Perhaps the attitude of the child to food will change

For a number of reasons, it becomes more legible. Approximately a year the child's attitude toward food changes. He becomes finer and does not seem so hungry. . This is not surprising. If he ate and came in weight, as in the first months, he would become a giant. Now, as if he's in a mood to ask himself: "What's so delicious about us today, eh?" What a contrast to behavior in 8 months! In those days it seemed that at lunchtime he was dying of hunger. Then he whimpered plaintively when his mother tied a napkin to him, and dragged on after each piece. It does not matter what she gave him. He was too hungry to understand.

There are other reasons besides losing the sense of hunger that make it fastidious. He begins to perceive himself as a person with his own tastes and interests;food, which he had previously doubted, now he definitely does not like. His memory becomes better also. He probably realizes: "Food is served regularly, and it stands in front of me as much as I want."

Often a child's appetite is lost when teeth are chapped, especially when the first molars appear. For several days in a row, he will eat half of his usual portion, and sometimes completely refuses to eat. Finally, and probably this is the most important factor, the

appetite naturally varies from day to day and from week to week. We, adults, know that one day we prefer a large glass of tomato juice, and in another we will find an unusually tasty pea soup. The same happens with children. You do not notice this simply because most of the time babies are too hungry to pay attention to it.

Dr. Davis experiments on the study of appetite. Dr. Clara Davis decided to check that the children themselves will eat if they are given the opportunity to choose from many types of healthy and healthy food. She did not start with older children out of fear that they already developed a preference for a particular dish. She took three infants from 8 to 10 months old, who until that time ate only breast milk. She placed them in a place where they could be closely watched. And that's how they were fed: at each feeding the nurse put before each child six or seven plates with various healthy and simple food. These were vegetables, fruits, eggs, cereals, meat, black bread, milk, water and fruit juices. Nurse was told: "Do not help the child until he shows what he wants."The eight-month-old child immersed the fist in a plate with mashed beets and tried to eat in this way. Then the nurse was allowed to give him this beetroot. Then she had to wait until he again demonstrated his choice. Another spoonful of beetroot or, perhaps, apple juice.

Dr. Davis discovered three important circumstances. First, children who themselves chose a diet from the most diverse food, developed very well;none of them grew stout and did not become too thin. Secondly, each child for a certain period of time selected what any specialist would call a well-balanced diet. Thirdly, from feeding to feeding and from day to day, the children's appetite changed significantly. Each separate feeding could not be called balanced. Several times in succession the child basically ate vegetables. Then suddenly he switched mainly to food containing starch. And sometimes he could surprise that he ate only beets for dinner, and ate four times more than an adult would have thought necessary. And after such a binge he did not vomit, his stomach did not ache and diarrhea did not start. Sometimes, in addition to ordinary food, the child drank a liter of milk, and next time did not drink milk at all or drank very little. One child in several cases eats six hard-boiled eggs in addition to the usual food. Dr. Davis watched the children's consumption of meat for many days. The child ate a small amount for a while, then his appetite for meat suddenly increased. He ate four times more meat than seems reasonable at a time, ate so for several days, then stopped. The fact that the appetite for meat increases for several days, and then decreases, made Dr. Davis assume that the child needs something that is contained in the meat, and this is reflected for several days on his appetite. Subsequently, Dr. Davis repeated this experiment on older children, even hospital patients, and always received similar results.

What parents should understand from the experiments of Dr. Davis. The results of this experiment do not mean at all that the mother should put six or seven courses in front of her child, like snacks in a Swedish restaurant. But the experiment shows that you can trust the unspoilt appetite of a child to choose for himself a diet that is useful and pleasing to him. This means that the child can be allowed to eat more if he wants, and do not worry about the consequences. And more importantly, the mother should not worry if for a while the child falls out of love with vegetables.

We, modern people, find it hard to get used to such a belief in the appetite of our own child. We have heard so much from scientists that it is necessary to eat necessarily, that they forgot: our body knows about it for millions of years. Each caterpillar knows what kind of plant can eat, and abandons all others. The deer travels for miles in search of salt, if its body requires it. Malinovka knows what's good for her, not listening to any lectures. Not surprisingly, a person also has an instinctive knowledge of what is good for him. I do not want to say that a child or an adult always eats only what is useful for him, or that parents should not know anything about a balanced diet. If the mother offers the child a cup of coffee every day, he will not have the opportunity to choose a balanced diet, whatever his instinct tells him. It is important for the mother to understand the usefulness of vegetables, fruits, milk, meat, eggs, cereals, so that she can offer the child a varied menu that meets all his needs. But it is also important to know that a child has a healthy instinct from the outset that the appetite can fluctuate and that the child will ultimately develop a diet for himself if he has not been prone to bias toward individual foods.

