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The teenager became angry and eats badly. Why the child does not eat well and what to do about it

Teenage overeating - serious problem. © Shutterstock

Improper nutrition, too plentiful or vice versa insufficient, prevents the teenager from developing correctly. It often seems to parents that a teenager eats too much. Find out if you should panic about it.

Do not get upset in advance and do not self-diagnose. Maybe the child eats a lot, because he is just actively growing? Find out if teen overeating is related to psychological problems.

A nervous disorder in which a person cannot control himself by eating a huge amount of food in a short period of time is called compulsive overeating.

Causes of Compulsive Overeating in Teenagers

Compulsive overeating in a child can be a reaction to severe teenage stress. It is understandable: in adolescence, the child undergoes strong hormonal changes.

Girls and boys begin to fully realize not only, but also feel their gender.

Hence the different complexes associated with shortcomings in appearance, clothing or other factors. Severe stress can be caused by problems in personal life teenager. Look closely, maybe your child is suffering from unrequited love and he really needs your support.

If bouts of overeating are repeated often, it is necessary to deal with their causes and consult a psychologist.

Is Binge Eating a Sign of Addiction?

© Shutterstock Of course, all teens can experience one-time overeating.

But if a child constantly drastically empties the refrigerator, while his depressive and nervous mood abruptly changes to joyful and upbeat, you should be wary.

Compulsive overeating can be a sign of drug use.

Of course, you can’t immediately rush at a teenager with accusations and questions. It is necessary to observe the child, give him as much attention as possible. And to establish the cause of overeating.

One step from overeating to bulimia

Bulimia is also an eating disorder. A person with bulimia constantly overeats and feels guilty about it. Especially teenage girls who are constantly striving to lose weight.

In pursuit of the gold standard of 90-60-90, teenage girls try to get rid of what they eat in different ways: by inducing vomiting, with the help of laxatives and diuretics, enemas and complete starvation.

© Shutterstock After a complete forced cleansing, the body of a teenager needs to be replenished. Therefore, the teenager again happens breakdown and an episode of overeating.

It is urgent to take a teenager to the doctor if your child closes in the bathroom after a hearty meal, makes himself an enema, takes laxatives, causes vomiting.

Katerina Demina, consultant psychologist:

Why doesn't he want anything?

This phenomenon has gained momentum in recent years seven. A whole bunch of young people have grown up who "want nothing." No money, no career, no personal life. They sit for days at computers, they are not interested in girls (perhaps just a little, so as not to strain).

They are not going to work at all. As a rule, they are satisfied with the life that already exists - the parental apartment, a little money for cigarettes, beer. Not more. What's wrong with them?

Sasha was brought in for a consultation by her mother. An excellent 15-year-old guy, the dream of any girl: athletic, tongue suspended, not rude, eyes alive, lexicon not like Ellochka the cannibal, plays tennis and the guitar. Mom's main complaint, just a cry of a tortured soul: "Well, why doesn't he want anything?"

History details

What does "nothing" mean, I ask. Nothing at all? Or does he still want to eat, sleep, walk, play, watch a movie? It turns out that Sasha does not want to do anything from the list of "normal" things for a teenager. That is:

1. Learn;

2. Work;

3. Go to courses

4. Date girls;

5. Help mom with housework;

6. And even go on vacation with mom.

Mom is sad and desperate. A hefty man has grown up, and the use of him is like a goat's milk. Mom all her life for him, everything is only for his good, she denied herself everything, took on any job, took her to mugs, drove expensive sections, to language camps sent abroad - and he first sleeps until dinner, then turns on the computer and plays toys until night. And she hoped that he would grow up, and she would feel better.

I keep asking. Who is the family made up of? Who makes money in it? What are the functions of whom?

It turns out that Sasha's mother has been alone for a long time, she divorced when he was five years old, "his father was just the same couch potato, maybe it's genetically transmitted?" She works, she works hard, because she has to support three people (herself, grandmother and Sasha), she comes home at night, deadly tired.

The house rests on the grandmother, she is engaged in housekeeping, and she watches over Sasha. Only here is the trouble - Sasha completely got out of hand, does not obey his grandmother, does not even snarl, he simply misses his ears. He goes to school when he wants to, when he doesn't want to, he doesn't. He's threatened by the army, but doesn't seem to care one bit. He does not make the slightest effort to at least a little better, although all the teachers unanimously say that he has a golden head and abilities.

A school from the elite, state-owned, with a history. But in order to stay in it, you have to take tutors in the main subjects. And all the same, deuces in a quarter, they can be excluded.

She doesn’t do anything around the house, she doesn’t even wash a cup after herself, a grandmother with a stick is forced to carry heavy bags of groceries from the store, and then she carries food to his computer on a tray.

“Well, what is the matter with him? Mom is almost crying. “I gave my whole life to him.”

