Children Should Not Be Forced To Finish The Food Plate
As parents we know the importance of our children eating healthy, however, children should not be forced to finish the plate of food. In this post we give you the recommendations so that you feed your child in a balanced way and you can be calm.
It is natural that we worry because we think and see malnourished children or we pay too much attention to comments from third parties such as: “What a thin child”. “Are you feeding him well? He looks like a sick child.” Of course, we cannot help but feel bad or think that yes, the child is “very thin”
It is necessary to start by removing this type of opinion from our mind, this causes wanting to have a constant persecution in the feeding of children to the point of forcing them to “eat everything”. If you are going through this problem , first start by determining if the child really has an eating disorder or if he or she suffers from a disease; if so this of course should be treated by a specialist.
Plan to eat your food spontaneously
- Determining which foods you love first will help increase your urge to eat.
- If the child eats a lot of sweets before main meals, this could be one of the reasons why he cannot eat everything completely.
- Try to present him with a nice dish, so that he feels like eating it all. However, if he is willing to eat a few tablespoons, it is already a bonus – don’t force him to eat more!
- Avoid being distracted when eating, that is, not sitting with toys around or watching television. These types of distractions cause your appetite to be minimized.
- Do not exaggerate the rules of the table, sitting the child and saying from the beginning “you must eat everything” because this already causes them a dislike, and sometimes it is good to let them decide a little.
Observing the mood is very important. Many children often have no appetite for stress problems, disappointments, and sadness. Cheer him up, and then spoil him with his favorite dish!
The purpose of this topic is that children should not be forced to finish the plate of food, it is natural for them to react and think “it is their health, their diet” is true, but first you must try to discover what are the reasons that lead him to not eat well or to always leave food behind?
Take into account some tips
- At mealtime, add a motivating word to him, such as: “Mom made you a very tasty meal and with a lot of love, it will help you grow healthy and strong.”
- Asking the quantity is a good technique to try to incorporate them when serving. Start by asking: are you very hungry? Would you like to tell me how much you want to eat? Does everything I prepared provoke you or do you prefer to choose what to eat? Motivation is essential, obligation is not good for our little ones.
- Accompanying him to eat is very necessary, everyone sitting down as a family will allow him to observe that the family nucleus finishes all their food, therefore he will learn by observing.
- Congratulating him when all his food is finished will motivate him and create a level of satisfaction in your child.
- It will be natural that one day you do not want to eat enough for any reason, at that moment try to understand it and make it feel that it is not an obligation.
- Children should not be forced to finish the plate of food, it is a matter of time and patience to feed them well and healthily. A good technique is that of the baby led weaning. This consists of leaving different foods within reach for you to experiment with. It has been shown to be effective in improving children’s tolerance to different products.
- Incorporate exercise routines into your day. In the first place it helps them burn energy and exercise their body, secondly to learn new skills and thirdly to make them come home with a lot of “appetite” and make them want to even repeat meals. According to a study published in the journal Nutrients , physical activity helps children have a better predisposition to eat food.
For a good growth the child has to eat correctly
Now just keep in mind that everything can improve during their growth, if they are tantrums they will overcome them and more with your help. If their appetite is devouring, have control to avoid obesity in your little ones, but if they eat adequate portions, it is not a bad thing that they leave remains of some foods on the plate.
