Of all the challenging aspects of raising children, feeding the little ones can be the most arduous task. Some children don’t show interest in food or simply refuse to eat. They consider eating as an unpleasant chore and are incurious about food. As a result, mealtimes can become irksome with endless power struggles. Why do kids dislike food or hate to eat? What bothers them?
This is the second post in the blog series ‘Healthy Eating for Kids’. Previously we discussed some ideas to make kids like healthy foods. In this post, we will explore the reasons why kids dislike food or protest eating.
Why do Children Refuse to Eat?
Kids may show aversion towards food right from the start or all of a sudden. There can be many reasons behind a child’s reluctance to eat.
So before attempting to correct our kids’ eating habits or improving their interest in the food, we should understand what makes a kid detest eating?
Reasons Why Kids Dislike Food
The reason behind a child’s hesitation to eat may vary based on age, family lifestyle, or health conditions. Any of the below factors might make a child disfavor food.
1. Feeling Hesitant or Insecure
Children may get too accustomed to the routine food items that they will lack interest in any new foods.
For instance, infants may be unwilling to try solids as they are more used to and comfortable with breastfeeding. They feel secure while feeding on their mother. Any other form of feeding may seem remote and unsafe.
Likewise, older children may develop a preference or like only certain kinds of food. The routine diet looks familiar, safe and keeps them content. They develop a belief that all other food will taste unpleasant and therefore hang back when presented with any new food.
The insecure feeling in the little minds may make them dislike food.
2. Ability to Eat
Infants under six months are familiar with sucking and drinking milk. Chewing or grinding and swallowing food is new for them. Until they develop these new eating skills which are different from breastfeeding they will be refusing to eat other foods.
Similarly, when your child is transitioning from semisolids to solids there will be another hurdle. The little mouth should get attuned to the different food textures.
And when babies are teething, their gums may be swollen and painful. During this phase, they may not be comfortable with all kinds of foods. They will prefer only those food items that are soothing and don’t hurt their tender gums.
A child’s ability to handle different kinds of food can impact his or her interest in eating.
3. Lack of Routine
If kids are not eating at regular timings every day then it will impact their appetite and thereby impair their passion for food.
Again, if they are snacking at inappropriate parts of the day like just before lunchtime(or whenever they wish) then they may not eat their regular meals properly.
Not following a proper eating schedule can baffle the kids appetite.
4. Illness
If your child is unwell with fever, cold, or cough, then naturally the food intake will go down and the kid’s appetite may decrease. Everything will taste unpleasant making the child refuse to eat.
In case of a stomach ache or indigestion, the child’s tummy wouldn’t let him eat even if he wishes to eat something.
So even after your child recovers from the illness, the displeasure for food might continue for few more days until he or she forgets or overcomes that feeling completely.
5. Picky eaters
Some children can be choosy. This doesn’t mean they dislike food. They like to eat certain foods but refuse to eat other foods.
Children can be picky eaters either because they are naturally very sensitive to the taste or they become choosy due to their execrable experience with certain foods in the past.
6. Low Appetite
Some children may have a low appetite. They may not feel hungry or want to eat. Plausible reasons for the decrease in appetite can be,
- Being playful not wanting to spend time eating.
- Any medications the child is taking or has taken recently like antibiotics.
- A worm infection in the intestine.
- Stress.
- If the child is anaemic.
- Any bacterial or viral infection.
- Being idle without any physical activity.
- More fluid intake or too many dairy products that can keep the tummy full for a longer time and
- Certain health supplements available in the market that claim to provide needed nutrients can actually keep the child full and hinder other food intakes.
7. Overfeeding
If children are constantly provided with food, more than what they need and without an adequate gap between meals then they may start abominating food and eventually refuse to eat.
Too much of anything is good for nothing. Overfeeding kids will only make them lose interest in food.
8. Family Food Habits
If family members are not eating well or preferring junk or eating at irregular timings, the kids will be watching and will eventually do the same.
If the adults are not having good food habits, kids may tend to follow their behavior.
9. Meal Associations
Sometimes kids are introduced to meal associations like watching YouTube, playing on mobile, viewing cartoons, wandering throughout the house for each bite or playing in water etc., while eating.
As parents, we think screen time or other fun activities can distract the baby from eating and we can feed the child easily. But in reality, we are reinforcing to the child that mealtimes are unpleasant and there should be some pleasant associations to get over with it.
In the long run, naturally, kids dislike food and refuse to eat. They start making demands or expect bribes to complete every meal.
Meal Associations will not create happy healthy eaters.
10. Force-feeding
If the child is not very passionate about food then it will be a hard time for the parents to ensure their child is healthy.
Because of the intense stress to feed something nutritious to the child, parents may over time lose patience and start scolding, spanking or punishing for not eating and force-feed the child. These can in fact backfire and make the mealtimes unpleasant.
Force-feeding can make the child even more stubborn about eating.
11. Overwhelming Options
If the kids are provided with too many options they will get confused. Finally, they will end up not liking any food. Also when kids keep on getting some food every few hours without them actually longing for it, they will not realize the need nor will like to eat willingly.
Inordinate choices of food items will not impress the kids or urge them to eat.
So these are some of the most common reasons why kids dislike food or refuse to eat. Any of these can be bothering your child. Try to identify the issue which could be affecting your child’s interest in food. The next step will be to make your child like eating food. Let’s discuss this in my upcoming article.
What other reasons do you think can make kids dislike food? Please share them in the comments section.
If you found this article helpful please share it with your fellow parents.
P.S – If your child is constantly avoiding food and you couldn’t find any reason behind this, then it is good to consult with your pediatrician once.
Posts in the series – Healthy Eating for Kids
- 5 Ideas To Make Kids Like Healthy Foods Easily
- Top 11 Reasons Why Kids Dislike Food or Refuse to Eat
- Meal Times are No More Harder – 9 Ideas to Make Your Kids Like Eating
Pin this for Later
Image Credits : Food photo created by gpointstudio – www.freepik.com
Pingback: Meal Times are No More Harder - 9 Ideas to Make Your Kids Like Eating - Twins and Me