Boy

Next time I see Sasha alone. And the truth is good boy, handsome, fashionably and expensively dressed, but not defiantly. Some are too good. He's kind of lifeless. A picture in a girls' magazine, a glamorous prince, if only there was a pimple somewhere, or something.

He is friendly, polite with me, with all his appearance he demonstrates openness and willingness to cooperate. Ugh, I feel like a character on an American teen show: main character at a psychoanalyst's appointment. I want to say something to mom. Okay, let's remember who the pros are here.
You won’t believe it, he practically reproduces his mother’s text word for word. A 15-year-old boy says like a school teacher: “I'm lazy. My laziness prevents me from achieving my goals. And I’m also very unassembled, I can stare at one point and sit like that for an hour.

And what do you want yourself?

He doesn't want anything special. The school is boring, the lessons are stupid, although the teachers are cool, the best. No close friends, no girlfriend either. There are no plans.

That is, he is not going to make humanity happy in any of the 1539 ways known to civilization, he does not plan to become a megastar, he does not need wealth, career growth and achievements. He doesn't need anything at all. Thank you, we have everything.

Slowly, a picture begins to emerge, I won’t say that it is very unexpected for me.

From about the age of three, Sasha has been studying. First, preparing for school, swimming and English language. Then I went to school - equestrian sport was added.

Now, in addition to studying at the Mathematical Lyceum, he attends English courses at MGIMO, for two sport sections and to the tutor. He doesn’t walk in the yard, he doesn’t watch TV - there is no time. The computer that my mother complains about so much is played only during the holidays, and even then not every day.

Why doesn't he want anything?

Formally, all these activities were voluntarily chosen by Sasha. But when I ask what he would like to do if he didn't have to study, he says "play the guitar." (Options heard from other respondents: play football, play on the computer, do nothing, just walk). Play. Let's remember this answer and move on.

What's up with him

You know, I have three such clients a week. Almost every appeal about a boy aged 13 to 19 is about this: he doesn’t want anything.

In each such case, I see the same picture: an active, energetic, ambitious mother, an absent father, at home or a grandmother, or nannies-housekeepers. More often than not, my grandmother.

Family is distorted: mother takes the role of a man in the house. She is the breadwinner, she makes all the decisions, she is in contact with the outside world, she protects, if necessary. But she is not at home, she is in the fields and on the hunt.

The fire in the hearth is supported by the grandmother, only she does not have the levers of power in relation to their “common” child, he may not obey, and be rude. If it were mom and dad, dad would come home from work in the evening, mom would complain to him about the inappropriate behavior of his son, dad would kick him - and all the love. And here you can complain, but there is no one to beat.

Mom tries to give her son everything, everything: the most fashionable entertainment, the most necessary educational tools, any gifts and purchases. The son is not happy. And again and again this refrain sounds: "does not want anything."

And after a while, the question just starts to itch inside me: “And when does he want something? If for a long time my mother wanted everything for him, she dreamed, planned and did it.
That's when a five-year-old kid sits at home alone, rolls a typewriter on the carpet, plays, growls, buzzes, builds bridges and fortresses - at this moment desires begin to emerge and mature in him, at first vague and unconscious, gradually forming into something concrete: I want a big fire truck with little men. Then he waits for mom or dad from work, expresses his desire and receives an answer. Usually: "Be patient until the New Year (birthday, payday)."

And you have to wait, endure, dream about this car before going to bed, look forward to the happiness of owning, imagine it (still a car) in all details. Thus, the child learns to contact his inner world in terms of desires.

And what about Sasha (and all the other Sashas I deal with)? I wanted to - I wrote a text message to my mother, I sent it - my mother ordered it via the Internet - they brought it in the evening.

Or vice versa: why do you need this car, your lessons have not been done, you have read two pages of a speech therapy primer? Once - and cut off the beginning of the tale. All. Dreaming is no longer possible.

These boys really have everything: the latest smartphones, the latest jeans, trips to the sea four times a year. But they don’t have the opportunity to just kick the bulldozer. Meanwhile, boredom is the most creative state of the soul, without it it is impossible to invent an occupation for oneself.

The child must be bored and bored, so that there is a need to move and act. And he is deprived of even the most elementary right to decide whether to go to the Maldives or not. Mom has already decided everything for him.

What parents say

At first, I listen to my parents for quite a long time. Their claims, disappointments, resentments, guesses. It always starts with complaints like “we are everything for him, and he responds with nothing. The enumeration of what exactly is “everything for him” is impressive. I am learning about some things for the first time. For example, it never occurred to me that a 15-year-old boy could be taken to school by the hand. And still believed that the limit is the third class. Well, the fourth one is for girls.

