WHEN CHILDREN WON'T EAT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19892, 10 March 1928, Page 6 (Supplement)

WHEN CHILDREN WON'T EAT.

By A MODERN YOUNG MOTHER.

" It is surprising how many children are brought to me for no other rcaSpn than that they cannot be persuaded to take their food." So I was told by .a well-known children's specialist the other day when taking my baby to consult him for precisely the same reason. The two commonest methods of trying to make a child with a small appetite eat are:— 1. Scolding. 2. Coaxing. ' Both are equally futileThe scolding will only impress on the child's mind that meal-time is an unpleasant time, and he will at once start to crv at the" sight of the' food, while coaxing ho will lind rather pleasant—and will continue to refuse it all the more. When this has become a habit the child of three ot four will almost starve himself sooner than eat without a fuss, but with a baby this cannot happen, hence the necessity of training children to take their food properly from the very beginning. With n healthy baby, take no notice if he refuses to eat. On no account try forciug him to eat tho food; merely give a drink of water and do not appear to care. The child will take the next meal, {ind even in the unlikely case of his refusing his dinner for a whole week his health, I am assured, would not suffer in the least, because he will bo sure to take the other meals. The same applies to accustoming children to new foods, sucli as fish, which most of them dislike at first. Mart tjying it at the beginning of a meal, when the child is hungry, and at the first sign of dislike stop and try again in two or three days. After a few .attempts the child wiil generally take it quite happilv, while, if it is persisted in tho first time, he will always remember his dislike and it will become more and more difficult to get him to take it. In the case of delicate children, where it is absolutely necessary for them to take their food, a 'plate w ith a picture on the bottom is often successful. lhe gradual appearance of the picturo as the food is taken works like magic. ' But do remember that only a few, spoonfuls should be put on the plate at a time as baby's patience is by no means inexhaustible!