Poor appetite in children
Poor appetite is one of the most common health problems among children, and poor appetite negatively affects the child’s development if it is chronic without treatment. Often, poor appetite in children is a symptom of a particular disease, such as oral infections and so on.
Types of anorexia
Three main types of anorexia are:
- Acute anorexia is a temporary loss of appetite, caused by bacterial, bacterial and viral infections. This type of anorexia is common in children aged seven months to one and a half years due to the onset of teeth, or tooth decay.
- Chronic physiological anorexia: This type of loss of appetite is normal, given the child’s low need for calorie intake compared to his first year, so this type of loss of appetite extends from the age of two to six years, often parents resort to feed the child with a strong mind Of them that the child is sick and must be fed by force, but in fact, the length and weight of the child suitable for age through the use of scales of height and weight.
- Chronic anorexia: This type of anorexia is a symptom of a chronic disease such as respiratory diseases, kidney disease, congenital malformations of the brain and heart, a hole in it, and other symptoms such as high body temperature, anemia, .
Causes of poor appetite
There are many reasons that lead to anorexia, including:
- The need for attention: The child needs a sense of interest from his parents, and therefore he refrains from eating because he is aware of the amount of attention he receives during the period of eating without other times.
- Punishment Some children take the principle of abstinence as a form of punishment for parents if parents refuse to meet the child’s demands, such as playing outside or buying some toys.
- Emotions and feelings: Negative emotions negatively affect the child’s appetite. Feelings of anger, sadness and fear reduce the digestive juices in the stomach to function properly.
Treatment of poor appetite
The treatment of anorexia is a number of things that parents must follow:
- Family atmosphere: It is important to ensure that the family atmosphere is free of verbal quarrels and sharp dialogues during eating, because these arguments raise negative emotions in the child, such as feelings of sadness and fear, and therefore not eating the child for his diet.
- Hiding anxiety: The mother should hide the feelings of anxiety that the child if not eat the whole food.
- Organizing meals: Parents must organize meals for their child, by preventing him from eating sweets between the main meals, which reduce the appetite.
- Stay away from trying to feed the child forcibly; he will refuse to eat more than before.