6 The most common eating problems in children under five

Toddler nutritional needs are not the same as adults. On that basis, ensuring that children get adequate nutritional intake every day is "homework" for all parents. Especially when toddlers have trouble eating. Do not let this become a barrier for him to get enough daily nutritional needs. Let's understand a series of eating problems in toddlers that often occur.

What are the common eating problems in toddlers?

Unpredictable appetite for children, often causes problems in the pattern and feeding of toddlers.

If it happens once or twice it probably doesn't matter. However, if it continues, it can continue until the child grows up.

Therefore, as parents, it is important to monitor and recognize as early as possible when children have problems that make it difficult to eat comfortably.

Here are various eating problems in toddlers that often make it more difficult to eat:

1. Having health problems

Adults often complain of not having an appetite when their bodies are not healthy, so do children. Some health problems that make it difficult to eat in toddlers, such as:

• Sore throat
• Skin rash
• Fever
• Sprue
• Constipation
• lack of iron
• Urinary tract infection
• Anemia
• Flu
• Stomach ache
• Worms

Lack of awareness about personal hygiene and the environment, for example, is one of the causes of worms that commonly occur in children.

One of the most common features of intestinal worms is the loss of appetite for children so that later it can cause the baby to lose weight.

If this condition lasts more than one week and does not improve, immediately visit a doctor for consultation.

2. Stress

It's not just adults who experience stress, but children too. It's just the difference, the causes and symptoms of stress experienced by children are not as complicated as adults.

Death of a pet, become a victim bully in a friendly environment, or being scolded often can stress your little one. Indirectly, this condition then causes feeding problems in toddlers.

3. Side effects of drugs

Routinely taking certain drugs without realizing it can also reduce your little one's appetite so that it becomes eating problems in toddlers.

If this continues, ask the doctor if there are other alternative drugs that do not affect his appetite.

4. Food allergies

Food allergy is a condition caused by the body's immune system response after eating certain foods.

In other words, eating problems in toddlers due to allergies will make them experience various symptoms after eating these foods.

These symptoms include discomfort such as itching in the mouth, skin redness and itching, swelling in several parts of the body, difficulty breathing, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

Launching from the Mayo Clinic page, eating problems in toddlers on this one are usually experienced by around 6-8 percent of children aged 3 years and under.

Even so, children of all ages are prone to developing food allergies. Food allergies in children can occur because the body considers the food or substances contained in it as something dangerous.

As a result, the immune system releases a defense in the form of antibodies to fight against substances that are considered dangerous.

Other times when children eat the same food, a substance called histamine will be produced by the immune system and flow in the blood. Histamine is what later causes one or more symptoms of food allergy in children.

5. Food intolerance

Many people often confuse food allergies and food intolerances. In fact, these two conditions are not the same.

Food intolerance is a condition caused by the inability of the body to digest certain foods.

The difference is that food intolerance is not triggered by a problem with the child's immune system. One of the food intolerances that often occurs in children is lactose intolerance in milk.

Just like food allergies, eating problems in this one toddler can also cause various symptoms.

However, the time span for the appearance of symptoms of food intolerance is generally longer than that of a food allergy. Some children may experience symptoms within hours of eating certain foods.

While some other children can experience symptoms after 48 hours later. The most common symptoms of food intolerance include:

• Diarrhea
• Nauseous vomit
• Stomach ache
• Bloated

Similar to food allergies, children who have intolerance to certain types of food are also advised not to eat these foods.

6. Unpredictable eating habits

Quoting from the Family Doctor, eating habits are a problem in toddlers. Sometimes, there are times when children want to eat the same food menu a week.

Then in the following week the child does not want to touch the food he liked last week. In addition, other unhealthy eating habits that can trigger toddlers have difficulty eating are snacking at mealtimes.

Reported on the About Kids Health page, this habit makes children refuse to eat at the scheduled time.

Here are some other habits that make it difficult for toddlers to eat:

• Children drink too much juice and other sweet drinks
• Toddlers are less mobile, so they don't burn their energy which makes them feel less hungry

Although it is often annoying and anxious, this eating habit is nothing to worry about because it is often experienced by every child.

But if it lasts too long, immediately consult a doctor so that your baby's nutritional intake is not disturbed.

How to solve eating problems in toddlers

When this condition is allowed to continue, this can certainly interfere with the development of the little one and make parents anxious.

There are several ways that you can take as a first step in overcoming feeding problems in toddlers. The following include:

Change the child's eating habits

As a parent, here are some actions you can take to change your child's bad eating habits:

• Give your little one an example by eating a variety of foods, not just the same thing.
• Give your child food that has never been tried when he is hungry, to be precise at the beginning before giving other types of food that he has often eaten.
• Give him a new type of food and his favorite food at the same time.
• Serve new types of food in the form that is as attractive as possible.

