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Toddlers often refuse to eat, schoolchildren do not want to eat healthy broccoli or oatmeal, teenagers, in general, seem to live on chips alone, and many of them are obsessed with weight loss. However, it is parents who have to deal with the consequences of chronic eating disorders in children.
If you know this problem firsthand, read this article. You will learn why children’s eating habits can be broken, how to teach the child to eat properly and how to properly build a child’s diet.
Contents:
There are three types of eating disorders in children and teenagers: malnutrition, overnutrition and food addiction. Let’s talk about each of them in more detail and analyze the causes that lead to disorders. [1]
In childhood this problem is manifested in the fact that it’s impossible to make the child eat: he/she refuses to eat or agrees to eat only a certain type of food. Almost all children pass this stage, and if it lasts a couple of months, there is nothing wrong with that. But if a child refuses many products for a long time, it is worth paying attention to the problem — it can lead to a lack of weight and a shortage of substances necessary for growth and development.
Why does a child eat poorly? Often children refuse to eat if they were fed against their will at an early age. In this case, eating is associated with negative emotions. Moreover, the appetite may disappear due to chronic stress or illness.
In adolescence, food refusal can be a symptom of anorexia, a mental illness that manifests itself in a pathological desire to lose weight and a fear of gaining weight, as well as in a distorted notion of one’s appearance. Most often, this disease occurs in girls. Anorexia can be caused by complex relationships with parents, feelings of “enmity” and pressure from the family or society. In popular culture, there is a certain image of an ideal body, which is often impossible to achieve for an ordinary person. Young girls are told that they will find happiness and love only when they come close to the cherished standard. This mindset makes girls try anything to lose weight — alas, it’s not always healthy.
In infancy, each of us associated food with protection, maternal warmth, comfort because we received it by nuzzling close to our mother. Psychics reinforce the link between eating and meeting emotional needs, and if parents don’t give their child enough love, acceptance, safe communication, he/she will try to fill the gap with food. This way real hunger is kind of being replaced by a psychological one.
In adolescence overeating, especially compulsive one, can be a symptom of bulimia. It’s a mental illness based on a distorted view of one’s own body. Ill people are prone to bouts of gluttony and then, feeling guilty about that, seek to get rid of the eaten food. As with anorexia, the causes of bulimia can often be found in deprived childhood or the impact of generally accepted standards on the fragile teenage psyche.
For a person food can become something of an antidepressant or just a source of positive emotions. This is especially true for food with strong taste, such as sweets, salty snouts and fast food. Almost all children like them, and sometimes all these delicacies become the basis of their diet. Trying to feed a child with anything they would eat, parents unknowingly encourage this harmful habit. Besides, they often teach children to eat something tasty to improve the mood or to perceive food as a reward in case of trouble — for example, when they buy something sweet after going to the dentist or passing the exam.
Food can cause both psychological and physical dependence: when a child often consumes products with taste enhancers or a large amount of salt, taste buds adapt and ordinary food seems unflavored and uninteresting, it is not enjoyable anymore.
Unfortunately, the broken diet has consequences for everyone, and these consequences are not limited to gastritis alone. Here are the most common ailments faced by children who have nutritional problems: [2]
A well-built diet is very important for the normal development of the child’s body — it is the key to health for life. To provide the child with the necessary substances for growth and development, so that he/she is full of energy and strength, doctors give the following recommendations:
Here is one more little piece of advice. Often the healthy nutrition in children is associated with something boring. Do not forget that children, especially small ones, are aesthetes, it is important for them that the food looks attractive. Teenagers want it to be fashionable. So pay attention to the visual aspect of food: beautifully decorate dishes on a plate, come up with different forms of serving, and, even better, involve children in cooking and serving the table. You can choose the most beautiful lunch box together with your child and then make a lunch, which he/she will be happy to eat at school.
It is better to solve problems with eating disorders in children by starting preventive measures. It is very important to cultivate a healthy attitude towards food in the child. First and foremost, food should serve as a way to satisfy hunger, and only then – to bring pleasure. Of course, food should never be associated with trouble, stress, quarrels, shame or guilt. To form a healthy eating culture in children, psychologists give the following recommendations: [1]
If you have been scratching your head for many years over how to teach your child to eat healthy or cure the eating disorder, but have not achieved your goal yet, it is worth starting working with the in-depth mindset that makes them choose unhealthy food and neglect the regime. The 7Spsy behavior modification technique is geared towards this. (link to landing page) This is a patented method of behavioral psychology based on the theories of well-known psychologists, namely I.P. Pavlov, B.F. Skinner, A.A.Ukhtomsky. Working with this method helps identify the attitudes that led to destructive behavior patterns and change them to positive ones. The positive mindset becomes the basis for healthy behavior.
7Spsy behavior modification course takes place remotely with children from 7 years old, takes 2 to 6 weeks and starts with the diagnosis of the problem. Throughout the course a professional psychologist will support you and your child. You will be able to contact the psychologist in online chat, by e-mail or phone. The child will not have to tell his friends or teachers about his/her problems, it can be confidential.
At the end of the course you and your child will be able to forget about eating disorders and form a healthy nutrition culture.
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