Children can develop various bad eating habits that require the attention of young parents.
First "Forbidden Habit": Picky Eating
"I have to chase my baby around just to feed him!", "My baby eats very little and slowly, likes to keep food in his mouth, and the meal gets cold before he's finished!" Faced with the confusion of many parents, medical experts from China and the United States have stated that some inappropriate behaviors by parents, such as excessive attention during feeding, forcing children to eat, and coaxing or tricking them at the dinner table, can exacerbate children's picky eating. Furthermore, if parents themselves are picky eaters, children will "learn by example" and become even more selective.
Up to 30% of Children are Picky Eaters
Experts point out that picky eating is common in children from 6 months to 6 years old, with a rate as high as 30%.
Common problems include eating small amounts and slowly, showing little interest in food, being unwilling to try new foods, and having a strong preference for certain textures or types of food. He Shaoru emphasizes that in many single-child families, there is an atmosphere of excessive attention during feeding and a tense environment of coercion and coaxing at the dinner table. This puts a heavy psychological burden on the child to eat, making them even more averse to the foods they are picky about.
Parents' Picky Eating Leads Children to "Learn by Example"
In addition, parents' own picky eating behaviors can worsen a child's picky eating. Experts specifically point out that if parents have picky eating habits, a child's unconscious "imitation" can make it difficult to control this behavior. This is the so-called "the top beam is crooked, the bottom beams will be crooked" effect.
Experts state that problematic eating behaviors in children can lead to a series of health issues such as malnutrition and developmental delays. For picky eaters, medication is of little help, and behavioral correction is more important. Experts therefore offer the following "prescription": allow the baby to experience moderate hunger; if they are full, allow them to stop eating; reduce distractions during meals (TV, stories, toys). Furthermore, making food into interesting shapes using various molds on the market can stimulate a child's appetite through color, aroma, and taste. Experts also note that if necessary, parents should consult specialists in relevant fields for necessary training in the child's oral motor skills.
Correcting Picky Eating: Letting Children Experience Hunger
Under current conditions, parents can refer to the following methods to address children's picky eating habits:
1. Let the baby experience hunger and then feel fullness.
2. Limit calories between meals; no drinks or snacks one hour before a meal.
3. Keep mealtimes under 25 minutes, with intervals of 3.5 to 4 hours between meals.
4. Gradually adjust the ratio of disliked to liked foods, changing it from 1:1 to 2:1 or more, to help turn disliked foods into liked ones.
5. When the child pushes away the spoon, cries, or turns their head, parents should use a temporary isolation method: remove the food, place the child in their high chair, and ignore them.
6. At the market or supermarket, let the child decide which foods to buy.
7. Let the child try new or disliked foods multiple times; sometimes it takes up to 15 attempts.
8. Give foods fun names.
9. Create a happy atmosphere for eating; conversely, there should be corresponding punishments for misbehavior.
10. Do not buy foods that parents do not want their children to eat.
Second "Forbidden Habit": Squatting to Eat
In the Guanzhong region, it is common for both adults and children to squat while eating, under a tree in the village, in front of or behind houses. This is known as one of the "Eight Oddities". In fact, this is a bad eating habit. It not only affects the digestive system's ability to digest food but also easily leads to varying degrees of food contamination, causing "illness to enter through the mouth."
When squatting to eat, the abdomen is compressed. This prevents the stomach and intestines from蠕动 normally and also obstructs the free passage of gas, causing upper abdominal bloating and affecting digestion and absorption.
Squatting for a long time compresses the abdomen and lower limbs, hindering blood circulation throughout the body, leading to soreness and numbness in the lower limbs. The stomach's peristalsis and tension increase, requiring a large amount of blood. However, squatting affects the blood supply to the stomach, directly weakening its digestive function.
If one sits on a high stool to eat, the abdominal muscles are relaxed, blood circulation is unobstructed, and the gastrointestinal system functions normally and regularly, which is very beneficial for digesting food.
Additionally, when squatting to eat, bowls and plates are placed on the ground. As people walk by or when it's windy, dust is kicked up and lands on the food. The dirt, bacteria, viruses, and parasite eggs on the dust can contaminate the food, easily causing illness.
Therefore, from a health perspective, this bad habit of squatting to eat should be corrected.
Third "Forbidden Habit": Overeating
Cause:
Gastrointestinal diseases in babies caused by a weak digestive system, nutritional imbalance, overeating, and a hot and humid climate.
Symptoms:
Vomiting, abdominal bloating, chest tightness, loss of appetite.
