From the moment a child is born, his mother (and perhaps his father) begins to worry more and more about what his baby eats or stops eating. Some mothers care more and others less, and in large part it depends on the amount of food that enters daily through their child's mouth.
If she is the mother of a child who eats everything and in large quantities, she will surely be one of the happiest. If instead she is the mother of one of those children considered ill-eaters, she is surely the most worried. Of these children it is said that "they eat little", "they do not eat anything", "it does not surprise me that it does not put on weight" and "I do not know how it is still standing". We are going to talk about these children today: of children who eat little (and when to worry and when not).
They eat little, but how much is little?
The issue of food quantities is very relative, because what may seem like a mother to another may seem normal, and what may seem like a mother to another, it may seem too much to another child.
To give an example, I am sure that I am what any adult would call "an adult who eats little". I don't go to restaurants very much because things are not enough to pay for meals outside the home, but I usually feel a little embarrassed because I usually have a lot of food left over. I have no choice, I decide that my food is over and the waiters take my food and bring me the bill, asking me to ask more than once if the food was bad.
In Babies and more My son does not eat: what to do and what not to do if he has no appetiteI apologize: "It was great, but I am little to eat," and it is true. At the very least, although I do it several times a day and I suppose that makes up for my diet with regard to people who eat more in each sitting, but sit less times.
Despite this, no doctor is treating me for being an adult with little dining room, nobody is testing me and nobody considers me at risk for not eating as much as other people my age.
Well, something similar happens with children: it is very possible, if not almost certain, that the little eater is eating the calories he needs, no more no less.
Food must be on demand.
In the same way that babies breastfeed on demand and in the same way that those fed with formula drink artificial milk on demand, children, after 6 months, have to eat on demand the food offered to them.
Many mothers ask in the consultations if 250 grams of vegetable porridge with chicken is fine, if it is little or if it is a lot. It is impossible to give a valid answer, because for some children it will be too much and for others it may be little.
In Babies and more When mom goes to work and the baby does not eat until she returnsHow much a child really needs to eat
Like that for some a quantity is good and for others not, many people would like to know how much their child needs to eat, to know if he is demanding too much or if he should be preparing even more food.
In 2000 data, the energy requirements are as follows:
As you can see, the variability is enormous, because two children of the same age may be eating one twice as much as the other and be something normal. If we put together two 24-month-old girls to eat and see how much they eat throughout an entire day, one could ingest 661 kcal on that day and another one could take 1273 kcal and both would be in normal parameters.
That is it's absurd to know how much a child has to eat, because it is an impossible question to answer. In fact, it is difficult to know how much an adult has to eat, but if they tell me that I have to take 2100 kcal a day I answer that it seems very good, but that the last thing I want to do in this life is to go every day watching the calories of each thing I eat to see if I reach those 2100 kcal.
The problem is usually the parents
Therefore, when a mother or father explains their concern about the little eating of their child, the amount of food that says you eat enough or if it is little, but his weight and his state of health.
If a child is well-weight, if he runs, plays, is active and is smiling, we have a healthy child in front of him who eats less than his mother considers appropriate. The problem then is not of the child, but of the parents who have to internalize that their child does not need to eat anymore.
When to worry if a child eats little
We have said that the "little" is very relative, but there are times when "little" is really little and then we should worry and seek medical attention.
We would say we should worry when our son eats little and we see that his health is being affected. The weight does not rise or has stagnated and we see that it is a child that is different, that is changing. This is a reason for consultation and is a reason to start testing to find out why that child is not gaining weight or why he is eating so little.
In Babies and more How to know if a newborn is eating little or if he eats too much?My son eats little food, lots of milk and is already nine months old
Another of the possible reasons for consultation, or when we have to start worrying about the issue is when complementary feeding costs more than normal. It is difficult to say what is normal, because some children start eating at six months and immediately accept new foods and others instead need a few weeks to accept the spoon.
As we know that at six months they begin to know new flavors and textures and as we know that some children do not accept them too well, we must persevere, persist (not force or force) and continue offering food to these children every day, to that based on repetitions better accept the flavors and end up getting used to some foods.
If they reach 8-9 months, to put a figure, and you can still say that they feed almost exclusively on milk (breast or formula), it could be interesting to consult with the pediatrician, if you consider it appropriate to supplement the diet with a few drops of iron, which is what a child who does not accept food can miss most.
If time continues to pass the risk of anemia is evident and then it will be necessary do an analytical to see the true state of health of our son, even if he continues to grow and gain weight (thanks to milk).
Photos | Pexels
In Babies and more | 'The child already eats alone', a good book about baby-led weaning, Let them eat alone and choose food, Complementary feeding: how to feed a baby through “Baby-led Weaning”
