How to increase appetite in children: foods, drugs, vitamins and recommendations

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

How to increase appetite in children? This question haunts many parents. After all, a growing body needs a large amount of energy, vitamins and minerals. But where do they come from if the baby eats practically nothing?

How to increase a child's appetite? 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 old or another age, it is necessary to understand what this word generally means. "Appetite" has Latin roots. According to experts, this word is translated as "desire", "aspiration" or "need".

In physiological terms, appetite is a kind of sensation resulting from 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 is necessary to understand that the work of the digestive tract is controlled by a certain part of the brain, namely its foodcenter. 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 produce gastric juice and saliva, as well as a desire to eat.

Main reasons

How to increase appetite in children? Before dealing with this problem, it is necessary to 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 ate poorly in childhood, then this phenomenon can also be observed in their children.
• He alth problems. Teething, the presence of stomatitis, inflammation occurring in the digestive tract, colds and even a common cold - these are the most common reasons why many children refuse to eat food. How to increase appetite in a child of 5 years or another age? If the reason for refusing food is a disease, then you should not insist on your own and force-feed the baby. This is due to the fact that the lack of appetite during illness 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 by itself.
• Wrong actions of parents at breakfast, lunch or dinner. The dining table should not be the place where the child is constantly scolded, lectured on, forced toeat by force or punish. When screaming at dinner, not only the baby, but also any adult will lose all appetite.
• Experiences, stresses. How to increase appetite in children? First you need to find out what is eating your child. After all, frequent strife in the family, new stages in life, the death of loved ones and quarrels with best friends can directly affect your baby's appetite. After talking with him and identifying the cause of his bad mood, parents should calm the child, which will help return the desire to eat something.
• Seasonal fluctuations. The causes of increased appetite in children and decreased appetite may be associated with climate change. 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 unbearable heat.
• The presence of worms. In addition to refusing to eat, the following symptoms are characteristic of such a disease: pallor, irritability, and abdominal pain. In case of helminthic invasion, it is necessary to take a blood and feces test.
• 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 child's daily routine.
• If children spend little time outside, they may also have a decrease in appetite.

How to increase appetite in children? Ground Rules

What to do if your baby eats almost nothing? At the same time, he does not observe any objective reasons for such behavior. To do this, we recommend that you follow certain rules.

Don't forcechild to use what he does not like

As you know, children often have dislike for certain products. This behavior is usually age-related and goes away 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 may develop a real phobia, which is associated with a specific product. In this case, such behavior may remain for life.

Forcing a child to eat what he does not want, parents reinforce a negative reflex in him, and also unconsciously instill a persistent dislike for food. This is how the problem of poor appetite arises.

The process of eating should cause only positive emotions in the baby

The environment in which the meal takes place is of great importance for increasing the child's appetite. For this time, parents should forget about all their problems and show the baby how delicious everything is cooked, how pleasant it is for them to be in such a good company.

If the child began to act up and you punished him, then you should put him at the dinner table only after he calms down.

During lunch, pay less attention to your child. Eat food with appetite yourself, and then the baby will begin to imitate you.

Meal time

If possible, all meals should be at the same time. All family members should regularly gather at the dinner table and eat food with great appetite.

Hunger

The desire to eat is a completely natural feeling. Therefore, a child should be seated at the table only if he is hungry. Thus, do not give in to the requests of the baby to give him something to eat if the appointed meal time has not yet come.

A half-eaten portion of food is not a reason for punishment

If a child refuses to finish eating all the food laid out on a plate, then you should not force him to empty it or scold him for it. Moreover, to prevent this phenomenon, you should not impose too much food on the baby. If there is a desire, he will ask for more.

Food should look appetizing and taste good

Why does a child have an increased appetite? The reasons for this phenomenon lie in delicious food. If the baby likes what you have prepared and served at the table, then you will not have to force him to empty the plate. He will do it himself and with great pleasure.

Foods that increase a child's appetite

Surprisingly, there are foods that can make a child have an exorbitant 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 produce gastric juice.

There are also other folk remedies that increase appetite in children. For a good stimulation of digestion, some experts recommend the use of medicinal berries such as blackcurrant, barberry berries andjuniper, wild rose, chokeberry, sea buckthorn, as well as cumin and anise seeds.

These funds are good because they are very pleasant to the taste, so the kids do not refuse them. As for decoctions and tinctures made from wormwood, yarrow, dandelion root, calamus and chicory, they are very bitter, it is rather problematic to make a baby drink them. However, it should be noted that such drugs increase appetite much more, as they multiply the secretion of gastric juice.

Take the mentioned tinctures, fruit drinks and decoctions 20-30 minutes before the main meal.

Pharmacy products

Medications that increase appetite in children can only be used on the advice of a pediatrician. This is because such products can cause allergic reactions and other side effects.

From homeopathic medicines to improve appetite, some doctors recommend using complexes with calcium and magnesium s alts. It should also be noted that medications that cause a desire to eat include: Elkar (L-carnitine), Lysine, Glycine and various enzymes (for example, Creon).

There are also vitamins that increase appetite in children. Only an experienced pediatrician should tell you which complex is most suitable for your baby. If you do not want to give your child synthetic vitamins, then they can be replaced with berries (for example, lingonberries, raspberries, strawberries, etc.).

Baby

How to increase the appetite of a child (1 year old)? Children's bodyit is a complex self-regulating system that itself determines how much food it needs. If the baby does not eat well, then this indicates that he is not satisfied with certain foods that his mother uses. Having identified which ingredients do not suit him, you must replace them with others.

In general, there is a whole list of what should not be consumed by a nursing mother, and what components must be present in her diet. By adhering to the recommendations of a doctor, a woman will never face such problems.

Teenagers

In adolescence, many boys and girls may experience significant changes in their appetite. Some girls begin to suddenly refuse food in order to save their figure. As for the boys, some of them also go on a diet, and some, on the contrary, eat too much food. This is due to the development of complexes "thin-fat".

In connection with all of the above, we can safely say that the reasons for the decrease and increase in appetite in adolescents are mostly psycho-emotional in nature. Therefore, parents should be sympathetic to the behavior of their child. Force-feeding a child or forbidding him to eat anything can only aggravate the situation.

Advice to parents

In adolescence, not only the appearance of a teenager 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 it he trieseat less or more. This behavior can be detrimental to a teenager's he alth, including their digestive tract.

To support their child, parents should talk to him in a friendly way. The teenager needs to be explained that proper and rational 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, as well as 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 mass, it is recommended to visit the gym.

As for drugs that increase appetite, among them the most popular are vitamin formulations and dietary supplements containing zinc. As you know, the deficiency of the latter quite often leads to a violation of the sense of smell and taste.

When replenishing zinc in the body, 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.