Reasons for refusing food
Usually, parents decide how much food a child needs, but the child knows his needs better than anyone else. Children need more strength than adults (in terms of body weight), but they eat less. Completeness is by no means a sign of health. Many thin children with poor appetite are physically strong and energetic. Children prone to sedentary lifestyles lack appetite, they do not need to replenish their energy reserves as often as mobile children. The stomach of the child is not as capacious as the stomach of an adult, therefore, it needs less food. Some children lose their appetite because they are overfed.
Lack of interest
Transferring food to another time during the day or to another place can deprive the child of appetite and interest in food. The vagaries of the child can be a reaction to the attitude of the parents towards food. Some parents, fearing that the child is not eating well, are preparing others instead of discarded dishes. This only encourages the child to abandon food more often in the hope of finally getting his favorite dish.
Mental disorders
In many families, children are assiduously fed so that their fullness testifies to the tireless care of their parents. In this case, any means are usually used: persuasion and threats, games, distractions, bribery, coercion and even forcible feeding. In all these cases, the child rebels even more actively and resolutely refuses to eat. Sometimes loss of appetite is associated with memories of unpleasant events during a meal. Children are sometimes forced to eat when they have no appetite - because of illness, because they do not like food, just do not want to. Memories of these incidents prompt the child to refuse food. Lack of appetite can be the cause of sadness, anxiety, depression. It is necessary to talk with the child and find out what is bothering him.
Symptom of disease
Loss of appetite in a child during the day is one of the common symptoms of any illness. Infections that are often resumed in children younger than 6 years cause a refusal to eat. But this is the least common cause of loss of appetite in children.
Help your child eat right
First of all, it is required to apply a different approach to the process of feeding the child during the day. Children and parents should consider lunch and breakfast as an opportunity to talk, get together, talk about how the day went. As a result, sharing a meal at a common table is a pleasant experience. Do not react to the child's comments about food by coercion, arguments or shouting. Eating should be a harmonious, easy-going event; praise a child when he eats, as it should. Start conversations, learn to negotiate with the child, otherwise
he will try to take the initiative in his hands. The parents should take care of the child's nutrition. But not all children eat the same way: one needs more food, some less. Do not force the child to eat everything that is lying in his plate, but make sure that he tries every dish offered. It is better to put food in small portions, and if the child wants more, put him supplements. Do not compare the child with his brothers and sisters, as well as with other children. Now we know why the child refuses to eat during the day.