But it turns out that the anxieties and fears of mothers are pushing them to strange acts. What if the bad boys attacked him? And they will teach him bad things (smoking, swearing bad words, lying to parents; the word “drugs” is most often not pronounced, because it is very scary).

Often there is such an argument as "You understand what time we live in." To be honest, I don't really understand. It seems to me that the times are always about the same, well, except for the very difficult ones, for example, when the war is going on right in your city.

In my time, it was deadly dangerous for a girl of 11 years old to walk alone through a wasteland. So we didn't go. We knew we shouldn't go there, and we followed the rules. And there were sexual maniacs, and sometimes they robbed in the entrances.

What was missing was a free press. Therefore, people learned the criminal report from acquaintances of acquaintances, according to the principle "one grandmother said." And as it passed through many mouths, the information became less intimidating and more blurry. Like an alien abduction. Everyone heard that it happens, but no one saw it.

When it is shown on TV, with details, close-up, it becomes the reality that is here, next to you, in your house. You see it with your own eyes - but admit it, most of us have never seen a victim of a robbery ourselves in our lives?

The human psyche is not adapted to the daily observation of death, especially violent death. This causes severe injury, and defending against it modern man can not. Therefore, on the one hand, we seem to be more cynical, and on the other hand, we do not let our children go outside. Because it's dangerous.

Most often, such helpless and lethargic children grow up in those parents who, with early childhood were independent. Too mature, too responsible, left to their own devices too early.

From the first grade, they came home on their own, the key was on a ribbon around their necks, the lessons themselves, to warm up the food themselves, in best case parents in the evening will ask: “What about your lessons?”. For the whole summer, either to the camp, or to my grandmother in the village, where there was also no one to supervise.
And then these children grew up, and perestroika happened. A complete change of everything: way of life, values, guidelines. There is something to be nervous about. But the generation adapted, survived, even became successful. The repressed and painstakingly unnoticed anxiety remained. And now everything in full fell on the head of a single child.

And the accusations against the child are serious. Parents completely refuse to recognize their contribution to his (child) development, they only complain bitterly: "Here I am at his age ...".

“At his age, I already knew for sure what I wanted from life, and in the 10th grade he was only interested in toys. I have been doing my homework since the third grade, and in the eighth grade he cannot sit down at the table until you let me down by the hand. My parents didn’t even know what our math program was, and now I have to solve every example with it.”

All this is pronounced with a tragic intonation "Where is this world heading?". As if children should repeat the life path of their parents.

At this point, I begin to ask what kind of behavior they would like from their child. It turns out a rather funny list, sort of like a portrait of an ideal man:

1. To do everything himself;

2. To obey unquestioningly;

3. Showed initiative;

4. Engaged in those circles that will be useful later in life;

5. Was sensitive and caring and was not selfish;

6. Was more assertive and punchy.

At the last paragraph, I'm already sad. But the mother who makes the list is also sad: she noticed a contradiction. "I want the impossible?" she asks sadly.

Yes, unfortunately. Or singing or dancing. Either you have an obedient botanist who agrees to everything, or an energetic, enterprising, punchy C student. Either he sympathizes and supports you, or silently nods and walks past you towards his goal.

From somewhere came the idea that by doing the right thing with a child, you can somehow magically protect him from all future troubles. As I said, the benefits of numerous developmental activities are very relative.

Baby misses really milestone in development: games and relationships with peers. Boys do not learn to invent a game for themselves, do not discover new territories (because it is dangerous there), do not fight, do not know how to gather a team around them.

The girls don't know anything about women's circle”, although things are a little better with creativity: nevertheless, girls are more often sent to various handicraft circles, and it’s more difficult to “score” the need for social communication in girls.

In addition to child psychology, out of old memory, I also study the Russian language and literature with schoolchildren. So, in the pursuit of foreign languages, parents completely missed their native Russian language.

The vocabulary of modern teenagers, like Ellochka the Cannibal, is within a hundred. But proudly declares: the child studies three foreign languages, including Chinese, and all with native speakers.

And children understand proverbs literally (“You can’t even catch a fish from a pond without difficulty” - what is it about?” - “It’s about fishing”), they cannot do word-formation analysis, they try to explain complex experiences on their fingers. Because the language is perceived in communication and from books. And not during lessons and sports.

What the kids say

“No one listens to me. I want to go home from school with friends, not with a nanny (chauffeur, escort). I don't have time to watch TV, I don't have time to play on my computer.

I have never been to the cinema with my friends, only with my parents and their acquaintances. I am not allowed to visit the guys, and no one is allowed to visit me. Mom checks my briefcase, pockets, phone. If I'm late at school even for five minutes, my mother immediately calls.

This is not a first grade text. This is 9th grade students talking.

Look, complaints can be divided into two categories: violation of boundaries (“checks the briefcase, does not allow me to wear what I want”) and, relatively speaking, personal abuse (“nothing is allowed”). It seems that parents did not notice that their children have already grown out of diapers.

