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Video content is professionally consulted by Doctor Pediatric Center - Vinmec Times City International Hospital
In order for their children to be healthy and grow up quickly, many parents rush to find ways to force their children to eat and drink. However, this inadvertently makes children afraid to eat, gradually leading to anorexia, growth retardation, low birth weight.
1. Parents' mistakes make children anorexic, slow to grow, stunted, and underweight
One of the basic mistakes that make children anorexic and slow to grow up comes from parents' mistakes in feeding their children every day. Overcoming these limitations helps children no longer afraid to eat but gradually become more cooperative.
1.1 Forcing children to eat Many parents force their children to eat the right amount of food in a specified period of time, if they don't eat, they will be scolded,... This puts pressure on children, causing them to suck on food and vomit. or refuse to eat.
1.2 Giving children snacks improperly Many parents give their children snacks between meals. Thus, the child will never feel hungry, so he will eat less or not at the next meal. Conversely, if children are eaten on time and do not snack before meals, children will eat enough food during the main meal.
1.3 Distracting children during eating Many parents let their children watch TV, go out, ... during meals. This way does more harm than good. Specifically, the food will quickly cool, cold, not delicious and increase the risk of infection (due to dust, flies, ...) because the meal lasts a long time. Not only that, this also makes the baby quickly feel flat on the stomach even though he hasn't eaten much and the next time he won't want to eat if he can't go out, watch TV,...
1.4 How to prepare non-steamed food guide Some parents feed their children monotonously with only a few dishes or a few fixed ingredients. This makes children quickly get bored and anorexic.
1.5 Unbalanced nutrition, lack of essential micronutrients and vitamins Many parents when building a menu for their children often do not ensure the balance of nutrition, in which the most common misconceptions are:
Use broths (while broths are just delicious and have very few nutrients). Prioritize lean meat, little or no fat for children (while children have relatively high fat - lipid requirements for energy and development). Salty and spicy cooking (while children's salt needs are usually low). Forcing children to eat more vegetables (while their fiber needs are not high) Meals are lacking in abundance and micronutrients. Especially important micronutrients such as zinc have the ability to help increase absorption, increase protein synthesis, increase appetite, and strengthen the immune system. When zinc deficiency will make children anorexia, susceptible to infections. 1.6 Over-indulgence in children Some parents are overly responsive to their children's needs, indulging their children's preferences in terms of eating: feeding them anytime, anywhere, and whatever the child likes. This makes children resistant to foods they do not like, not being able to eat many types of foods and leading to anorexia.
2. How should parents correct mistakes?
When a 1-year-old child is anorexic and has difficulties in eating, parents should change the child's lifestyle, food preparation, and eating habits to be fully supplemented with nutrients. necessary (such as supplementing with zinc, calcium, phosphorus, iron....) In which zinc is thought to play an important role in helping to improve anorexia in children.
Some tips to help overcome anorexia in children parents should refer to:
Practice giving children a variety of foods from the weaning stage because at this time, the baby's taste buds have not yet developed, the baby easily accept different foods and tastes. As a result, children will have the habit of eating a variety of foods when they grow up. Do not put the medicine in food because it will scare the child and always be wary of food. Do not cram, stress with the amount of food that your baby eats. If the baby is gaining weight, it means that the baby is eating enough. Change the menu variety and processing methods to stimulate the child's curiosity about food. When feeding children, parents should let them sit comfortably in a place they like. Parents can let their children feed themselves and use funny shaped tableware to help them feel more interested in eating. In older children, when they have said their wishes, parents can consult with their children to see what they want to eat and change the way of processing and food ingredients to suit the child's taste. Do not let children eat snacks before the main meal because it will make them brave when eating. Do not use food for the purposes of reward or punishment because in the long run, children will tend to use eating to pressure their parents, asking to go out, watch movies to eat,... Mothers should consult and supplement children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, B vitamins to help fully meet the nutritional needs of children. At the same time, these essential vitamins also support digestion, enhance nutrient absorption, help improve anorexia, and help children eat well. Parents can also apply dietary supplements and functional foods derived from nature for easy absorption by the baby. The most important thing is that the improvement of the baby's symptoms must take place over the long term. Combining many types of functional foods at the same time or changing many types in a short time can make the baby's digestive system unable to adapt and completely not good. Therefore, parents must be really persistent with their children and regularly visit the website vimec.com to update useful baby care information.