Dietary Remedies:
Skimmed Milk — Boil milk, cool it, and remove the floating layer of fat. Repeat several times. It can treat baby vomiting but is not very suitable for infants.
Apple Puree Soup — Mash a ripe apple and put it in weak tea. Apple fibers are fine and cause little irritation to the intestines; the pectin it contains has an astringent effect.
Weak Tea — Steep a small amount of black tea with boiling water and give it to the baby 4-5 times a day. It is very effective for acute gastroenteritis.
Carrot Juice — Wash and mash fresh carrots, add a little water and simmer for 10-15 minutes, filter, then add more water and a small amount of sugar. Bring to a boil, pour into a container, and steam for another 10 minutes before drinking.
Hawthorn, Rice, and Brown Sugar Juice — Simmer hawthorn in a clay pot to make a thick juice, then add rice and brown sugar to cook into a porridge. Give it to the baby in the morning and afternoon. Do not consume on an empty stomach.
Special Note:
Foods to avoid at this time —
· Irritating and raw/cold foods, which are more likely to harm a baby's digestive system.
· Oily foods can cause vomiting in babies.
· Foods that cause bloating will worsen a baby's bloating and loss of appetite.
· Foods that are difficult to digest.
Fourth "Forbidden Habit": Salty Food
"Among a hundred flavors, salt is the king." Salt can be considered the king of condiments. In modern diets, children's sodium intake is gradually increasing, due to excessive salt in daily meals and more sodium in snacks. Recently, child health experts have pointed out that whether a child is healthy or sick, they should not consume too much salt, and their diet should be light-based.
Excess Salt Leads to Respiratory Infections According to surveys, more and more children are developing high blood pressure, and the vast majority of these children often ate very salty foods during infancy. Excessively salty food increases blood pressure and causes edema. Furthermore, too much salt in a child's diet is also a contributing factor to upper respiratory tract infections.
First, a high-salt diet reduces saliva secretion, which is more conducive to the presence of various bacteria and viruses in the upper respiratory tract. Second, due to the osmotic effect of salt after a high-salt meal, it can kill the normal flora of the upper respiratory tract, causing an imbalance in the flora and leading to illness. Third, a high-salt diet may inhibit the reproduction of mucosal epithelial cells, causing them to lose their disease-fighting ability. These factors weaken the upper respiratory tract's ability to resist disease invasion. Coupled with a child's inherently lower immune system than adults and their susceptibility to catching colds, bacteria and viruses take the opportunity to enter, causing upper respiratory tract infections.
Salt Affects Zinc Absorption A child's taste preferences follow their parents'. If parents' diet is salty, children will also like salty food. Eating too much salt directly affects the body's absorption of zinc, leading to zinc deficiency in children. However, many people have habits of eating pickled mustard greens, salted fish, and cured meat, all of which are generally high in sodium and should be avoided by children. In addition, foods like broad bean paste, chili paste, pickled mustard tubers, pickled vegetables, pickled cucumbers, yellow bean paste, fermented bean curd, salted duck eggs, canned food, sausages, pork floss, youtiao (fried dough sticks), and instant noodles should also be avoided.
Fifth "Forbidden Habit": Eating Too Fast
Currently, a phenomenon of eating too fast is common among children and adolescents, especially at breakfast and lunch.
A survey shows that 20.3% of children and adolescents finish breakfast within 5 minutes, and 85.5% finish within 15 minutes. Lunch is also a quick affair: 18.3% finish lunch within 10 minutes, and 72.5% finish in under 20 minutes.
Only dinner might be a bit more relaxed, but nearly half of children and adolescents still finish dinner within 20 minutes.
Researchers point out that eating too fast is detrimental to a child's physical and mental health. When eating too fast, children cannot savor and appreciate the taste of food, making meals merely a means to fill their stomachs. This fails to stimulate and cultivate a love for food and is not conducive to the digestion and absorption of nutrients. Eating too fast means food is not chewed thoroughly and cannot be pre-digested by saliva, thus increasing the digestive burden on the gastrointestinal tract, prolonging digestion time, and reducing the proportion of nutrients absorbed. Furthermore, eating too fast can easily lead to overeating and cause obesity.
Generally, a child's meal should last no less than 20 minutes.
Sixth "Forbidden Habit": Sweet Food
The sugars commonly eaten in daily life, such as white sugar, brown sugar, rock sugar, and fruit candy, are all extracted from sugarcane or sugar beets and are collectively called sucrose. Although children like to eat sweets, sugar should not be consumed in excess.