It is possible, although harmful, to check the pockets of a first-grader - if only in order not to wash these pants with chewing gum. But by the age of 14 it would be nice to enter the room with a knock. Not with a formal knock - he knocked and entered, not waiting for an answer, but respecting his right to privacy.

Criticism of hairstyles, a reminder "Go wash, otherwise you smell bad", the requirement to wear warm jacket- all this signals to the teenager: "You are still small, you do not have the right to vote, we will decide everything for you." Although we just wanted to protect him from a cold. And it really smells bad.

I can’t believe that there are still such parents who have not heard: for a teenager, the most important part of life is communication with peers. But this means that the child is out of parental control, parents cease to be the ultimate truth.

The creative energy of the child is blocked in this way. After all, if he is forbidden to want what he really needs, he refuses to desire in general. Think how scary it is not to want anything. What for? They won’t allow it anyway, they will ban it, they will explain that it is harmful and dangerous, “go better lessons do."

Our world is far from ideal, it is indeed unsafe, there is evil and chaos in it. But somehow we live in it. We allow ourselves to love (although this is a gamble with an unpredictable plot), we change jobs and housing, we experience crises inside and out. Why don't you let your children live?

I have a suspicion that in those families where such problems arise with children, parents do not feel safe. Their life is too stressful, the level of stress exceeds the adaptive capacity of the body. And so I want at least the baby to live in peace and harmony.
And the baby does not want rest. She needs storms, accomplishments and feats. Otherwise, the child lies down on the sofa, refuses everything and ceases to please the eye.

What to do

As always: discuss, make a plan, stick to it. To begin with, remember what your child asked for before, and then stopped. I am quite sure that an hour of daily "totally useless" walk with friends - necessary condition For mental health teenager.

You will be surprised, but the meaningless “fun in the box” (watching music and entertainment channels) is necessary for our children too. They enter a kind of trance, a meditative state during which they learn something about themselves. Not about artists, stars and show business. About Me.

The same can be said about computer games, in social networks, telephone conversations. It's terribly annoying, but you have to survive. It is possible and necessary to limit, to introduce some kind of framework and rules, but to totally prohibit the inner life of a child is criminal and short-sighted.

If he doesn’t learn this lesson now, he will cover it later: a midlife crisis, moral burnout at 35, unwillingness to take responsibility for the family, etc.

Because he didn't play. I wandered aimlessly through the streets. I didn’t watch all the stupid comedies in time, didn’t neigh at Beavis and Butt-head.

I know one boy who drove his parents to white heat by lying in his room for hours and banging a tennis ball against the wall. Quietly, not much. It wasn't the knock that annoyed them, but the fact that he didn't do anything. Now he is 30, he is quite a competent man, married, working, active. He needed to be in his shell at the age of 15.

On the other hand, as a rule, these children are catastrophically underloaded with life. All they do is study. They don’t go to the grocery store for the whole family, they don’t wash the floor, they don’t fix electrical appliances.

Therefore, I would give them more freedom inside and restrict outside. That is, you yourself decide what you will wear and what you will do besides studying, but at the same time - here is a list of household chores, get started. By the way, the boys are excellent cooks. And they know how to iron. And they carry weights.

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Children's appetite worries parents more than a child. Moreover, an increase in appetite is met by them with joy, and a reduced demand for food - with caution. Quite often, parents confuse the concept of hunger and appetite. Appetite - more broad concept not limited by physiological factors. This is a selective manifestation of hunger. It changes depending on emotional state and preferences. Long-term loss of interest in food leads to dehydration, anorexia, and ketone bodies. Therefore, it is important for parents to control the nutrition of a teenager.

Lack of appetite in adolescents is most often due to hormonal changes and also due to:

  • anxiety state;
  • infections;
  • problems at school
  • season change;
  • various kinds of diseases.

In case of prolonged refusal to eat and ignoring this problem, the child is threatened with exhaustion, drowsiness, dehydration and excessive weight loss. Diseases such as Iron-deficiency anemia(iron deficiency) and (complete refusal of food).

In this article, we will talk about the causes of lack of appetite in adolescents, how dangerous it is. You will also learn what to exclude and what to add to your usual diet to increase your appetite.

What could be the reasons

The most common are pathological and psychological.

Pathological causes

infections: intestinal tract when infected with worms or infections of the oral cavity. Appetite may be absent while taking medications that are taken to treat an infection.

Diseases: chicken pox, lowered hormonal background thyroid gland, measles or rubella in a child can cause a lack of appetite due to emerging symptoms of the disease: itching, bad dream, fever, vomiting, anxiety. Heat during flu, colds, allergies is also a common cause of decreased appetite.

Psychological

Psychological condition: the influence of friends, relationships at school and at home. Watch your child, talk to him. Is everything in order at school, is there any reason why he may feel depressed or upset. Possibly a concern new team or the girl (boyfriend) you like. It is possible that the lack of appetite is due to an attempt to get your attention.

If you observe that a teenager often refuses to eat, do not forget about such factors as the change of season, sleep disturbance, postoperative period, diet habits.

Ways to increase

Lack of appetite in an adult is usually a consequence of the disease. In adolescents, most often, this is due to the age period.

Selection the right products can solve the problem, not mindlessly pushing food into the baby. It's better to just keep track of the number of calories a teenager consumes.

Instead of immediately grabbing for treatment medicines or force the child to eat (which will only make the problem worse), use the list useful tips, which can increase the appetite of a son or daughter.

Include Vitamins in Your Teenager's Diet

The lack of vitamins threatens with many problems, including loss of appetite. They are not classified as either nutrients or plastic. But they are necessary for metabolic processes in organism. If you do not saturate the body with vitamins, you can give impetus to obesity. It is better to give preference to natural vitamins - from fruits and vegetables. Vitamin complex It's also a kind of chemistry. The main assistants will be B vitamins, vitamin D, as well as calcium, iron and zinc.

Sources of these vitamins:

Eliminate unhealthy foods from your child's diet

All types of fast food should be excluded from the diet of a teenager. They contain empty calories. The body does not receive any benefit from such food. It is also worth limiting sweets: chocolate, pastries, confectionery. Fats contribute to an increase in appetite, but in this case it is impossible to improve the situation by all means.

Get your teenager used to 3-4 meals a day.

Introduce appetite-enhancing foods into your diet

    Fruits:

    orange grapefruit, lemon, apricot, pomegranate, peach, apple, pomegranate;

    Berries:

    fruits of mountain ash, blackberry, cranberry, barberry;

    Herbs:

    calamus root, wormwood;

    Juices:

    freshly squeezed and packaged.

Use spices

Include the following seasonings in your diet:

  • basil;
  • dill;
  • hot red pepper;
  • Bay leaf;
  • horseradish;
  • mustard;
  • curry.

With bay leaves and hot spices, you should be careful. Increased load on the pancreas.

Phytocomplexes

Consult with your doctor if your child has any allergies or contraindications to the composition of herbal drinks.

All of these funds are used in a tablespoon no more than four times a day 30 minutes before meals.

Recipe 1.

You will need:

Mix everything, heat, but do not boil. Take after cooling.

Recipe 2.

You will need:

  • Chopped anise fruit 1 tsp
  • Boiling water 1⁄4 l

Leave the infusion for 40 minutes.

Recipe 3.

  • dried mugwort 1 tsp
  • Boiled water 200 ml

Dried wormwood pour boiled water and leave for 30 minutes.

Recipe 4.

Prepare:

  • Dried or fresh raspberries 2 tsp
  • Boiling water 200 ml

Berries pour 200 ml of boiled water, leave for 30 minutes.

Before using phytocomplexes, you need to consult a pediatrician. Herbal infusions can cause allergies.

Provide physical activity

It has not been scientifically proven that physical activity increases appetite. But physicians unanimously recognize such an effect. Physical activity will be useful not only for improving the situation with food, but also for all health in general.

A professional approach to training will certainly lead to the concept of a carbohydrate window. This is 30-40 minutes after exercise, when the body most needs to replenish its energy reserves. But here it all depends on the type of load. Immediately stuffing a child with food after a workout is not appropriate.

The optimal duration of the lesson is at least 45 minutes. After that, the body begins to actively burn calories. To replenish which you need to eat.

Decoration of dishes

90% of information comes to a person through the visual channel. The magnitude of the desire to eat it also depends on the beauty of the design of the dish. McDonald's, Burger King, and MOS Burger marketers use red in their logos. It is believed that it increases the desire to eat more. But this is only partly true. Red color stimulates the activity of a person, makes him act. That is, a person can buy more, but not eat.

Frequently Asked Questions

    A teenager does not eat anything, what is the reason?

    If you are sure that your child is healthy, then refusal to eat may be the result of childhood experiences or a psychological condition. Teenagers are often afraid of gaining weight. Or they have already faced bullying at school because of being overweight. Refusal to eat can be a sign of anorexia. Sometimes teenagers try to protest - they refuse food in order to defend their rights, to prove something to their parents, to insist on their own (TV and the Internet influence the adoption of such decisions). You should analyze exactly how family dinners are held. Sometimes the atmosphere is so heavy that it is better for a child to refuse food than to endure mockery or nitpicking. Especially if parents are used to sort things out during meals. It may also be affected by the fact that a teenager has a snack at school or catering, so when he returns home, he no longer feels hungry.

    Why do teenagers eat a lot?

    Let's start with the reasons caused by the shortcomings of education. For example, a teenager has too much free time at home, he has nothing to do with himself. He watches TV, plays games, stays at home long time without the necessary activity, leads a sedentary lifestyle. Therefore, he begins to snack on what is at hand. It ends with obesity, passivity, a decrease in interest in life. increased appetite, especially in boys, is observed in those who are actively involved in sports (swimming, boxing, running), attending circles. So the portion may be larger than that of peers. It is not worth sounding the alarm if the child spends all the calories received and eats healthy food. Try to cook for him yourself. If you notice a sharp increase in appetite, you should check your teenager for the presence of worms.

Why does a child eat poorly and what to do about it?

Little kids are jokingly called children who eat little and constantly smear porridge on their plates. Decreased appetite occurs in almost every second child. Worried parents worry, suffer, trying at all costs to feed their child, and then turn to the pediatrician with the question: what to do if the child does not eat well?

What is appetite and why does it decrease after a year?

Appetite is a process at the level of physiology, in which there is a need to take one or another food, salivation begins, and the work of the gastrointestinal tract starts. A good appetite is determined not only by the quality, aroma, taste of food, but also by the body's needs for nutrients.

Children's appetite is especially fickle, that is, today a son or daughter can eat the most ordinary soup on both cheeks, and tomorrow they will refuse their favorite puree or juice. The child's body clearly "captures" what exactly he needs in this moment, therefore, babies eat only when they themselves want to, it is almost impossible to feed them by force. Older children are already succumbing parental influence and begin to adhere to a specific feeding schedule.

Children don't eat well when they are sick.

During periods of illness, such as a cold, most children eat little or no food at all. Their body does not require it, as it accumulates all the energy to fight the disease, and not to the digestive processes. During illness, children should not be forcefully stuffed with food. It is better to offer your baby fruit or vegetable juices, purees, fruits, or other light foods. As soon as he feels better, he himself will ask for food, and the body will replenish all reserves. nutrients.

A child may refuse to eat with inflammation of the oral mucosa (stomatitis). The process of chewing food becomes painful for him. Examine it oral cavity– are there any sore spots or small white sores on the gums, cheeks or inside of the lips? For stomatitis and other oral or dental problems, give your child warm, liquid foods, avoiding salty, sweet, or sour foods.

Why does a child eat poorly, even if he is healthy?

Note that a sharp decrease in appetite is observed in the hot season, when the body needs more fluid. In the heat, your child may eat little, but he will drink for two. This is normal and occurs even in adults. Don't force feed him, just let him get hungry. Residents of hot countries always consume less food than northerners, and this food is usually easily digestible. At the same time, many residents northern countries do not imagine their meal without heavy meat dishes. This once again proves the influence of climate and weather on appetite.

Children after a year begin to eat with less appetite than before. The reason for this is slower growth. Babies from birth to a year are actively growing and quickly gaining weight, so they eat often (on average, once every 3-5 hours). After a year, the growth rate noticeably decreases, which means that “ building material» body cells require less.

Lack of physical activity is another reason for a child's poor appetite. If he sits at home, moves little and walks on the street, then it is not surprising that his need for food is lower than that of the neighbor's boy, who rushes in the yard all day.

Appetite is temporarily reduced when teeth are being cut. The gums at this time hurt, itch, and may be swollen, which makes eating painful. The child tries to eat less to avoid discomfort.

Stress also leads to a temporary decrease in appetite. If a child goes to a kindergarten, school, undergoes treatment or examination, finds himself in unusual conditions, is attacked by other children, adults, or is brought up in a negative environment, then he experiences stress. Appetite during this period can be very poor.

4 reasons why a child does not eat enough

Parents often look for a problem where there is none. It is possible that the child is not eating well because:

  1. He doesn't like food. Children often refuse useful, according to adults, products (meat, milk, some vegetables, greens, etc.). Try to present the dish in a different way, for example, by decorating it with something.
  2. He kills his appetite. Parents complain that their children do not eat anything during the day and go hungry, but with a detailed clarification, it turns out that the child ate cookies, and sweets, and even cakes. Carrying sweets before the main meal, the children interrupt their appetite, and when it comes time to eat the treasured soup, they are no longer hungry, as they managed to eat sweets. The solution to the problem is simple - treat your baby to treats only after he has eaten the main food.
  3. You are trying to force-feed a child. Common mistake parents is to shove food into your child, even if he does not want to. As a result, the child Bad mood and feeding for him turns into hard labor. Scolding the baby for half-eaten porridge, you thereby instill in him a dislike for food in general, and for this porridge in particular. After several such "whacks", he will sit down at the table with the expectation that he will again "fly in" for not eating well. In this case, there can be no talk of a good appetite and desire to eat.
  4. Too big portions. Children are different, and if a neighbor boy easily eats a full bowl of porridge, this does not mean that your child will eat the same amount. Give him small portions, and if he doesn’t get enough, just put an additive. A huge plate full of soup psychologically causes discomfort in a child, since he initially thinks that he will not be able to master it all.

