How to improve a child's appetite

A child's appetite is often changeable. Yesterday, the baby was happy to gobble up everything that his mother offered him, and today he refuses to eat. Sometimes this is a temporary phenomenon and goes away by itself. However, if this behavior at the table becomes systematic, you need to take action. Our article will help you understand the reasons for the lack of appetite in children and tell you how to improve it.

Why does the child eat badly?

The reasons why a baby may refuse to eat are very different - from harmless whims to serious digestive problems. And it is very important to identify them correctly and in time.

The objective reason is illness... During this period, such behavior of the crumbs is absolutely natural, because any person experiencing malaise does not want to eat. It all depends on the type of disease:

• If this ARVI, flu, a reaction to teething, accompanied by a high temperature, you just need to wait for the baby to feel better and the appetite will return by itself.
• In case of an upset stomach or intestinal infection, it is necessary to restore the body, and the desire to eat a special diet.
• In the case of problems associated with the digestive system and gastrointestinal tract, the child may refuse certain foods and dishes, as, having eaten them, experiences discomfort or even painful sensations. Here you need to immediately consult a doctor to prescribe the correct treatment and a suitable diet.

Next, we will consider a number of reasons that arise as a result of erroneous actions of parents:

• The consistency of food, its quantity and method of preparation do not correspond to age norms and tastes of a little gourmet.
• There is no daily routine, which means that the diet is automatically violated. Therefore, often the stomach does not have time to digest the last portion of food, which means that the child does not feel hungry.
• Frequent snacking.
• Overexcited state of the child before eating.
• It happens that children are forced to eat by force, threats, blackmail, scolded for the disorder during the meal. In this case, they either instinctively protest and do not eat, or they are simply afraid to sit down at the table.
• Sometimes, in the process of feeding, the baby is distracted with cartoons so that he eats everything. However, at this moment, his brain is distracted from eating and the digestion process is disrupted.
• As you know, in summer, in the heat, both adults and children have more need for water than for food.

How to increase a child's appetite

Eliminating or correcting all of the above reasons will help improve your baby's appetite.

• Follow your daily routine and diet. Little kids they still do not know how to determine the time by the clock, so a clear schedule of actions during the day serves as a guide for them. The body of the crumbs gets used to it and itself, out of habit, begins to feel hunger at certain hours.
• Avoid snacking. Only drinks can be left. However, give your child too sweet juices or compotes an hour and a half before a meal, not later, as they cause a false feeling of satiety.
• First time make a menu from his favorite foods, or provide a choice of several dishes. At the same time, make the portion size a little smaller and decorate it in an original way.
• Gradually offer to try new food, even one spoonful at a time. For a new product to be approved, you have to make at least 10 attempts.
• Too active games and violent emotions suppress appetite, so 15-20 minutes before a meal, try to calm your child down a little.
• Do not force children to eat, and do not scold for refusals. Try the following tactic. At lunch, invite the baby to the table with everyone, if he did not want to, then call again when everyone has already finished the meal. If again followed "no" - he will have to stay hungry until an afternoon snack without snacks. Perhaps after that he will be the first to come running to the next meal and eat every last crumb.
• When eating, you should strictly exclude all entertainment, whether it be a TV or a computer. This rule should apply to all family members, because it is not for nothing that they say that children are a reflection of their parents.

Vitamins to improve appetite

It often happens that the loss of appetite in children is due to a lack of vitamins in the body. For this reason, the work of all internal organs is disrupted, and he may simply not cope with the food that the child eats. Hence the lack of desire to eat.

Therefore, as soon as you notice a systematic refusal to eat, accompanied by lethargy, rapid fatigue, sleep disturbance you need to see a doctor immediately. He will prescribe all the necessary tests to identify which vitamins are missing. And then she will recommend the most optimal complex and dosage for your case. After taking a course of multivitamins, appetite usually returns to normal.

The most important vitamins for children are A, C, B1, B2, B6, B12, ascorbic acid. So you need to pay special attention to the products in which they are contained, and try to include them in the baby's diet.

Among children's vitamin complexes, of which there are many on the market today, the most popular are Pikovit, Elkar, Vitrum Kids.