To whet the child’s appetite, it may be interesting to resort to some strategies such as letting the child help in the preparation of meals, taking the child to the supermarket and making dishes more attractive and fun. However, it is also important to be patient, because strategies to whet your appetite usually work only when they are repeated a few times.
Recurring appetite-stimulating remedies is only indicated in exceptional cases, when the child has a high risk of malnutrition and should only be used by indication of the doctor or nutritionist.
The lack of appetite in children is normal between 2 and 6 years old and therefore, at this stage, children can refuse food. However, there are some tips that may be useful for whetting the child’s appetite that include:
1. Setting the day’s meals with the child
One way to help the child eat better and open their appetite is to plan the meals of the day together, following the ideas and suggestions of the child, so it is possible to leave the child involved in the process, which also makes him have more interest in eating.
In addition, it is also interesting to involve the child in the preparation of meals, because thus makes it observed that his suggestions were taken into account.
2. Bringing the child to the supermarket
Taking the child to the supermarket is another strategy that helps increase appetite, being interesting to ask the child to push the shopping cart or take some foods, such as fruit or bread, for example.
After shopping, it is also interesting to involve it in the storage of food in the closet, so that you know what the food you bought and where they are, in addition to also involving the child in the arrangement of the table, for example.
3. Eating at the right time
The child should have at least 5 meals a day, taking breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack and dinner, always at the same times because this educates the body to feel hungry at the same time. Another important care is not to eat, nor drink anything 1 hour before the meal times, as this is easier for the child to have an appetite for the main meal.
4. Not filling the plate too much
Children do not need to have the dish too full of food, because it only takes small amounts of each food to keep themselves nourished and healthy. In addition, not all children have the same appetite and it is normal for children between 2 and 6 years to have less appetite, as this is a slower growth phase.
5. Make fun dishes
To open the child’s appetite a good strategy is to make fun and colorful dishes, mixing foods that the child likes the most, with those he likes less, being a great option to make the child eat vegetables. Thus, through fun and colorful dishes, it is possible to leave the child entertained and stimulate his appetite. Check out some tips to make the child eat vegetables.
6. Preparing food in different ways
It is important that the child has the opportunity to try the prepared foods of different mulmas, such as raw, cooked or roasted, because so the food can have different colors, flavors, textures and availability of nutrients, so that the child can like more or less of certain vegetable according to the form that was prepared.
7. Avoid the “temptations”
At home, one should preferably have fresh foods, such as vegetables and fruits, in addition to pasta, rice and bread, and should avoid processed and prepared foods, because these foods, although they have more flavor, are harmful to health when consumed daily and lead the child to not like the taste of healthy foods, because they are less intense.
8. Get out of the routine
To increase the appetite of the child and, so that they see the mealtime with a fun moment, parents can set a day of the month to change the routine and eat outside the house, in the garden, have a picnic or a barbecue, for example.
9. Eating together
The mealtime, such as breakfast, lunch or dinner, should be a time when the family is gathered and where everyone eats the same food, leading the child to realize that they have to eat what parents and siblings eat.
Thus, for the child to acquire healthy habits, it is very important for adults to give the example to the child, showing taste for what they eat, because they repeat what adults do.
See these and other tips in the following video that poem helps to open the child’s appetite:
