Tips To Boost A Toddler's Appetite: Home Remedies That May Work Wonders

Looking for How Can I Increase My Child's Appetite? Loss of appetite or absence of adequate appetite in growing children is quite a common concern amongst mothers. A lot of toddlers are underweight and fail to gain weight as per recommended standards because of insufficient diet. Illness, teething, zinc deficiency, digestion problems, the improper spacing between meals may lead to reduced appetite in growing children. So how do you counter this problem and ensure that your toddler is not only eating but eating healthy?

Did you know that a lack of appetite in your toddler is quite a common problem with the children at that age? But did you know that you as a mother could rectify that problem with a few easy tips? Interested to know more about those tips? Read on to know more…

Tips to Boost Toddler's Weak Appetite (Loss of Hunger)

A few tips that may help in boosting your toddler's appetite are as follows-

• Scheduled Meal Timings:

  A pre-fixed scheduled with defined meal timings should be encouraged. Disciplined food intake pattern sets hunger cue alarms in your growing child's body thereby maintaining his or her appetite and enabling them to eat well.

• Make Breakfast Mandatory:

  A healthy and filling breakfast is a sure shot tool to enhance appetite. It should be a mandatory meal for every toddler. A balanced and nutritious breakfast not only boosts metabolism but also gets a body working for the day ahead.

• Intake of Water well Before Each Meal:

  A child should be offered water around half an hour before meals and should not be allowed to drink water with food. This enables the child to eat more.

• Interesting Meal times:

  You as a mother should try and plan some activity for mealtime so that your toddler looks forward to his or her meal. It could be a storytelling session or a fun game that they enjoy as they eat. Toddlers tend to eat well when distracted by some activity of their choice. Avoid putting any videos of nursery rhymes instead go for the audio options.

• Healthy Mid-meals:

  You may offer your toddler small platter of fruits or one fruit at regular intervals. Frequent small meals build metabolism and in turn increase appetite. Offering healthy varieties of food in a manner that the child eats them without hassles poses to be a challenge for the mother. For example- Fruits, fish cakes, and sandwiches.

• Set Good Examples:

  Children love to observe and replicate their parents. It thus becomes important to improve one's own meal-type and timings so as to lead by example. They would like to eat the right quantities happily and try new varieties if they observe their parents do so.

• Small Meal Servings:

  Parents should ensure children are not served too much in their plates. Children may start associating stress with food if they are pressurized to eat too much at a time

• Ensure Daily Intake of Peanuts:

  Peanuts are referred to as “King of all nuts” because of their protein building and appetite boosting properties. Ensure peanuts are offered to them on a daily basis

• Nuts and Dry Fruits May Help:

  Nuts like almonds, pista, cashews and walnuts and dry fruits like figs and dates are appetite boosting specialists. A serving as an evening snack may benefit the toddler big time

• Participation in Deciding What to Eat:

  Like every adult, growing toddlers also have likes and dislikes of their own. There are certain healthy foods that they like to eat. Try to couple up something new with their favorite dish so that taste new things more readily. Also, an attempt should be made to give them choices for every meal and serve them foods that they enjoy. They would look forward to their meals this way and have an increased appetite

• Importance of Yogurt:

  Yogurt is a must for growing children. It is a rich source of calcium and probiotics. It works wonders in building immunity and boosting appetite

• Discourage Oily and Heavy Food:

  It is best to offer light food to children. Contrary to traditional Indian views, the use of too much ghee in food may actually lead to loss of appetite in babies. Healthy food should be prepared with a minimum use of ghee.

• Offering Fresh Lime Juice:

  Fresh lime juice is an effective detoxing agent and is said to enhance appetite and improve digestion. It is best to offer a glass of sweetened lime juice if a child fusses over food

• Check on the Intake of Zinc:

  Zinc is essential in building appetite. Include zinc supplements or foods like cashew nuts and pumpkin seeds in their food regime

• Fruit-desserts Can be Yum:

  Desserts that are fruit-based are very beneficial in increasing appetite and boosting metabolism. Pomegranate and papaya are the best-known appetite stimulant foods

• Milk not a Substitute for Food:

  As a toddler grows, the need for healthy food increases and milk alone cannot take care of the growing needs. Milk as a dairy product is essential but it is not a substitute for any of the meals. Milk fills up the toddler's tummy and reduces appetite for food

Hunger Home Remedies For Child's Increasing Appetite

Here are some natural appetite booster remedies for your children...

• Ginger juice mixed with honey is also very useful. Ginger is one of the best appetites for enhancing foods
• Mint coriander chutney may also be served as an accompaniment with any snack. It not only enhances taste, but its inherent properties also increase appetite
• Dalchini or cinnamon may also be added to purees or porridge being served, its inherent qualities may also work wonders for the child
• Hing and ajwain are also important components used in Indian food. Adding these not only increases appetite but also relieves their gas or stomach related issues. A happy tummy permits one to eat well

It is all about having a happy baby with a happy tummy. Once the child is free of problems and starts enjoying his meals, the journey of appetite increase becomes fulfilling for the mother.

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