It has been you yourself, you have had a brother or sister who was a bad eater or possibly your own children are or have been bad eaters. We all know a child in our environment who has been eating poorly for a long time. The next question is therefore… how do you deal with this? Do you quickly consult a doctor or do you do it yourself first?
What is the “symptom” like?
Strangely enough, the smallest children usually do well during breast/bottle feeding and the first snacks that follow. After that, many children temporarily experience problems with their appetite. Children eat less and for a longer period of time they reject everything. Parents/guardians are often desperate at some point. They no longer know how to get the child to eat.
What are some causes?
Standing on your own two feet
The toddler literally stands on his or her own two feet and is in a developmental phase where they want to do things themselves. Moreover, we are talking about a period when the first stubbornness comes into the picture. Children also want to get to work on their own food, so a kind of power struggle arises between parent and child.
Eat less, drink more
During the first period of a baby’s life we see an average weight increase of 7 kilos, the following year the weight increases by an average of only 2 to 2.5 kilos. This also means that there is less need for food. So don’t immediately think that the child is being stubborn and does not want to eat, perhaps he or she really has less need for food.
What may also play a role here is the fact that some snacks have already been given. With a reduced appetite, this can result in living solely on snacks.
Finally, some children drink quite a lot in between meals. Drinking yoghurt products and carbonated drinks in particular are quite filling and can reduce your appetite.
Freedom
If, as parents, you apply a free lifestyle/parenting style, a child can adapt to it quickly enough (no matter how small the child is). A child copies, so if you as a parent are quite comfortable with things, including food, the child will quickly follow. This concerns what you do and what you do not eat, but also whether you just leave the table, etc.
Stress
Children quickly take over stress and if it is present at the table, it can also be stress about the bad food, then this will only be stimulated even more. Add to that the potentially coercive nature of having someone eat and you can set the clock for things to go wrong.
Source: Milli Lu, Pixabay
How to act?
The dietician
If the physical role does not play a role (it must first be ruled out, such as swallowing problems, intestinal complaints or an allergy), then it must be due to something else. Now have it ruled out, for example with the help of a dietitian, whether the snacks are not the culprit. Go through the entire process with what you feed, what is and is not eaten and the way the child reacts. If necessary, make well-founded changes in consultation.
The child psychologist and/or common sense
When it comes to the power struggle, it is often advisable to consult a child psychologist. This person can provide specific advice on how to act in this situation, with this child. It depends on the child how best to deal with this.
But at least start at the beginning and don’t punish, try to keep it playful and relaxed. Sitting around the table with the family should be fun. Make compliments and if the child does not want to eat yet, he or she will not eat anyway. After all, the child has the power to eat or not eat. By being relaxed about it, you take away that power in an unobtrusive way. If your child likes dessert, which is part of the meal, this can be given. Dessert is not an added bonus. In fact, if the difference is so great between a hot meal with vegetables and meat versus dessert, the hot meal can be seen as dirty and punishment (no dessert if the meal has not been properly eaten) is counterproductive.
Finally
Let the meal be a celebration for the child. If necessary, include it in the process of preparing food and, above all, do not rush. If you take your time, respect the child and, above all, do not tense up, you will be more likely to succeed.
