10 Natural Ways to Increase a Child's Appetite

Kapanlagi.com - There are various causes of a child's difficulty in eating or even loss of appetite. One of the signs is a picky eater who only wants to eat certain foods. This condition certainly worries parents. However, there are natural ways to increase a child's appetite that can be used as a reference for mothers to improve their child's appetite.

Children are among the age group that still requires a lot of nutrition and vitamins. This is beneficial to support their growth and development. It is not surprising that the need for food intake and nutrition for children is important for parents to pay attention to.

Unfortunately, some children experience difficulty in eating or loss of appetite. The causes of a child's loss of appetite can occur due to various factors such as certain medical conditions or changes in a child's taste preferences. When this condition occurs, mothers certainly try to find tricks to increase and improve their child's appetite.

Now, here are several natural ways to increase a child's appetite. By knowing the ways to increase a child's appetite below, it can help mothers meet and maintain their child's nutritional needs.

1. Causes of a Child's Lack of Appetite

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Difficulties in eating become one of the conditions that parents often face. This condition can occur due to various factors. To find out, some of the reviews below may help you recognize the causes of a child's lack of appetite. Therefore, let's directly read the review about the causes of a child's lack of appetite as follows.

1) Selective eating habits: as they reach a certain age, children start to recognize various types of food with different tastes, textures, and colors. Some children can also become picky eaters, causing them to refuse to eat.

2) Allergies to certain foods: some children may experience allergies to certain foods such as milk, wheat, eggs, or nuts, which can be a cause of the child's lack of appetite.

3) Consuming too many snacks: healthy snacks are important for children. Unfortunately, consuming too many snacks can make them feel full quickly before consuming their main meals.

4) Sensitivity to taste and texture of food: sensitivity to the texture and taste of food can also cause a child's lack of appetite, such as food being too soft, rough, or wet.

5) Excessive drinking: excessive drinking can make the child feel full quickly. Therefore, it can be a cause of the child's lack of appetite.

6) Boredom with food: a lack of variety in serving food menus can also be a cause of a child's lack of appetite. So they tend to get bored with food and refuse to eat.

7) Middle child is sick: when sick, children also have difficulty eating and may lose their appetite. This condition could be the cause.

2. Serve Interesting Menus - Prevent Excessive Drinking

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After knowing the causes of a child's difficulty in eating as mentioned before, this time we will discuss how to naturally increase a child's appetite. Increasing a child's appetite naturally can be done with easy and simple tricks. As explained below about how to increase a child's appetite.

1. Serve Interesting Menus

The first way to increase a child's appetite is by serving interesting menus. Mothers can create various variations of interesting and unique menus for their little ones. For example, creating dishes in the shape of their favorite cartoon characters. In addition, mothers can also vary their child's favorite menu with interesting and unique presentations. Because children tend to be interested in things they like.

2. Avoid Drinking Too Much

The next way to increase a child's appetite is by preventing them from drinking too much, especially when they are eating their main meal. Because drinking too much can make a child feel full quickly, which can reduce their appetite. However, their nutritional intake has not been sufficiently fulfilled. Therefore, mothers can control their child's drinking intake during mealtime or before eating. Water intake can be given to the child after they finish their main meal.

3. Adjust the Portion - Prepare Healthy Snacks

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In addition to the explanation above, here are also references on how to increase a child's appetite that mothers need to pay attention to. Let's directly review the natural ways to increase a child's appetite below.

3. Adjust the Portion

Another way to increase a child's appetite is by adjusting the portion of their meals. Because too much food usually makes children tend to leave their food. So parents can divide the child's meals into smaller portions but more frequent. This means eating little by little but finishing it can help the child meet their nutritional, vitamin, and nutrient needs.

4. Prepare Healthy Snacks

Another way to increase a child's appetite is by preparing healthy snacks. Healthy snacks can be an alternative for mothers to increase their child's appetite if they have a lack of appetite. According to halodoc.com, when a child tends to eat little, try to overcome it by providing healthy snacks to increase their appetite again.

4. Don't Force - Cooking with Children

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Some tricks to increase a child's appetite that mothers can try are explained below. Just take a look at how to naturally increase a child's appetite.

5. Don't Force the Child

One way to naturally increase a child's appetite is by not forcing the child to eat. Because this method can make them feel pressured. In addition, according to alodokter.com, forcing a child to eat can make the child less sensitive to hunger. Therefore, mothers can overcome this by using some previous tricks, such as making the menu appearance more attractive.

6. Cooking with Children

In addition to building closeness with the child, cooking together with the child can also increase their appetite. Because the child can choose and be creative with their own food, which can increase their appetite. While cooking with the child, try to introduce certain types of food and their benefits. Also, don't forget for the mother to ensure the child's safety while cooking.

5. Set Meal Schedule - Pay Attention to Children's Nutrition

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Setting the child's meal schedule properly can also be a way to increase their appetite. In addition, mothers also need to pay attention to the content of nutrients, vitamins, and nutrition of children to ensure that they are met. Here is a review of natural ways to increase a child's appetite.

7. Set Meal Schedule

As mentioned before, to increase a child's appetite, mothers can set their meal schedule. This can help meet their nutritional needs and ensure that their intake remains good. In addition, this method can also be beneficial for the child's future.

8. Pay Attention to Children's Nutrition

Another way to increase a child's appetite is by paying attention to their nutrition. This means making sure that mothers serve nutritious foods that contain minerals, vitamins, fiber, carbohydrates, and others to help maintain the child's health.

6. Alternative Herbal Recipes - Doctor Consultation

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The next way to increase a child's appetite is by using alternative herbal recipes and consulting with a doctor. Here is a review related to how to naturally increase a child's appetite.

9. Alternative Herbal Recipes

A number of selected herbs can actually be a natural way to increase a child's appetite. According to liputan6.com, among these selected herbal recipes are ginger, turmeric, galangal, cinnamon, and even temulawak. These herbal recipes are often used as an alternative to increase a child's appetite. Mothers can add them to food or make them into a herbal drink. However, make sure the child is not sensitive to certain types of herbs.

10. Doctor Consultation

If some ways to increase a child's appetite, such as the reviews above, still do not solve the problem of a picky eater, consulting with a doctor can be the right choice. This way, mothers can find out the cause of the child's lack of appetite. This method can also prevent further health risks due to the child's lack of appetite.

Those are 10 ways to naturally increase a child's appetite. Some of the ways mentioned above can be a reference to improve the little one's appetite. In addition, make sure to identify the cause of the child's picky eating in order to address it properly.

Sources: halodoc.com, alodokter.com, hellosehat.com, liputan6.com

(kpl/nlw)