Indeed, sometimes it feels anxious when children just want the same food and ignore the new food that has been prepared.

However, in this case, you should not overly force the child to immediately change their eating habits.

Instead, give him more encouragement and encouragement along with good examples. That way, children will be more interested in trying new things related to daily eating habits.

Avoid allergy-triggering foods

The easiest way to deal with food allergies experienced by children is by avoiding certain foods that cause allergies.

Do not forget to pay attention to the composition of ingredients in a food product before giving it to children.

If the symptoms caused by a food allergy are severe enough, the doctor can prescribe medication to help relieve the symptoms.

Some of these drugs, such as antihistamines or epinephrine, depend on the allergic condition the child is experiencing.

Doing eating therapy

Eating therapy is a method used to treat someone who has eating problems in toddlers.

This therapy does not only teach children to eat, but also works with parents and caregivers to make the eating process easier.

According to Kimberly Hirte, pediatric pathologist told Intermountain Healthcare, There are several symptoms that parents need to pay attention to when their child has difficulty eating.

• Difficulty chewing food.
• His weight and height have not increased in recent weeks.
• Often vomits and spits food that has just entered his mouth.
• Difficulty breathing when eating and drinking.
• Having problems coughing or burping.
• Crying for refusing to eat.

If your child exhibits these symptoms or they only eat 5-10 different types of food, it is likely that the child will need feeding therapy.

As reported from the page CHOC ChildrenDuring the eating therapy, the child and the parents will be accompanied by a therapist.

The therapists try to help children improve their eating skills so that the child's mealtime is more enjoyable.

Here are some general skills that will be developed in the therapy:

• Improved chewing, sucking and swallowing food.
• Provide a large number of food choices.
• Creating a pleasant dining atmosphere.

Not only the problem of eating in toddlers, this therapy is also useful so that children can create a pleasant atmosphere while eating.

Give a little portion

When you are introducing a new food menu to your little one, give it a small portion. If the child refuses, try again later, and continue to offer the child new foods.

Gradually the child wants to try it, then recognize the taste, and become familiar with the food, so that he will not refuse it again.

Consistently offering new food to your child can help reduce your child's tendency to refuse new food.

Make a proper eating schedule

Determining a toddler's eating schedule is very important in overcoming the problem of insomnia in your little one. This is done so that he understands the concept of hunger and thirst so that the baby's nutrition and nutrition are still fulfilled.

Quoted by the Family Doctor, about 5 - 10 minutes before mealtime, tell your little one that it will soon be eating time. Children may be tired after activities, as a result they will be lazy to eat and prefer to rest.

Creating near-meal notifications gives the child time to cool off before eating and get ready.

Provide healthy snacks

Every day, your child must meet the diet 3 times a day and eat 2 intervals. Toddlers 1-5 years of age usually don't eat enough at one time to stay full until the next meal.

Give your toddler healthy snacks between meals, such as cheese, yogurt, fruit pieces, cutlets, or milk for your toddler.

But keep in mind to limit the portion so that it is not too much and avoid giving snacks just before meal time arrives. This can ruin schedules and cause feeding problems for toddlers.

The reason is, this can make children feel full first. An empty stomach is a good time to feed your little one.

What if the child skips one meal? You can give him a healthy snack a few hours later.

Be flexible with the food menu

Providing a diet for toddlers is not easy, so you need to be flexible in the cooking process.

If your toddler has a hard time eating vegetables, you might occasionally crush the vegetables and mix them into a sweet-tasting beef steak that kids often love.

If your child doesn't feel like eating rice, provide other carbohydrates such as making tek-tek noodles or spaghetti carbonara which taste delicious.

To make it easier, you can make a list of foods that your little one likes by asking him directly.

Involve children in the process of selecting menus and ingredients so that your little one has a happy feeling with their food.

Set expectations

Avoid having too much hope for the child to obey all the "rules" that have been made. Avoid forcing your child who is still 3 years old to use the correct cutlery.

For some children, it may be easier to eat some foods by hand than eating with a spoon, so let them do it.

When to see a doctor to check for feeding problems in toddlers?

You need to worry if the condition of the toddler has difficulty eating this has lasted for more than two weeks and affects the child's weight.

If you want to consult a doctor about eating problems in toddlers, there are a number of questions you can ask, for example:

• How much food should a child eat in one day?
• Are there foods you can try on your child every day?
• Is it necessary to provide appetite-enhancing vitamins for children, such as high protein, to increase children's nutrition?
• Is it necessary to provide high-calorie formula milk to gain weight in children?
• is picky eater can be lost from the child's eating habits?
• Should you worry if your child doesn't want to eat for several days in a row?

The questions above can be adjusted to your child's condition and your concerns about your little one's eating habits.

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