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One of the issues that most parents have the most difficulty in raising children in our country is nutrition. Almost every parent thinks that their child's nutrition is inadequate.
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The most important reason for nutritional difficulties is actually parents' misinformation and expectations about child nutrition.
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If you have a child with poor appetite, the first thing to do is to find and eliminate the underlying cause. Your child may be sick, have a vitamin deficiency, want attention, or force him to eat more than he needs.
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If he does not have any health problems and his growth and development are normal, we can assume that he is adequately nourished.
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Experiences experienced while feeding a child, especially between the ages of 1-3, directly affect the parent-child relationship, the child's psychological development process, self-perception and self-confidence.
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One of the most important factors that destroys a child's self-confidence during the growth process is not respecting his/her eating preferences and skills.
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A sensitive parent is one who can offer the child as much food as he/she wants and can get, under conditions suitable for his/her development.
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Many parents try to deceive their children with sweet words, beg and bribe them while feeding them. In fact, this insistence stems entirely from good intentions. However, a child who is force-fed either turns into a child who eats less than normal or can create children who have lost their sense of fullness and eat more than normal, leading to obesity.
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Occupying the child's mind in front of the television, feeding and toys Taking it out and feeding it by singing songs and making jokes is also a type of force-feeding.
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Research has shown that children who are pressured to eat are worse nourished and do not grow adequately than children who are not pressured.
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Another study showed that parents who were concerned about the baby's weight were much more active (made an effort) during feeding, more mobile, and did not pay attention to the clues given by the baby, compared to parents whose babies were of normal weight. This mobility disrupts the baby's feeding rhythm and negatively affects growth. i is shown.
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Another study was conducted on preschool children. One group of children was given a reward to try a new food, while the other group was given food without a reward, and no facial expression or verbal warning was given. As a result, the rewarded group did not want the food a second time, but the non-rewarded group went for the food a few more times. In other words, giving a reward means putting pressure on the child to eat the food.
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Commanding the child when he does not eat and doing whatever he wants will reinforce the behavior of refusing food.
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There is no need for any special conditions to eat food and this is a basic need. If families continue to give this message determinedly, the child will learn.
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Being hungry is enough to eat. If food is offered when the child is really hungry, there will be no problem. If the family adheres to meal times constantly, regularly and collectively, the child will get used to it over time.
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We should be consistent and clear when setting limits for children regarding nutrition, but the limits we set should not be too many and the child
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Some of the ways to sweetly persuade children to eat healthy foods are as follows:
1 - The ideal role distribution in the feeding interaction should be as follows: the parent decides the time of the meal, the place where the meal will be eaten, which foods should be presented and how, how long the child will sit in the high chair (approx. 20-25 minutes), whether he will use his hands or the fork while eating the meal, It determines how much of the offered food will be eaten and may even choose not to eat at all.
2- Your child does not like physical intervention at this time, and may become stubborn. You should definitely allow the child to touch food as he wishes, to pollute the environment, and to use food as games and toys
3 – Let the child participate in food selection, chat about the foods he likes. During this conversation, try to explain how healthy eating is beneficial for him/p>
4 – Have the child contribute to the preparation of the meal. Make sure the child understands how the food is prepared, how it is selected, and how it is cleaned.
5 – It is very important that the child is hungry at meal time. Make him stop snacking on junk food. Your child, who constantly snacks throughout the day, walks around with a spoon and constantly puts something in his mouth, will refuse to eat because he does not feel hungry during meals. Snacking should be stopped 2 hours before meal time.
6 – Start with small portions. The adult portion will seem very large to your eyes. Do not forget to praise a small portion of vegetables as soon as you finish them.
7 - Problems, tension and arguments within the family directly damage the child's mental health and appetite. Therefore, it is important not to make the child feel stress and sadness.
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If all this does not work, you can try this; There is no need to be afraid of food that you cannot see. You can skillfully hide the essential nutrients he doesn't like in the foods he likes. You can hide grated carrots and broccoli in his favorite cookies or soup.
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If you do not benefit from any of these methods while feeding your child and if you are making interventions that you should not do, it would be beneficial to consult a specialist without delay.
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