“What if my child grows thin and short and does not want to eat?” “Every time we eat, it’s like a war, chasing all over the living room, is there any good solution?” When they are small, parents worry about the problem of eating milk, and when they are a little older, they have to worry about the problem of eating. Seeing other people’s children eat well on the Internet, but their own children are so difficult to eat and the amount is still small, compared to kittens! Especially when children go to kindergarten or elementary school, there are often picky, partial eating habits, parents are worried that it will affect the growth of the body. Today we will talk to you about why children do not like to eat? What are the ways to help children like to eat? There are several common reasons why children don’t eat: 1. Adding complementary foods too early or too late. The Chinese Dietary Guidelines and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend adding complementary foods to babies from 4 to 6 months of age, not earlier than 4 months of age at the earliest and not later than 8 months at the latest. Adding complementary foods too early increases your baby’s gastrointestinal burden and increases the risk of allergies. The 4 to 6 months is a sensitive period for the development of baby’s sense of taste, and after missing it, it may cause the baby to develop bad habits of picky and partial eating. 2, appetite problems. The child itself is not hungry. Children are not like adults, to the point of eating. It is recommended that parents can record the type of food, the amount of food and eating time of the child every day, about a week parents will probably be able to find the regularity of the child’s meals. 3. Overfeeding. The child has eaten enough, but the parents do not realize it, probably because there is still food on the plate, parents always want the child to finish the food prepared, not finished means not full. 4, do not want to be fed, want to eat by themselves. 1 year old children gradually have self-awareness, want to eat by themselves, do not like to be fed, and refuse to eat. Such refusal, parents should be able to distinguish in time. It is recommended that mothers and fathers begin to exercise their baby’s ability and habit of eating independently when the child is about 1 year old. 5, physical discomfort. Children before, during and recovering from illness, will affect the digestive system, children naturally do not eat much, this period try to make some easy-to-digest food for children, do not force the baby to eat. 6.Other. Zinc deficiency and anemia may cause children to lose their appetite and not to eat, but the lack of trace elements will be accompanied by other symptoms. For example, in children with zinc deficiency, in addition to reduced digestive function, there are symptoms such as backward growth, reduced immune function, delayed intelligent development, rough skin, dermatitis, and map tongue. In addition to digestive system, children with anemia mainly show symptoms such as pale skin mucous membrane, easy fatigue, inactivity, enlarged liver and spleen, and nervous system (irritability, depression, lack of concentration, memory loss, etc.). How to make children love to eat? 1. Establish a sense of ritual before meals. Read more picture books related to ingredients with your child, from simple knowledge of ingredients to understanding the nutrition of ingredients; let your child understand the past life of ingredients, the simplest is to take your child to experience the fun of planting, from sowing to picking to making a meal; let your child have a sense of participation, help wash the dishes or take something, can do what you can; children do not like to eat the dishes, you can change the shape, the plate is cute. Let children eat with adults at the same table every day, gradually let children love to eat. 2. Do not force your child to eat. When the child does not want to eat, do not force the child, and do not chase and run to feed the child to eat. But don’t be afraid that your child will be hungry and prepare a bunch of snacks for him. If the child is not hungry at mealtime and forced to eat, but will affect the enjoyment of eating. When a child is hungry, he or she will take the initiative to eat, this is nature. 3, set meal rules for your child. The first thing is to create a good eating environment for your child, such as not watching cartoons when eating, not playing while eating. Secondly, give your child the time to eat, such as half an hour, you can set a standard based on the average speed of the child’s usual meal. Some children will be particularly slow to eat, one grain at a time, parents should learn to judge, and find out why. 4, give your child finger food. The finger food exercise hand-eye coordination, chewing and swallowing ability, children learn to eat on their own, but also make feeding easier. 1 year old children, the characteristics of the choice of finger food, not necessarily with the hands can be crushed, as long as not even adults chewing are difficult, can be. For example, dumplings, cabbage, dried bean curd, mushrooms, pears, small tomatoes, etc. 5, more exercise. Take your child outdoors more often. After more exercise, your child will naturally get hungry easily and eat more.