Pediatricians are advised to pay attention to the condition of the child. If he is active, gaining weight in accordance with the norm, feels good, does not complain about his health, then there is nothing to worry about. Give him the opportunity to eat as much as he wants, and do not overfeed by force. Follow the feeding schedule and do not treat him with sweets before the main meal. If he refuses to eat at the table, calmly remove the plate and continue the meal without him. Do not immediately rush to the refrigerator in search of sweets in order to feed a capricious baby with at least something. Most likely, this is exactly what he is trying to achieve. If after a while the child asks for food, calmly feed him.

When should you sound the alarm and see a doctor?

Lack of appetite is not always the norm. Sometimes it is a pathology that leads to depletion of the body and an acute shortage of nutrients and vitamins. In this case, there may be a lag in physical and mental development. Outwardly, such children look painfully thin, it seems as if their bones are simply covered with skin and the subcutaneous fat layer is completely absent. There are signs of beriberi, anemia.

Pathologically poor appetite leads to a decrease in the amount of vitamins and minerals in the body. It is possible to determine whether there is a deficiency of useful elements by taking a blood test. In order not to torment the child in vain, you should first analyze his condition externally. Avitaminosis is usually accompanied by the following problems: reduced immunity, susceptibility to infectious diseases, low physical activity, lack of interest in the outside world, lethargy, weakness, fast fatiguability. Skin often acquire a pale hue and become dry, “jams” appear in the corners of the mouth, the condition of the hair worsens.

If the teeth often deteriorate and even break, it means that there is not enough phosphorus or calcium in the body. With a lack of iron, anemia occurs, hemoglobin becomes low. Deficiency of cobalt, copper, zinc and B vitamins affects the growth of the child (it slows down).

Children suffering from diseases of the stomach, duodenum or esophagus often refuse salty, fatty, spicy foods. However, they may complain about pain in these places. To clarify the situation, you need to visit pediatric gastroenterologist and do an ultrasound.

Anorexia nervosa - dangerous state, in which the child can not only dramatically lose weight, but also earn big problems with health. At anorexia nervosa children completely refuse to eat, and after a forced meal, they begin to vomit.

If a teenager refuses to eat, pay attention to him psychological condition and self-esteem. Under the influence of glossy magazines and television, many teenage girls go on a diet in order to lose weight. Often they completely stop eating, and if the food had to be taken, they make themselves vomit. After some time of such a “diet”, health problems begin: the size of the stomach decreases, exhaustion (cachexia) begins, weight is lost at a high rate and there is no time happy child turns into a living skeleton. Further, they would be happy to start eating as before, but they can no longer, since the very thoughts of food become the cause of vomiting, and the processes of digestion and assimilation of food slow down significantly.

If your child is persistently trying to lose weight and refuses to eat, take him to good psychologist, or contact your pediatrician with a problem, who will direct you where you need to.

So, if your child is not eating well and the problem is not far-fetched, then your path should begin with a pediatrician. He will analyze the diet, identify violations, send for blood and feces tests (to detect worms and Giardia). The child may be referred to a specialist such as a neurologist, gastroenterologist or endocrinologist. If there is evidence, the doctor has the right to prescribe medications that improve appetite and speed up metabolism. As a rule, these are drugs based on herbal preparations. After the tests, iron-containing preparations can be prescribed to improve blood composition, a complex of vitamins and minerals.

"So what do you want? Adolescence!" How often you can hear these words in the conversation of parents, girlfriends, even teachers. A teenager is trying to somehow express himself, this is somehow often not liked by those around him, who cannot find words to talk about what is happening with a boy or girl. A teenager, in response to the eternal calls to “think what you are doing”, “grab your head” and others closes, remains alone with friends who are in the same unbalanced emotional and hormonal state. And now family relationships are already deteriorating, studies are running, there are no desires - the young man begins to lose orientation in life and interest in this life itself. Ask the modern teenager "What do you want?" The answers will be material and they will be distributed in the near future. Modern teenager does not want to make an effort in his life, his motto is “I want everything to be and nothing to me for it”, they do not read, do not go in for sports, do not go to museums and have even stopped walking around the city. The sphere of activity of the average teenager: a computer-Internet shop near the entrance. Many of them feel that no one needs them, because of outside world they only get "poke and kick".

