Reasons why children refuse to eat

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1. Children refuse to eat for what reasons?

Parents are always worried about children refusing food every time it comes to meals or children often skip meals. Accordingly, the causes leading to the above situation can be mentioned as follows:

1.1. Children are difficult to stay

One of the causes of anorexia, refusal of food may be due to the fact that the baby is experiencing medical conditions such as mouth sores, abdominal pain, fever, rash... Therefore, when the baby has crying, With prolonged periods of skipping meals, parents need to take their children to medical facilities for accurate diagnosis and treatment.
Children at some stages such as starting teething, babies often have itching and swollen gums, so this is the time when they often lose their appetite, anorexia. Therefore, parents should not force children to eat at this stage, instead, mothers need to understand and help children to calm these uncomfortable feelings.
Young children are also very sensitive to wearing tight clothes, wet diapers, rough fabrics rubbing against the skin... these factors affect their mental health, health and make children anorexia, anorexia.

1.2. Children do not feel hungry

Unlike adults, the feeling of hunger in children is often not obvious. So in case it's time to eat but the baby shows apathy and does not want to eat, the cause may be that the baby is not hungry. To limit this situation, parents need to build a schedule for their baby's meals and strictly follow them. Accordingly, each main meal of the child should be spaced about 4 hours apart so that the child has time to digest the food before and does not give the child snacks or milk before the main meal.

1.3. Unsuitable food for children

Food that is not tasty or unpalatable is one of the reasons why children refuse to eat. Many parents, because they want to provide enough nutrients for their children, combine many foods in one dish such as beef, shrimp, pork, vegetables, etc., making the dish not taste good. Characteristic taste, easy to cause anorexia and dishes containing too much protein lead to indigestion, constipation, and nutritional imbalance in children.

1.4. Anorexia psychology in children

Many parents often combine feeding their children and watching TV, phones or eating and playing... This makes the meal last too long, sometimes when the food has cooled down and activities around. distracting, causing anorexia in children.
Anorexia, although quite common in children under 6 years old, is difficult to identify because many parents confuse it with picky eating. However, picky eating is manifested by the fact that the baby does not like to eat certain foods that do not suit his taste and other foods, he still eats normally. Meanwhile, the manifestations of anorexia are more diverse such as children refusing to eat, holding food in their mouths refusing to swallow, meals usually lasting more than 30 minutes, children often pretend to have stomach pain or want to vomit at meals. ... children often suffer from constipation, defecate with less stool than usual or do not gain weight for 3 consecutive months.

2. How does the child's refusal to eat affect development?

Children refuse to eat, anorexia seems like a small problem, but they bring huge consequences. Most parents think that anorexia only affects physical development such as slow weight gain, height, but in fact, this condition also causes more serious consequences such as growth disorders, children are more susceptible to chronic and long-term diseases than psychophysiological effects in children.
Besides, children refuse to eat or lose their appetite, making the body not fully supplied with nutrients, thereby not receiving enough energy for activities. Nutrient groups such as protein, starch, lipid, vitamin E, vitamin C, fiber and minerals, if not properly supplemented with the body's needs, will lead to malnutrition, physical retardation and growth retardation. Children's intelligence and resistance are reduced, which makes them susceptible to infections and gradually falls into a medical condition.
Research by scientists shows that children who are not provided with enough nutrients have a 29% higher risk of diseases than normal children and a 45% higher risk of upper respiratory tract infections. Micronutrient deficiencies can lead to anemia due to a lack of iron, vitamin B12, and folic acid. Besides, children who skip meals can also have emotional disorders due to the pressure of cramming food from their parents, and over time, they will be prone to digestive diseases such as gastritis, enteritis...
Love Anorexia, anorexia not only affects children themselves, but also causes stress and anxiety for parents. Parents always try to feed their children in any way that the baby refuses to eat or each meal lasts 2-3 hours will make parents tired, become impatient and easily irritated with the baby. So what solutions are given to parents when their children are anorexic?

3. Solution for parents when children refuse to eat

According to recommendations from nutritionists, there is no universal formula for anorexia children. That means parents need to find out the cause to be able to overcome the situation of children skipping meals, anorexia or anorexia. Therefore, parents need to take their baby to medical facilities to be examined by a pediatrician or nutritionist to find the right solution.
Along with that, mothers should build children a nutritional regimen suitable for their child's developmental stage. Some notes that mothers need to consider to have a better child care regimen are as follows:
In the period when the baby is just starting to eat solids, the mother should give the child foods from dilute to solid, from little to more to help Baby gets used to food. Absolutely do not let children watch TV, phones, toys or roam around during meals. Once your child has sat at the table, you should practice giving him the habit of focusing on the food without forcing him to eat. Each meal should not last more than 30 minutes. In order for each meal for the baby not to be a battle but a new culinary experience, parents should take the time to build a menu for each meal, change the portion sizes continuously so that the child does not get bored. because of eating too much of a dish or the situation of supplementing with an excess of one substance but lacking in another. Alternating diet also helps create a sense of excitement and new experiences when eating. Along with that, the diet at each meal needs to ensure that the nutritional needs are met, including protein (meat, shrimp, fish..), starch (rice, flour ..), lipids (peanut, sesame). , animal fat..), fiber, vitamins and minerals (vegetables, tubers, fruits ..)... Besides, mothers need to pay attention to supplement the baby with necessary micronutrients: fruit extract curry (vitamin C), Selenium, Zinc, Chromium, Vitamins B1 and B6, Ginger,... to help your baby eat well, improve taste, achieve the right height and weight, and exceed the standard, good immune system, increase strengthen the immune system to avoid minor illnesses and digestive problems, including vomiting when eating. Each child will have different needs, interests and tastes, so parents should be clever based on their child's preferences to prepare delicious dishes, decorate eye-catching dishes that will help children enjoy. interesting and create the feeling of wanting to try the dish right away. In summary, for the situation of children refusing to eat, anorexia in children, building a reasonable care regimen is a necessary requirement and nutritional supplementation needs to take place in a long time, so it is recommended that parents need Be patient and calm when supplementing with nutrients, even through diet or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not use many types at the same time or continuously change the types of dietary supplements. In the case of children with prolonged anorexia, malabsorption, and growth retardation, parents should supplement children with supportive products containing lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and B vitamins. help 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 simultaneously apply dietary supplements and functional foods derived from nature for easy absorption. The most important thing is that improving your baby's symptoms often takes a long time. 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 patient with their children and regularly visit the website vimec.com to update useful baby care information.