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Boosting your child’s appetite can be tricky, especially when they find food unappealing or struggle to eat.

Here are some suggestions to boost your little one’s appetite one:

1. Prepare a balanced healthy breakfast after a night fast will increase your child’s appetite.
2. Feed your child every two hours. Small frequent meals may boost their digestive system and make them feel hungry.
3. Encourage a healthy lifestyle: exercise daily.
4. Offer yogurt and peanuts: Both have positive effects on the appetite and can boost the digestive system.
5. Avoid too much milk, oily food and juices.¹
6. Adopt positive feeding practices: Encourage screen-free family meals, avoid pressure, praise and the reward system.²

Enlisting the help of a dietician can be useful to plan diets with maximum nutritional intake, supplements such as high-calorie milk or high-calorie supplements may be indicated.

Dr. Kawthar Alamiddine

Neonatologist

References:

1-Textbook of pediatric care ,2^nd edition, American Academy of Pediatrics, chapter 174 .

2-Nurturing Children's Healthy Eating: Position statement Jess Haines Emma HaycraftLeslie Lytle Sophie NicklausFrans J. KokMohamed MerdjiMauro FisbergLuis A. MorenoOlivier GouletSheryl O. Appetite 137(2019),124-133