Patient's question:
What should I do if my child is picky about food and refuses to eat vegetables?Doctor's answer:
Hello: First, it's important to determine why the child is picky about food. If the pickiness is caused by gastrointestinal or systemic diseases, or drug reactions, it's necessary to seek medical treatment early. Traditional Chinese medicine can also be used to treat symptoms of pickiness. For example, if the child has poor digestion or food stagnation, they can take condensed Baohe Pills. If the child has a weak spleen and stomach, reduced appetite, and stomach fullness, they can take Xiangsha Liqun Pills. If the child's appetite decreases due to irregular diet and damage to the spleen and stomach, leading to fullness, discomfort, or stomach pain, they can take Xiangsha Yangwei Pills. If there is food retention and post-meal fullness with diarrhea, they can take Jianpi Pills, etc.In addition to medication, to make the child enjoy eating, it's also important to pay attention to methods. Some children are picky about food, and parents become very anxious. To coax the child to eat, some use toys to distract them during meals, while others let them eat while playing... Excessive indulgence by parents and a lack of understanding of proper feeding methods are also direct causes of children's pickiness.
So what should be done? Here are some suggestions:
1. Create a relatively quiet eating environment for the child so that they can eat in a relaxed and pleasant manner. The digestive system is affected by emotions, and stress can lead to reduced appetite. Therefore, when the child is eating, adults should avoid loud laughter and definitely not distract them by asking them to do this or that.
2. The child's food should not only consider various nutrients but also be diverse and easy to digest. It's best to have a variety of food options that are delicious, fragrant, and appealing in taste and appearance, so that the child develops a desire to eat when they see or smell them. Additionally, the dishes prepared for the child should be cut into small pieces, and the rice should not be cooked too dry to make it easier for them to chew.