How to increase appetite in children? This question haunts many parents. After all, a growing body requires a large amount of energy, vitamins and minerals. But where do they come from if the baby eats almost nothing?
How to increase the appetite of a child? What do I need to do? What is the reason for poor appetite? Answers to these and other questions regarding the mentioned problem will be presented below.
Appetite - what is it?
Before answering the question of how to increase the appetite of a child of 2 years or another age, you need to understand what this word generally means. "Appetite" has Latin roots. According to experts, this word is translated as “desire”, “desire” or “need”.
In physiological terms, appetite is a peculiar sensation arising as a result of the human body's need for food. In the event that this need was not satisfied, then it develops into a strong feeling of hunger.
It must be understood that the digestive tract is controlled by a specific part of the brain, namely its nutritional center. With a long absence of food, certain areas are excited in it, which, in fact, send impulses to the digestive tract. As a result of this process, a person begins to intensively develop gastric juice and saliva, and also there is a desire to eat.
Main reasons
How to increase appetite in children? Before you deal with this problem, you should identify its causes. It should be noted that there may be several. Consider the most likely right now:
- The appetite of all babies is different initially. And if the parents of the child themselves did not eat well in childhood, then this phenomenon can also be observed in their children.
- Health problems. Teething, the presence of stomatitis, inflammation in the digestive tract, colds and even a common cold are the most common reasons why many children refuse to eat. How to increase the appetite of a child 5 years old or another age? If the reason for refusing food is a disease, then do not insist on and force-feed the baby. This is due to the fact that the lack of appetite for the disease is a kind of protective reaction of the body. It is in this way that he directs his forces to fight the disease, and also protects the liver, which is the main cleansing organ. After the child recovers, the appetite will return itself.
- Wrong actions of parents at breakfast, lunch or dinner. The dining table should not be the place where the child is constantly scolded, read notations to him, forced to eat by force or punished. When screaming at dinner, not only the baby, but any adult will lose all appetite.
- Experiences, stresses. How to increase appetite in children? First you need to find out what your child is eating. Indeed, frequent strife in the family, new stages in life, the death of loved ones and quarrels with best friends can directly affect the appetite of your baby. After talking with him and identifying the reason for his bad mood, parents should reassure the child, which will contribute to the return of the desire to eat something.
- Seasonal fluctuations. The causes of increased appetite in children and decreased can be associated with a change in climate. In winter, the human body requires more energy than in summer. Thus, in the cold season, the child’s appetite is much better than in the unbearable heat.
- The presence of worms. In addition to refusing food, the following symptoms are characteristic of such a disease: pallor, irritability, and abdominal pain. With helminthic invasion, it is necessary to take a blood test and feces.
- Overwork, fatigue and lack of sleep are also the main causes of decreased appetite in babies. In such situations, it is extremely important to adjust the regimen of the child’s day.
- If children spend little time on the street, then their appetite may also decrease.
How to increase appetite in children? Basic Rules
What to do if your baby eats almost nothing? At the same time, he did not observe any objective reasons for such behavior. To do this, we recommend that you follow certain rules.
You should not force the child to eat what he does not like
As you know, in children quite often there is hostility to certain foods. This behavior is usually of an age-related nature and passes on its own in the process of growing up. But if the baby is forced to eat something that he does not really like, then he can develop a real phobia that is associated with a specific product. In this case, this behavior can remain for life.
Forcing the child to use what he does not want, the parents fix a negative reflex in him, and also unknowingly inculcate a persistent dislike for food. This is exactly how the problem of poor appetite arises.
The food process should cause only positive emotions in the baby
Of great importance for increasing the appetite of the child is the environment in which the meal takes place. Parents at this time should forget about all their problems and demonstrate to the kid how everything is deliciously prepared, how pleasant it is for them to stay in such a good company.
If the child began to be capricious and you punished him, then you should only sit him at the dinner table after he calms down.
During lunch, pay less attention to your child. Eat your meal with appetite, and then the baby will begin to imitate you.
Meal time
Whenever possible, all meals should be taken at the same time. All family members should regularly gather at the dinner table and eat food with great appetite.
