Children who have difficulty eating are one of the problems that are often faced by parents. Are you experiencing it too?

The problem of difficulty eating is often found in children. In fact, even obedient children sometimes have a "phase" of being lazy to eat. According to dr. Dyah Arum K., M.Gizi, the problem of children having difficulty eating can actually be overcome with several solutions that you can even try at home. In order not to be more anxious because your little one has difficulty eating, let's see the following explanation!

Why do children have difficulty eating or are picky eaters?

Difficulty eating in children is basically a natural thing, in older children, the causes of difficulty eating can be more complex. Some of it is because the child does not have a regular feeding schedule, incorrect feeding behavior (inappropriate feeding practice), a bad mood, to the point of simple distractions that interfere with the little one's mealtime.

What is the solution to make children eat more?

dr. Dyah Arum K., M.Gizi revealed that in fact, most children's problems with eating disorders can be handled at home. About 80% of cases of hard-to-eat children in Indonesia do not require medical treatment. The rest require medical treatment because difficulty eating is caused by certain disorders in the child's physique. In order for your child to return to eating, you need to pay attention to your little one's habits at mealtime. The goal is to identify the causes why children have difficulty eating. Here are some solutions that you can try at home:

1. Set the child's feeding schedule

One of the reasons why children don't eat is because they don't have definite meal times. They eat when they are hungry and often, the food they eat does not contain enough nutrients. As a result, when Moms give heavy food, children are reluctant to eat.

The solution, try to implement a meal schedule. It doesn't have to be a definite schedule, but it's more organized. For example, breakfast time is between 6:00 and 9:00 and then snacks are at 10:00. This method will make the child disciplined and not feel full at the wrong time.

2. Present an interesting menu

Sometimes, children go on a hunger strike because the menu that Moms provides is not interesting or not to their taste. For that, involve your little one in fulfilling the menu. Ask them what they want. Another way is to print food in cute shapes. When children are interested, they will be excited to eat.

3. Stay patient

Dealing with a hard-to-eat child and various reasons is not an easy matter. Even so, scolding or forcing a child is not a solution. If the child is difficult to persuade, try again 30 minutes later. Over time, the child will feel hungry so it is easier to persuade.

Can the nutritional intake be replaced by milk?

Milk contains various minerals and vitamins that children need. Even so, milk should not be used as a substitute for the main meal, yes, Moms.

In the Ministry of Health's Balanced Nutrition Guide, milk is basically a group of animal protein. If the child lacks protein or in the diet there is no protein, then milk can be a complement. However, for children who really don't want to eat anything, drinking milk alone cannot fulfill their nutritional needs.

Dietary supplements = solutions for children who have difficulty eating?

Many parents think that giving food supplements is the best solution to deal with hard-to-eat children. The hope is that supplements can replace foods that are not consumed by children.

However, from a medical point of view, this should not be followed. dr. Arum explained that supplements should only be given to children with nutritional deficiencies (insufficient food intake).

If the child really has to take supplements, the duration of their use must also be observed. Supplementation should not exceed two weeks. Because, excessive consumption of supplements can actually harm the body. For example, iron supplements that are consumed more than the recommended amount will actually cause metal toxicity.

When a child has difficulty eating, it is feared that he will not get enough nutrition. If nutrition is lacking, children will find it difficult to function optimally. So, so that your child's nutritional intake remains adequate, you can give 2 glasses of Indomilk Good Milk which is full of nutrients. The goodness of nutrition in Indomilk GoodMilk is maintained thanks to the Double Lock Protection, which is double protection with screw caps equipped with aluminum foil seals on milk packaging containing various vitamins, minerals, and calcium.