Allow a child not to eat vegetables for a while. If he suddenly refuses from vegetables, which he ate with pleasure the past week, do not insist. If you do not insist today, he will probably return to them in a week or a month. But if he does not want vegetables, and you insist, his temporary disgust will go to him permanently. If he does not eat the same vegetables twice in a row, give them up for a couple of weeks. Of course, the mother is offended that she bought food, cooked meals, served, and the little stubborn rejected what he had eaten with pleasure a few days ago. At such a time it is difficult not to be irritated or insistent. But it is much worse for a child if they force him to eat anything. If half of the vegetables he rejects - as often happens in the second year of life - prepare for him only those that he likes. This is a reasonable and pleasant solution with the variety of fresh and canned products that we have. If for a while a child turns away from vegetables at all, but eats fruit with pleasure, give him plenty of fruit. If he has enough fruit, drinks milk and takes vitamins, he will not lose anything if he does without vegetables.

What to do if a child is tired of cereal. In the second year, many children refuse to eat porridge, especially for dinner. Do not force the child. If a child refuses altogether for several weeks from products containing starch, this will not hurt him.

Do not worry if sometimes he drinks less milk than usual. Milk is a very valuable product. It gives most of the vitamins the child needs, as shown in paragraph 430. But it's useful to remember that in those areas of the earth where there are no cows or goats, children get what they need from other types of food when they stop breastfeeding. It is also useful to know that half a liter of milk covers the day needs of a child aged one to three years with a reasonably composed diet. Many children from one year to two drink less milk, sometimes temporarily. If the mother worries and starts to force the child, he will even more dislike the milk. And eventually drink less than if it was not forced.

Do not give him a cup if he showed he does not want. Every time he refuses, his reluctance intensifies. If he starts to drink 250g, wait a few days: maybe over time he will drink more.

Milk in any of these types is as nutritious and useful as straight from the cow.

If within a month a child continues to take less than 600 g of milk in all types, consult with your doctor. He can prescribe calcium in some other form, until the child returns to his appetite.

Do not allow power problems: There is a reason to warn about possible fluctuations in a child's appetite. Problems with food often arise between a year and two than at other times. As soon as the child starts to be stubborn, the mother is worried and angry, only adding fuel to the fire. The more irritated and insistent the mother, the less the child eats. Every meal becomes torture. This can last for many years. The stress that occurs between a child and a parent can lead to other behavioral problems.

The best way to keep a good appetite for a child is not to stop him from deciding what he wants to eat and what he does not want. Let him eat more normal healthy food that he likes, less or not at all what he does not want. When preparing food for him, try to keep a balanced diet, but from such dishes that he likes. Do not be surprised if his tastes change from month to month. If you can not consult a doctor about dietary supplements, see paragraphs 430 - 440 in search of new dishes to at least temporarily replace what he refuses.

There is a high probability that the child will adhere to a reasonably balanced diet with small deviations, unless you force it. If the diet remains unbalanced for several weeks, you should consult your doctor.

A child is eating standing and playing with food. Even before the year it can turn into a real problem. It happens because the child is not hungry and it is much more interesting for him to learn new activities: picking, holding a spoon, mixing food, turning cups, throwing things on the floor. I saw a one-year-old child being fed when he was standing in his armchair or even wandered around the house, and the suffering mother went after him with a plate and a spoon in her hands.

If a child plays for food, it means that he grew up, and the mother is too insistent and worries about nutrition more than necessary. This is inconvenient, annoying, and can also lead to problems related to nutrition. Do not allow this. You will notice that the child begins to play when he is partially full and is not so hungry. As soon as he lost interest in food, consider that he ate enough, let him get out of the table and clean the food. You need to be resolute, but do not be angry. If he starts to whimper, as if he says: "You did not understand me, I have not eaten up yet," give him one more chance. But if he does not show any regret, do not try to feed him a little later. If between feedings he is very hungry, give him a little catch or next time you feed a little earlier. If you always will clean the food, as soon as the child has lost interest in it, he will begin to treat her more attentively when hungry.

