We often see parents chasing their children with bowls to feed them, while the children play while eating, resulting in a meal taking one to two hours. In fact, this problem is caused by improper parenting methods. What should you do if your child doesn't eat well?
For a child to eat well, they must first have an appetite.
The causes of an appetite are divided into physiological and psychological aspects. Physiologically, it's mainly hunger; food tastes best when you're hungry. Therefore, whether it's a main meal or a supplementary food, meals should be set, on time, and in a fixed quantity, so that the child's diet is regular. If the child refuses to eat, you can use the following methods. First, call them for the meal. If they don't listen, call them again after a while. If they still don't listen, just ignore them; the adults should finish and clean up. When the child gets hungry and wants to eat, tell them that mealtime is over and there is no food left. During this time, no matter how the child cries or fusses, the whole family must be united in ignoring them, and snacks are not allowed in advance. This way, the child will correct this bad habit.
Psychologically, it's about letting the child gain a sense of self-esteem and self-confidence from eating well.
For example, a little girl over two years old usually doesn't eat well, eating little and slowly at each meal. At this time, you can tell her a fable about eating, telling her that eating well and more will help her grow taller and stronger. You can also give her a thumbs-up, telling her that eating one bowl of rice earns her a "thumbs-up." As a result, she ate two bowls of rice during the meal. The atmosphere during the meal should be harmonious; encourage the child to eat by themselves and praise them for eating well and being capable. When others praise the child for growing well, timely affirmation should be given that it's because the child knows how to eat that they are so healthy and beautiful, thus making the child develop a liking for eating.