How to help your child develop holistically - emotionally, mentally as well as physically? There are many facets that contribute to a healthy growing child. Wondering why your child’s appetite decreased?
I am here to provide you with some tips to improve your child’s appetite - for a happy and healthy child!
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Have your child drink water regularly
Start off your child’s mornings with a glass of water, even before their daily intake of milk. Drinking water first thing in the morning helps to rehydrate their body, improving digestion. In addition, have your child drink water half an hour before their meals. It is highly recommended for your child to cultivate it as a habit as drinking water before meals help to stimulate their appetite.
Do take note to let your child drink water in between meals instead of drinks such as juices or milk as this fills your child up faster, reducing their appetite. This prevents them from ingesting more food and nutrients instead. To prevent this from happening, pair milk or juice with their meals or immediately afterwards.
Fuel your child with food every two hours
Children require all the energy they need in trying out new activities, taking in new knowledge, and for play throughout the entire day. Your little one may be a fussy eater due to the fact that they are not feeling hungry. To counteract this problem, try feeding them small food portions every two hours. The three regular meals of breakfast, lunch and dinner may not stimulate the little ones’ appetite well enough. By giving them light snacks such as fruits like bananas or nuts between meals, it can help to boost their appetite as well as provide them with nutrients.
Wondering where to bring your family for a meal? Here are some child-friendly restaurants you can try out!
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!
Starting the day with a healthy and filling breakfast breaks fast after night, kick-starting metabolism and helps your child to be more physically active throughout the day. Having a good and healthy breakfast helps to increase the little ones’ appetite and boosts the body’s metabolism.
Include zinc intake
Incorporating zinc into your child’s diet helps to build up an appetite. You can go for sources of zinc such as nuts like cashews and dairy products such as milk. Try including these into your child’s meals or snacks. Peanuts are known for their appetite-boosting as well as protein-building properties. You can include it in your kid’s diet in the form of nut butter or roasted. Here is a simple guide for working parents!
Include desserts in your child’s meal plan
Fruit-based desserts have also been proven to entice kids to finish their meals and at a quicker rate. Including fruits in your dessert can help to stimulate your child’s appetite which aids digestion and improves metabolism. Fruits such as apples and strawberries help to boost a child’s appetite. Apart from fruits, yoghurt is a good alternative as well. Yoghurt contains healthy prebiotics and calcium which help to strengthen your child’s immune system, carrying out an appetite increasing function at the same time. Another alternative to a healthy dessert could be a smoothie - where you can include fruits and vegetables. Yes, even certain vegetables that your child does not like but require the nutrients from!
Stimulate your child’s appetite
Start with small bites of food
Small bites of food help to improve appetite as it builds metabolism. By offering smaller bites of food to your child, it will gradually increase their want for food.
Increase variety of foods
Children are often less willing to try out new foods due to the unfamiliar textures and tastes that they are not used to. To fix this, you can start by arranging your child’s meals around nutritional food that he likes or is familiar with. Your child is more likely to increase food intake if his meals include his favourite foods. This helps to increase appetite and upon rotation of meal plans that your child is similar with, you can slowly attempt to incorporate new foods. Before long, your child will be willing to accept a greater variety of foods!
Here are some healthy and tasty recipes that you can introduce new foods with!
Avoid snacking
Children will only eat enough to keep their hunger signals turned off. If you have food or milk kept readily accessible in your house by kids, then you might want to keep your eyes on the screen for this part. Your child may never actually get hungry as they could be snacking on small portions of food throughout the day, leaving them with little to no appetite for regular meals.
To prevent this from happening, I advise that you feed your child at scheduled timings, separating each meal for around two to three hours. This is crucial as it helps your child to develop their hunger signals and for their body to learn to establish the healthy connection between proper hunger and eating.
Choosing infant care or child care centres in Singapore? Let me get you started with the complete guide!
Get physically active!
By expending more energy running about and engaging in physical play, your child will develop a greater appetite for food during regular meal times. In this era, children may be spending more time on their screens and less on outdoor play. Therefore it is important that your child gets sufficient time for play and exercise outdoors.
You can encourage your child to get out of the house more by introducing new sports to them, such as cycling or swimming. You can also spend more family bonding time with your child by taking them out on a walk in the park. Not only will this help to stimulate a greater appetite, but physical activities also help to develop your child’s physique as well as coordination skills.
Genesis Childcare
We believe in the growth and potential of every child at Genesis Childcare 1989. At Tampines Childcare, we guarantee to provide your child with the highest quality care, from your child’s physical to emotional well-being.
Here at preschool Tampines, we construct a structured and guided learning curriculum conducted only by the best educators who are carefully selected based on their qualifications and experiences.
We have a Nurture Infant house at Infant care Tampines as well, for those seeking Infant Care in the east side of Singapore.
With over 30 years of specialised experience, we are leaders in early childcare education in Singapore. If you are looking for childcare or infant care in Tampines to start your little ones in life, why not start off by registering with us for a complimentary guided tour?
Do click here to learn more about our child care centre or click here to WhatsApp us if you have any enquiries regarding our playgroup Tampines.
Schedule your visit to our centres at these addresses:
Genesis Childcare 1989 (Tampines)
Blk 433, Tampines Street 43, #01-63 (S) 520433
Tel: +65 9666 4141
Nurture Infant House (Tampines)
(2 to 18 months Infants)
Blk 433, Tampines Street 43, #01-61 (S) 520433
Tel: +65 9666 4141