This is an automatically translated article.
How to make children eat well is always a concern of many parents. Food is the main driving force for children's physical and mental development and growth. Measures to help children eat well without using drugs are the first steps that should be applied to change children. However, when they are not effective or the child is facing complications of anorexia, parents should consult a doctor for advice and choose other more suitable methods.
1. Why do some children have anorexia?
A child not wanting to eat is unusual and often has underlying reasons behind it. Therefore, in order to help children eat well and sleep well, first of all, it is necessary to find out the reasons why children do not eat well.
Sometimes the problem is not that the child's taste does not match the food provided by the parents. Children's expression may seem like they don't want to eat, but the real reason behind is the difficulties related to the eating process that children face. Difficulty chewing food makes eating and drinking more difficult and painful. This is considered a stress, stimulates the child's adrenaline production and then, the appetite will be gone. This is also why one of the ways to make children eat well is to ensure comfort while eating. Mealtime should be the most positive experience possible. Do not force, beg, or force your child to eat reluctantly.
Children eat poorly due to snacking habits. If your child is offered food or milk sporadically throughout the day, they will probably never be truly hungry. And kids who regularly snack will never be hungry enough to want to eat at mealtimes. Even if they stop snacking so often, it may take some time for a child to re-establish the connection between hunger and the need to eat before gaining an appetite.
If both of the above are ruled out, an underlying medical condition such as gastroesophageal reflux disease, food allergy, or some other digestive problem should be considered. Toddlers and infants may not yet be developed enough to detect how unusual digestive signs are, so a child's first reaction is often a lack of appetite or loss of appetite. Moreover, when the child's body is not well, the brain will not send any hunger signals to the body. This is the body's self-defense mechanism.
Finally, some children don't seem to sense that they are hungry. Hunger is an important signal that is transmitted from the stomach to the brain, which drives the urge to eat. Some therapists refer to this as the 8th sense, and it's called interbody interaction. Interestingly, the body also uses the same senses to control all other automatic responses such as when hungry, when full, when it is necessary to go to the toilet... Disturbances in the transmission of signals This will leave a child unable to eat well.
Làm sao cho trẻ ăn ngon miệng là thắc mắc của nhiều phụ huynh
2. How to make children eat well?
Some families fall into stressful situations, even crises if their child refuses to eat. Parents will often immediately seek medication or medical interventions to improve appetite and stimulate children to eat. However, some measures to help children eat well are really effective and should be applied first.
Make a reasonable eating schedule. This is the first and foremost measure, as this can change everything if done right. Advice for parents should ensure that children only eat meals and snacks at the specified time. Meals should be spaced about 2 and a half to 3 hours apart. That means if your kids start breakfast at 8am, they will start their next meal at 10:30am to 11am. And this habit must be maintained throughout the day and in the days that follow. One of the biggest misconceptions is that with anorexia children will be able to eat wherever and whenever they want because there is better than nothing. This may sound logical, but remember the principle mentioned above about kids eating just enough to get rid of their cravings. Water - It's also important for your child to drink water between meals so they don't digest too much milk or juice. Parents should combine milk or juice with their meal or right after the meal is over. Exercise - Running, jumping and any other type of physical activity can increase appetite and help children eat well and sleep well. Sedentary lifestyle habits, especially watching tablets, phones or TV for long periods of time burn few calories and so your child may not go hungry. Mindfulness - Remember that there are always some children who don't seem to notice that they are hungry. Mindfulness is a way for kids to talk to their own bodies about how full they feel or talking is a great way to start helping kids feel hungry! Prompt your child to ask questions like, "How is your baby's tummy feeling, empty or full?" Explore - Many children have anorexia because they have not had many positive experiences with food or interactions with food. That's why it's beneficial to provide children with opportunities to play and explore food. Doing this can make children like to eat new foods. To encourage children's curiosity, think about setting up cooking activities in which they can participate. In addition, children need to add necessary micronutrients: Zinc, selenium, chromium, vitamins B1 and B6, ginger, acerola fruit extract (vitamin C), ... to improve taste, eat delicious, achieve the right height and weight and exceed the standard, have a good immune system, strengthen the resistance to get sick less often and have less digestive problems.
The improvement of symptoms of anorexia in children can take place for a long time, so it is recommended that parents be calm and persistent when supplementing with nutrients for their children, even through eating or functional foods. In particular, the use of functional foods should choose those of natural origin that are easily absorbed, do not allow children to use many types at the same time or continuously change the types of functional foods.
Many children will benefit from these healthy eating practices. Make sure that parents always interact with the doctor when non-pharmacological measures do not work and the child is at risk of health problems if the child does not have a good appetite. The bottom line is that parents need to maintain patience when on the journey to make their children eat well.
Particularly for infants, the above measures no longer seem appropriate. Newborns have their own feeding needs and schedules, depending on their age. Also, milk is a baby's main source of nutrition until they are 1 year old, but it is important for babies to start solid foods when they are 4-6 months old and are able to sit on their own. Feed from 10-11 months old. When babies don't want to breastfeed, the most common cause is acid reflux, sometimes a silent reflux that parents can hardly detect. Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a fairly common problem. Parents can read articles on how to help infants with reflux, learn more about the symptoms, so they can talk to their doctor and together choose the best treatment for their baby. Food allergies, such as milk and soy, are another common cause. In addition, when your baby is 6 months old, you can focus on feeding him 1-2 meals a day. Choose a time that fits your schedule, eat together and stick to it day in and day out to form a routine for your child. During mealtimes, make the most of time for children to explore by letting them spread food all over the tray, even if it hasn't entered their mouths yet.
Cho con uống nước giữa các bữa ăn là một biện pháp giúp trẻ ăn ngon miệng
3. What is medicine to help children eat well and sleep well?
Most pediatricians will only care about your child's appetite if he's not growing or gaining weight well. If not, often the first measure will be feeding therapy. And the next step when the appetite suppressant fails is to give your child a prescription appetite stimulant.
The most commonly used is Periactin (generic name is Cyproheptadine). The observed results are not really consistent. For some children, medication can help them eat a little better, but a lot of families are trying to cope with the side effects. Parents need to consult with a doctor about the benefits as well as difficulties when using medicine to help children eat better to make an appropriate choice.
For children to be healthy and develop well, it is necessary to have a nutritious diet in terms of quantity and quality balance. If children are not provided with adequate and balanced nutrients, it will lead to diseases of excess or lack of nutrients, which adversely affect the comprehensive development of children in terms of physical, mental and motor skills.
Children who do not eat properly are at risk of micro-mineral deficiency causing anorexia, growth retardation, malabsorption,... If they notice the above signs, parents should supplement their children with products. The supplement contains lysine, essential micro-minerals and vitamins such as zinc, chromium, selenium, and 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 learn more:
Signs of zinc deficiency in children
Micronutrient deficiency and failure to gain weight in children
For more nutritional knowledge and child care for each age, parents please regularly visit the website vimec.com and make appointments with the leading doctors, pediatric specialists - nutritionists of Vinmec International General Hospital when needing advice on children's health.
