Bledidoc Advice

Between the age of three and six, a child’s growth starts to slow down, reaching a maximum of additional two and a half kilos on a yearly average. Thus, you will start noticing that the number of meals consumed per day are reduced from five or seven to four per day.

1. The morning meal is very essential therefore it is better to be consumed before class, allow him to wake up earlier in order for him to have it. Since without it, the child will experience tiredness quicker and will demand easily absorbed types of fast food later, that require no effort like juice and candy.
2. Don’t leave your child without food for a long period, since he will lose the hunger sensation like “a faster” who is used to not having food.
3. No Food Allowed Between Meals: four meals per day only, the child’s stomach is the size of his arm fist and needs more time to feel hungry again, thus, do not let him fill it with candy and juices even the healthiest ones. Of course by doing more activities, he will need additional meals.
4. Family meetings in front of the food table improve child’s appetite and help avoid many food problems. And can also allow the child to eat with more spontaneity, so try to gather family members around the food table at least once per day.
5. During recovery from sickness, the child experiences hunger strongly to compensate what was lost during sickness, therefore, take advantage of the opportunity to introduce him to the “hunger” and “fullness” sensations (and when he asks for food, ask him if he’s hungry to better familiarize him with the hunger sensation).
6. Routine: Children handle routine very well: sleep time, bath time and also food time, that allows them to remember food time especially for children who get too driven by play time and lose their hunger sensation.
7. No Rewards: Do not reward your child with incentives for finishing his food. He will consider it as a mission that needs to be accomplished to be rewarded later, and that will worsen the problem.
8. No Violence or Using Force to make Him Eat: This will cause negative consequences from the child’s side and will potentially make the food acceptance stage much worse.
9. No Blackmailing: “Eat your food so that I don’t get angry or so that you make grandpa happy” as it will change his food perception from a normal hungry sensation to a way of pleasing others.
10. No TV nor games at the food table, as the child tends to lose his concentration fast, allow him to focus on his food, also, do not distract him to be able to feed him. The TV will make him lose his sense of hunger and potentially expose him to obesity in the future.
11. Let him see you while you prepare food, explain to him the benefits of each type of food (spinach strengthens the blood, meat fortifies the muscles). That will encourage him to eat what he helped preparing, also, the food smell will induce his appetite.

Dear mother, if your child is energetic and enjoys proper physical and mental growth confirmed by your doctor, rest assured and allow your child to decide what to eat as well as the portion he desires, all you need to do is offer him healthy food and let him decide on the amount he needs, thus, the morning shortage will be compensated by night.

Dr Mohammad Harb, Pediatrician

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