What's going on with the teenager? Physical changes occur in all body systems. The musculoskeletal system is actively formed. Major changes are taking place in endocrine system, hormones responsible for all systems are actively working, new ones are being produced that are responsible for sexual function organism. Under the influence of these hormones, changes occur in the cardiovascular system: the levels of arterial and venous pressure, the rhythm of heart contractions change. Adolescents often experience discomfort in the region of the heart (pain, tingling, feeling of pressure, palpitations). Adolescents are more susceptible to the appearance of various chronic diseases, in connection with all the same hormones, under the influence of which the immune system weakened during adolescence. The respiratory and digestive systems change due to the growth of muscle tissue, and under the influence of hormones. A teenager should eat right and spend more time on fresh air. The most significant changes are nervous system human: emotional, behavioral reactions change, a teenager can become more aggressive, unrestrained, or vice versa closed, touchy, tearful. Most often, a teenager does not appreciate the changes that are happening to him. All these changes are visible to close people, and the task of these people is to help the teenager cope with them.

Adolescence starts and ends differently for everyone. It is generally accepted that in girls the transitional (teenage) age begins at 12-13 years old, in boys at 14-15 years old, ends by 17-18 years old. In fact, for someone it can start at 11 and with difficulty end by 20, these processes are individual, just like the help that yesterday's child needs too. But nevertheless, there are some ways how to facilitate the transition to adulthood for a teenager.

For physical development, it is important that a teenager eat well. “He refuses to eat soup, he doesn’t want to eat all the time” Yes, but try not to offer him food, and just cook a very tasty soup (in his understanding it is delicious, most often it is soup without fat, without long tatters of cabbage, without any additives like broccoli and other peculiar products that spice up food for us adults, but they don’t like it) or the second. Try to get the teenager to spend more time outdoors, it’s important here, not on a bench with beer, but with friends in the forest, on sports ground, skiing, etc. You can arrange a family outing with a lot of his or her friends, for example, and someone gets a long-desired dog. It is also important to do physical development teenager: both boys and girls are useful for any physical exercise, swimming pools with each other and parents, classes in sections, comparing their capabilities with those of their parents (which, by the way, is also useful for parents). Physically helping a teenager is not so difficult, mentally it is more difficult.

Mental condition a teenager becomes unbalanced: “rude”, “arrogant”, “denies everything”, “does not obey”, “deceives”, “does not want anything”, “is silent”, etc. Most often, a teenager manifests himself in this way. How can parents change this situation? You need to start from birth, carefully and with love, but at the same time clearly and strictly build your relationship with the child, be a friend and mentor for him, protection and support. In such cases adolescence goes unnoticed by everyone, and a grateful child becomes an adult self-sufficient person. Sometimes the child grew up, grew up and suddenly “rebelled”, dear parents, a question for you! You need to learn to communicate with an adult child - a teenager, now he will prove to you that he is stronger, that he can make his own decisions, decide for himself when and with whom he comes home and so on. Your task now is to create a relationship with a teenager, it is difficult, but still possible.

What makes them be naughty? Adolescents under the influence of hormonal and physiological changes change their behavior: they feel like adults and want to behave like adults, solve their problems on their own, who to be friends with, who to be and what to do. Psychologically, teenagers are not adults yet (only please don't use this quote in a conversation with a teenager, he will be very offended by you J), but they really want to prove the opposite to everyone.

The main mistakes of parents: “crush” the child with their power (punish in such a way that they remember it), forbid everything, go away to play silent (“You don’t tell anything, and I won’t talk to you!”), wave your hand “I grew up and he will grow up somehow”.

How can you help them? Try to create a favorable environment for your communication: do not shout, be calm and balanced yourself. Tell us about the stupid things you did yourself, how your parents behaved. Talk openly and honestly about problems (deuces, absenteeism, torn pants, bad habits) - show that you are worried, that you are ready to help, offer options, explain, punish, but punish clearly for the child. Let me give you an example, if a child gets a huge scandal for a deuce, a blow to the head with this same diary and a cry that you will be a janitor, he will hide and you will never know why, and for what he received this most unfortunate deuce, then the teenager will pout for a long time, you will worry for a long time, but the situation will not be resolved. And if you ask him what he himself thinks about this, something he didn’t understand or listened to, or there wasn’t enough time to learn lessons, how you can help him, how he himself thinks to fix it - the situation will be completely different. With regard to this deuce or any other problem, he upset you, you are even unhappy with him, because you know how capable he is, how he grasps everything, but, in everything else, you love him and do not let him go to the cinema today so that he has more time to prepare. This is understandable and open, in this way out of the situation there are no accusations, no belittling of the child’s dignity, but there is support for his own decisions and the message “we love you”. Always and in all situations, name your feelings, and communicate with the child only when he has moved away from the violent emotions that you will definitely see in a teenager. After an hour or two, offer to drink tea, tell us what emotions you experienced when he (or she) annoyed came from school and locked himself in the room, ask how things are, if something happened, talk to him. I'm sure you will succeed!