Hunger
Desire to eat is a completely natural feeling. Therefore, a child should be seated at the table only if he is hungry. Thus, one should not give in to the baby’s requests to give him something to eat if the appointed meal time has not yet arrived.
Unfinished portion of food is not a reason for punishment
If a child refuses to eat up all the food laid out on a plate, then do not force him to empty it or scold it. Moreover, to prevent such a phenomenon, you should not impose too much food on the baby. If there is a desire, he himself will ask for supplements.
The food should look delicious and tasty
Why is there an increased appetite in a child? The reasons for this occur in delicious food. If the kid likes what you have prepared and served at the table, then you do not have to force him to empty the plate. He will do it himself and with great pleasure.
Products that increase the appetite of a child
Surprisingly, there are products that can cause the child an excessive desire to eat something. For example, many parents, half an hour before the main meal, give their child sour apple juice squeezed with their own hands. According to experts, such a drink helps to develop gastric juice.
There are also other folk remedies that increase the appetite of children. For good stimulation of digestion, some experts recommend the use of such medicinal berries as blackcurrant, berries of barberry and juniper, rose hip, aronia, sea buckthorn, as well as caraway seeds and anise.
These funds are good in that they taste very good, so the kids do not refuse them. As for the decoctions and tinctures made of wormwood, yarrow, dandelion root, calamus and chicory, they are very bitter, making the baby drink them is quite problematic. However, it should be noted that such funds increase appetite much more, since they repeatedly increase the secretion of gastric juice.
Take the mentioned tinctures, fruit drinks and decoctions should be 20-30 minutes before the main meal.
Pharmacy products
Drugs that increase appetite in children can only be used on the advice of a pediatrician. This is due to the fact that such drugs can cause allergic reactions and other side effects.
Of homeopathic medicines to improve appetite, some doctors recommend the use of complexes with calcium and magnesium salts. It should also be noted that the drugs that cause the desire to eat include: “Elkar” (L-carnitine), “Lysine”, “Glycine” and various enzymes (for example, “Creon”).
There are vitamins that increase the appetite of children. Only an experienced pediatrician should tell you which complex suits your baby the most. If you do not want to give your child synthetic vitamins, then they can be replaced with berries (for example, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries and others).
Babies
How to increase the appetite of a child (1 year)? A child’s body is a complex self-regulating system that itself determines how much food it needs. If the baby eats poorly, then this suggests that he is not satisfied with certain products that his mother consumes. Having identified which ingredients are not suitable for him, you should replace them with others.
In general, there is a whole list of what you can not eat a nursing mother, and what components must be present in her diet. Adhering to the recommendations of a doctor, a woman will never encounter such problems.
Teens
In adolescence, many boys and girls can experience significant changes in their appetite. Some girls suddenly refuse to eat in order to preserve their figure. As for the boys, some of them also go on a diet, and some, on the contrary, consume too much food. This is due to the development of thin-fat complexes.
In connection with all of the above, it can be safely noted that the causes of decreased and increased appetite in adolescents are more psycho-emotional in nature. Therefore, parents should be sympathetic to the behavior of their child. If you feed the child by force or forbid him to eat anything, then this can only aggravate the situation.
Recommendations to parents
In adolescence, not only the appearance of the adolescent changes, but also his behavior. Very often it becomes unpredictable. There is a lot of aggression in the child, there is dissatisfaction with his body. To change this, he tries to eat less or more. Such behavior can adversely affect the health of a teenager, including his digestive tract.
To support their child, parents should talk to him in a friendly manner. The teenager needs to be explained that proper and balanced nutrition is the key to success, including a beautiful appearance. If a boy or girl is overweight, then it should be said that for weight loss it is not necessary to refuse food. It is only necessary to reduce the consumption of sweet and starchy foods, and also to move a lot.
In the event that a teenager is too thin, then his diet should consist of a large amount of protein and fiber. Also, to build muscle, it is recommended to visit the gym.
As for drugs that help increase appetite, among them the most popular are vitamin formulations and dietary supplements containing zinc. As you know, a deficiency of the latter quite often leads to a violation of the sense of smell and sense of taste.
When replenishing zinc in the body, the normalization of appetite occurs after 30-60 days after the start of its use. It should also be noted that the child begins to eat when using vitamin complexes containing citric and succinic acids.