I want to make one reservation. A one-year-old child has an extremely strong desire to put his fingers in mashed vegetables, or squeeze the porridge in a cam, or drive the milk spilled on a tray. This is not a game. At the same time, the child readily opens his mouth in anticipation of food. Because of this, there is no need to interrupt feeding, and I would let him experiment with bits of food. If he tries to turn the plate, hold her tight. If he insists, take her away from him or stop feeding him.

Let early start eating yourself. The time when a child begins to eat himself, largely depends on the attitude of adults. In her experiments, Dr. Davis found that some children can learn how to effectively use the spoon at the age of one year. At the other extreme is an over-conscientious mother who claims that her two-year-old does not know how to eat at all. It all depends on when you give it a chance.

Most children try to take a spoon themselves by the year, and if they are given the opportunity, many by 15 months already know how to eat themselves, without help.

The child begins to prepare himself to eat a spoon in 6 months, when he keeps rusk and other food that you can eat with your hands. Then, to nine months, when he is given food by pieces, he wants to take these pieces himself and put them in his mouth. A child who was not allowed to eat with his fingers, most likely later learns to eat a spoon.

A polite ten- or twelve-month-old child can simply put his hand on the mother's hand when she feeds him. But most children try to snatch a spoon from their mother. A mother may think that this is a declaration of war, but it is better to give the child this spoon and take another. The child soon discovers that the matter is much more complicated than simply holding a spoon in his hand. It will take weeks for him to learn how to type food on a spoon, and for weeks to not turn the spoon upside down on the way to his mouth. The child can get bored with it, and he will start to poke around in food or shed it. It's time to remove the plate away from him, perhaps leaving a few pieces of meat in front of him so he can experiment.

Even when he tries very hard to eat right, he will make a lot of random errors, and with this you have to reconcile. If you are worried by a carpet, place a large plastic tablecloth under the child's table. A special heated plate, with compartments for different foods, helps. In her, food takes longer to cool down, it's more difficult for a child to throw it away, but it's easier to put it in a spoon. There are special children's spoons with loop-shaped handles that are easy to hold, but it seems to me that they are more difficult to use than ordinary small spoons with straight handles.

Recently there are children's spoons with thick plastic handles. It is more convenient for a child to hold such a spoon in his hand.

If he can eat himself, let him do it. Now we come to a very important point. It is not enough just to give the child a spoon and the opportunity to use it: he must understand why it should be used. At first he tries, because he wants to do everything himself. But then, when he sees how difficult this is, he can give up trying, if you continue to feed him. In other words, if he can bring even a few drops to his mouth, leave him alone with food for at least a few minutes, at least at the beginning, when he is particularly hungry. Then it will drive the appetite. The more he has mastered the ability to eat, the longer it is necessary to let him eat on his own.

By the time he eats his favorite dish in ten minutes, you must leave the stage altogether. That's where mothers often make a mistake. They say: "He now knows how to eat meat and fruit, but I still have to stuff the vegetables, potatoes and porridges into it."This is reckless. If he can cope with one type of food, let him handle the rest. If you continue to feed him with what he is indifferent to, he will more and more clearly become aware of the difference between what he wants to eat and what you make him eat. Ultimately, this will kill every appetite for of your food. But if you just provide him with a variety of food, taking into account his preferences and let him eat everything himself, eventually he will develop a reasonable balance, although on different days he will eat in different ways.

Do not worry about manners for eating. The child himself wants to eat more skillfully and accurately. He wants to move from fingers to spoon, and from spoon to fork, as soon as he feels able to accept the challenge, just like he wants to do everything else that others do before his eyes. Dr. Davis noted this in the children she was watching, but they were not taught at all. The same desire for proper manners for eating is observed in puppies. At first they get up in a saucer with milk and lower the muzzle into it. Then they begin to lap, not lowering the muzzle;and finally learn to politely lick the mustache after eating.

I once again want to emphasize that children really want to learn to eat themselves between the ages of 12 and 15 months, because this is the age when they are all trying to try. Let's say the mother feeds the child all the time, and at 21 months she says: "You're already big, it's time for you to eat yourself."Such a child can take a position: "Oh, no! My right and my privilege is that they feed me. "He reached such an age when he does not care about mastering a spoon. In fact, all of his common sense rebels against this. Mother missed an opportunity.

Do not bother yourself that there is only one suitable age for training, do not get discouraged if it seems to you that the child is slowly progressing, do not try to force the child to eat on his own, if he is not ready yet or does not want. This will only create additional problems. Just learn that children tend to learn this earlier than many mothers realize, and it is important for parents to give the child the opportunity to eat themselves as soon as he is ready for it.