Meal times should be enjoyable for both the child and the parents, but unfortunately this is not always the case. It can be a time of frustration or stress for everyone involved. This article describes the causes of common nutritional problems such as food refusal, picky eating, vomiting and vomiting during a meal.
Reasons for rejecting solids
1. Disease
Sudden change in appetite is a common sign of the disease.
What to do:
See your doctor if your child develops abnormal symptoms or refuses to drink.
Give plenty of fluids.
Offer him food, but expect him to reject it when he is not well.
2. Too much milk
The most common reasons for a successful healthy baby who refuses a solid diet are that they are full of milk (breast, formula or otherwise) and are not hungry for other foods, or because they prefer to drink milk rather than solid. The baby only needs a certain amount of calories during the day to cover his growth and energy needs, and if milk provides these calories, he is left with little appetite for a solid diet.
What to do:
If necessary, reduce the amount of baby food offered to your child to the recommended daily allowance for their age. (See our article Estimating How Much Milk Your Baby Needs.)
If your breastfed baby is healthy and prosperous, reducing the number of breastfeeds can promote an increased appetite for a solid diet.
For children over 9 months or age, offer solids before milk.
3. Juice
Fruit juice is high in energy (calories) and can reduce a child's appetite for solid foods. While fruit is important for a balanced diet, your child does not need to drink fruit juices. In fact, it is better for your baby to eat fruit as it provides extra fiber that is not available in juices.
What to do
Reduce the amount of juice your baby drinks or offer water instead of juice.
Offer different results.
4. Foods with a high energy content
Some foods may seem small, but they provide a lot of energy (calories). For example, chocolate, sweets, chips, cookies, even bananas (although nutritious, they are high in calories compared to other fruits).
What to do
Offer your baby food based on the knowledge that everything he eats should be tailored to his daily nutritional needs.
Offer the puree sparingly and until you eat nutritious food.
Give only 1/2 banana.
5. Refreshments at the wrong time
If your baby gets a tenth (or drinks milk or fruit juice) just before a meal, it may affect his or her appetite and he or she may not eat as well when offered food. .
What to do
Halfway between the main courses, provide small nutritious snacks.
Discourage her from "grazing" during the day.
Avoid offering snacks and drinks (other than water) less than 2 hours before a main meal.
6. Selection of food
Don't expect this to be an instant spike when you first offer food. It can take up to 8-10 hours to get a new meal.
What to do
Don't take the first rejection as a lifelong dislike.
Do not let her eat, but continue to offer food that is sometimes denied.
7. Too tired
Understandably, there will come a time when your child is too tired to eat. (See signs of excessive fatigue.) Young children need to eat much earlier than adults.
What to do
Offer meals and snacks at regular times throughout the day.
Offer food before your child gets too tired.
Offer dinner at least 2 hours before bedtime.
If she is too tired to eat in the evening, offer her main meal at lunchtime.
8. Too excited
If there are too many distractions, your child may not be interested in eating.
What to do
Before you eat, take some time to "catch up" in a quiet game.
Turn off the TV while you eat.
Encourage your toddler to sit at the table while eating.
Eat with a child: Make eating an enjoyable social experience.
9. Frustration
As soon as the girl begins to assert her independence of her, she will want to examine the food and start feeding. If they stop her because of a "mess," it can be very frustrating for her. It would be unrealistic to expect your child to learn how to behave at the table before he learns to feed himself. A little clutter is needed when a child is learning.
The child may also feel overwhelmed by the amount of food or offer too many options.
What to do
When your baby is old enough to hold a teaspoon, give him a teaspoon while he eats. Sometimes (not always) help her with a manual guide. If necessary, she continues to offer food from another spoon.
If she wants to, let me feed her hands. (Put the newspaper on a high chair to see what falls).
If your child doesn't need your food aid, let him eat alone. Give him food that he can pick up with his fingers.
Keep the amount of food realistic. Do you remember the size of your baby's food? 1/3 the size for adults.
10. Cutting teeth
The baby may lose appetite due to discomfort while cutting teeth. Generally, this will only take a few days.
What to do
Offer regular meals and snacks, but accept rejection.
At these times, offer soft meals.
Give plenty of fluids.
11. Development
Babies under 4 months of age are not ready to eat solid foods. Babies are born with a squeezed contraceptive (sometimes called a tongue repellent) that helps them breastfeed or bottle-feed. In most babies, this recurrence goes away by about 3-4 months of age, but in some babies it may take longer.
While this recurrence is still present, semi-solid food is usually excreted from the mouth. This is not a sign of refusal of food, but a sign that the baby is not ready to eat. Babies will have difficulty coordinating the tongue movements needed to swallow food in the back of the throat until this recurrence subsides. (See our article on starting solids for more information.)
What to do
If your child's extrusion is still there, wait another 2 weeks and try again.
12. Feeding aversion
Infants and toddlers may crave feeding if they feel pressured to eat. The pressure makes feeding unpleasant or stressful. If this happens again, the baby no longer wants to eat.
What to do
Remove all pressure.