Excessive sugar consumption can lead to malnutrition in babies. Sugar is a pure-calorie food that contains almost no other nutrients. It is measured that 1 gram of sugar produces 4 kilocalories of energy in the body, so eating sugar often reduces appetite. As a result, although the body's required热量 (calories) may be sufficient, other necessary nutrients like protein, fat, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, and dietary fiber are lacking, leading to nutritional imbalance over time.
Excessive sugar consumption depletes calcium in a baby's body. Sugar is an acidic substance that neutralizes the alkaline substance calcium in the body. A calcium deficiency not only directly affects a child's growth and development (stunted height) but also more notably causes osteoporosis and rickets.
Regular sugar consumption easily causes cavities. Sugar provides a favorable environment for the growth and reproduction of bacteria in the mouth. These bacteria, along with residual sugar, increase the acidity in the mouth, teeth, and gaps. Due to constant acid erosion, cavities are easily formed, which can eventually lead to cavities or oral ulcers. Therefore, Japanese dentists suggest that the primary prerequisite for preventing cavities is to eat less sugar.
Eating too much sugar also weakens the body's resistance, making children more susceptible to various diseases.
Sugar is an indispensable food in our daily lives. So, how much is appropriate for a child to eat daily? In recent years, there has been a relatively consistent view at home and abroad: about 0.5 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. This means that adults should not exceed 50 grams per day, children should not exceed 20 grams, and children under 10 kilograms should not exceed 10 grams.
Seventh "Forbidden Habit": Eating While Watching TV
Eating while watching TV has several drawbacks:
First, it can easily affect appetite. Appetite can be stimulated by physiological factors, but external factors can also enhance appetite through conditioned reflexes. When eating while watching TV, people tend to focus on the TV and ignore the taste of food, causing the appetite that has already appeared to be suppressed or diminished by the TV. Over time, this can lead to malnutrition.
Second, it affects the digestion of food and the absorption of nutrients. When a person eats, they need digestive juices and blood to help the stomach and intestines digest food. When eating and watching TV at the same time, the brain also needs a large amount of blood. This creates a competition for blood supply. As a result, neither activity gets sufficient blood, leading to poor eating and poor TV viewing. Over time, this can also cause dizziness and blurred vision.
Therefore, at home, do not eat while watching TV. It is best to watch TV 20-30 minutes after a meal. If you must watch TV while eating, choose programs that are not tense or overly stimulating.
Eighth "Forbidden Habit": Eating While Walking
Eating while on a bus or walking is unhygienic and不利于 (detrimental to) the digestion and absorption of food, and over time, it will affect one's health.
On a bus or on the road, people come and go, and dust is flying. Food can easily become contaminated, especially when a child eats on a bus; they can easily transfer bacteria and viruses from the handrails to the food, leading to illness after consumption. Furthermore, for the body to absorb and utilize the nutrients in food, it must go through two digestive processes: physical and chemical.
Chewing with teeth, stirring with the tongue, and intestinal peristalsis are physical digestion; amylase in saliva, pepsin in gastric juice, trypsin in pancreatic juice, and bile, which digest starch, protein, and fat in food, are chemical digestion.
Both of these processes are completed under the unified command of the brain. However, when eating while moving, the brain has to command both the digestive system and the motor system, which disperses its energy. This often leads to insufficient chewing and poor digestion. It can also cause choking, biting the tongue, and food entering the trachea, leading to foreign body aspiration. This is especially risky when eating food with pits on a bus.
Ninth "Forbidden Habit": Laughing While Eating
Do Not Turn a Child Upside Down and Slap Their Back if They Swallow a Foreign Object.
Children laughing and playing while eating, elderly people being distracted while eating, or people with diminished reflex function when taking medication can cause an object to be inhaled into an organ, leading to suffocation. If this happens, first aid should be used to quickly remove the foreign object; otherwise, it can be fatal within minutes. However, it is very important to note that a child should not be turned upside down and slapped.
Child First Aid Method:
Have the child lie face down between the rescuer's legs, with the head low and feet high. Then, use the palm of your hand to firmly strike the child between the shoulder blades 4 times. If this does not work, have the child's back rest against the rescuer's legs. Then, the rescuer uses the index and middle fingers of both hands to forcefully press the child's upper abdomen (just above the navel) backward and upward. Release after pressing and repeat several times.
Standing First Aid Method:
The rescuer stands behind the patient, wrapping their arms around the patient's waist. Make a fist with one hand and place the thumb side of the fist against the patient's upper abdomen (slightly above the navel). Grasp the fist with the other hand and squeeze the patient's upper abdomen sharply upward and backward. The squeezing motion should be quick, followed by immediate relaxation.