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

How to increase the appetite of children? This question does not give rest to many parents. After all, a growing body requires a large amount of energy, vitamins and minerals. But where do they come from if the baby practically does not eat anything?

How to increase the appetite of a child? What do I need to do? What is the cause of poor appetite? The 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 or of another age, it is necessary to understand what the word means in general. "Appetite" has Latin roots. According to experts, this word is translated as "desire," "desire," or "need."

In the physiological sense, appetite is a kind of sensation that arises from the need of the human body for food. In the event that this need was not satisfied, then it grows into a strong sense of hunger.

It is necessary to understand that the digestive tract is controlled by a certain part of the brain, namely, its food center. With a long absence of food, certain areas are stimulated in it, which, in fact, send impulses to the organs of the digestive tract. As a result of this process, the person begins to develop intensively gastric juice and saliva, as well as a desire to eat.

Main reasons

How to increase the appetite of children? Before you deal with this problem, you should identify its causes. It should be noted that there may be several. Let's consider the most probable right now:

• Appetite for all babies is different initially. And if the parents of the child themselves were malnourished in childhood, this phenomenon can be observed in their children.
• Health problems. Teething teeth, the presence of stomatitis, inflammation, flowing in the organs of the digestive tract, colds and even a common runny nose are the most common reasons why many children refuse to eat. How to increase the appetite of a child of 5 years or another age? If the reason for refusing food is a disease, then do not insist on your own and forcibly feed the baby. This is due to the fact that the lack of appetite in the disease is a kind of protective reaction of the body. This is how he directs his forces to fight the disease, and also protects the liver, which is the main purifying organ. After the child heals, the appetite will return itself.
• Incorrect actions of parents at breakfast, lunch or dinner. The dining table should not be the place where the child is constantly scolded, read to him by notations, forced to eat by force or punished. When shouting at dinner, not only the baby, but any adult will lose all appetite.
• Experiences, stress. How to increase the appetite of children? First you need to find out what's eating your baby. After frequent discord in the family, new stages in life, death of close people and quarrels with best friends can directly affect the appetite of your baby. After talking with him and revealing the cause of his bad mood, parents should calm the child, which will contribute to the return of the desire to eat something.
• Seasonal fluctuations. The causes of increased appetite in children and a lowered one can be associated with a change in climate. In winter, the human body requires more energy than in the summer. Thus, in the cold season, the child's appetite is much better than in the unbearable heat.
• The presence of worms. In addition to refusing to eat, the following symptoms are typical for such a disease: pallor, irritability and abdominal pain. In helminthic invasion it is necessary to take an analysis of blood and feces.
• Overwork, fatigue and lack of sleep are also the main reasons for the decrease in appetite in infants. In such situations, it is extremely important to adjust the regime of the child's day.
• If children spend little time on the street, then they can also decrease their appetite.

How to increase the appetite of children? Fundamental rules

What if your baby does not eat much? At the same time, there are no objective reasons for such behavior in him. To do this, we recommend that you adhere to certain rules.

Do not force the child to use what he does not like

As you know, children often have a dislike for certain products. This behavior is usually of an age-related nature and passes on its own in the process of growing up. But if the baby is forced to eat something that he does not like, then he can develop a real phobia, which is associated with a specific product. In this case, this behavior can remain for life.

Forcing the child to use what he does not want, parents fix 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 the baby only positive emotions

Great importance for improving the appetite of the child has the atmosphere in which the meal takes place. Parents at this time should forget about all their problems and demonstrate to the baby how everything is deliciously cooked, how they are pleased to be in such a good company.

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

During dinner, pay less attention to your child. Use food yourself with appetite, and then the kid will start to imitate you.

Time for a meal

If possible, all meals should be taken 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 natural feeling. Therefore, the child should be put at the table only if he is hungry. So, do not give in to the baby's requests to give him something to eat, if the prescribed meal time has not yet come.

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

If the child refuses to eat all the food laid out on the plate, then do not force him to devastate or scold him for it. Moreover, to prevent such a phenomenon, one should not impose too much food on the baby. If there is a desire, he will ask for supplements.

The food should look appetizing and be delicious

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

Products that increase appetite in a child

Surprisingly, there are products that can cause the child to have an excessive desire to eat something. For example, very many parents, half an hour before the main meal, give their children a sour apple juice squeezed out with their own hands. According to experts, this drink helps to develop gastric juice.

There are also other folk remedies that increase appetite in children. For a good stimulation of digestion, some experts recommend using such medicinal berries as black currant, barberry and juniper berries , dog rose, aronia blackberry, 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 the decoctions and tinctures made of wormwood, yarrow, dandelion root, ayr and chicory, they are very bitter, making the baby to drink them is quite problematic. However, it should be noted that such drugs greatly increase appetite, since they repeatedly increase the secretion of gastric juice.

Take these tinctures, fruit drinks and broths should be 20-30 minutes before the main meal.

Pharmacy products

Drugs that increase appetite in children, can be used only on pediatrician recommendations. This is due to the fact that such drugs can cause allergic reactions and other side effects.

Of homeopathic medicines to improve appetite, some doctors recommend using complexes with calcium and magnesium salts. Also, it should be noted that the drugs that cause a desire to eat, include: "Elcar" (L-carnitine), "Lysine", "Glycine" and various enzymes (for example, "Creon").

There are also vitamins that increase appetite in children. About what kind of complex suits your baby more than anything, you should tell only an experienced pediatrician. If you do not want to give your child synthetic vitamins, they can be replaced by berries (for example, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries and others).

Breast children

How to increase the appetite of a child (1 year)? A child's organism is a complex self-regulating system, which itself determines how much she needs food. If the baby does not eat well, it indicates that he does not like the products that his mother uses. Having found out which ingredients do not suit him, you should replace them with others.

In general, there is a whole list of that you can not use a nursing mother, and which components must be present in her diet. Adhering to the recommendations of a doctor, a woman will never face such problems.

Teens

In the transition years, many young men and women may experience significant changes in their appetite. Some girls start suddenly to refuse food, in order to save their figure. As for boys, some of them also take a diet, and some, on the contrary, consume too much food. This is due to the development of "lean-fat" complexes.

In connection with all the above, we can safely say that the reasons for the decrease and increase of appetite in adolescents are more psycho-emotional. Therefore, parents should be sympathetic to the behavior of their child. If feeding a child violently or prohibiting him from eating anything, this can only aggravate the situation.

Recommendations for parents

In the transition years not only the appearance of the adolescent is changing, but also his behavior. Very often it becomes unpredictable. In the child there is a lot of aggression, there is dissatisfaction with your body. To change this, he tries to eat less or more. Such behavior can adversely affect the health of the adolescent, including on his digestive tract.

To support your child, parents should talk to him in a friendly way. The adolescent needs to explain that proper and rational nutrition is the key to success, including a beautiful appearance. If a young man or a girl is overweight, then you should say that you do not need to give up eating to lose weight. It is only necessary to reduce the consumption of sweet and flour, and also to move a lot.

In the event that a teenager is too thin, then his diet should consist of a large number of proteins and fiber. It is also recommended to visit the gym to build muscle.

With regard to drugs that contribute to increased appetite, among them the most popular are vitamin formulations and biologically active additives with zinc content. As you know, the deficit of the latter quite often leads to a violation of the sense of smell and sense of taste.

When zinc is replenished in the body, the appetite normalizes after 30-60 days after the beginning of its application. It should also be noted that the child begins to consume food when using vitamin complexes with the content of citric and succinic acids.