food on the plate. Better then offer supplements.
Do not force the baby to eat everything from his plate.
Do not compare your baby with other children. Each child is individual.
And do not forget about such effective methods of persuasion as. But this does not mean that, sitting at the table, you will play with the baby and read fairy tales to him. No. Role-playing and cautionary tales about “how well the fairy-tale characters ate and how strong they became” should be played and told before meal time comes.

A family meal is the time we spend with our loved ones. And children, imitating the rest of the family, eat with special zeal.

And finally, one more piece of advice. What do you think will be eaten with great enthusiasm by a little fidget and dreamer: just a potato, or a mushroom-shaped potato? You probably already understand what we are talking about. Of course, about the design of dishes for the baby. There really is no limit to the flight of your imagination here. What child refuses to enjoy a fairy tale? And it is unlikely that it will be important for him what you have prepared this fairy tale from. Don't believe? And you check!..