Why an infant refuses to eat, or about feeding difficulties
Children can have eating problems at any age. Concerned parents often ask why the infant refuses to eat at all, refuses to eat certain foods or textures. There are also problems with the way the food is served, e.g. when the infant refuses to eat from the bottle.
In infants and young children we are talking about feeding difficulties and in the case of older, more and more independent kids these are eating problems. In the case of infants, the matter is so difficult that they are not able to tell us if and what is wrong. For example, if you are worried that your baby does not want to eat dinner, read our guide to find out if your concerns are justified. Below we suggest what causes such difficulties, how to get to know them and how to deal with them.
Development of food skills
When looking for an answer to the question why an infant refuses to eat or where other feeding difficulties come from, it is worth first finding out how our children develop their eating skills.
The first years of life are a period of intense development, which also applies to nutrition. In order to move from suckling only the breast to eating a variety of different textures on your own, your baby gradually acquires the necessary skills.
Milestones in acquiring skills related to food:
- Approx. 4-6 months of age - ready for a new way of feeding (not only with the breast, but also with a bottle or a spoon; the type of food does not change)
- Approx. 6-8 months of age - introducing new flavors and textures
- Approx. 8-10 months of age - development of biting skills
- Approx. 12-15 months of age - efficient chewing and swallowing of various textures.
It may turn out that the infant does not want to eat certain foods, not because something disturbing is happening, but rather because he or she has not yet acquired the necessary skills, e.g. he / she cannot bite well.
The causes of feeding problems
The beginning of feeding can be difficult for both children and their parents. This is often related to the shaping of the regulation of the child's hunger and satiety center and the need for caregivers to adjust to the changing needs of the child. If from the very beginning we pay attention to how the toddler behaves during feeding and observe his reactions, it will be easier to deal with possible problems and prevent the occurrence of feeding disorders in the future.
Expert advises
Why does the infant refuse to eat, and the older child selectively? Well, both in the case of infants and older children, we can deal with regulation disorders, which consist in the child's difficulties in achieving and maintaining a state of calm during feeding (e.g. the child is too sleepy, irritable or crying to eat efficiently).
Feeding and eating problems in babies can be caused by two kinds of causes (often combined):
- organic diseases (including genetic diseases) - e.g. celiac disease, food allergies, which may make the infant refuse to eat porridges (containing gluten);
- feeding behavior problems (your baby does not develop a proper feeding response). Feeding problems that may arise during this period are most often related to muscle laxity; breathing difficulties, etc. Then it may happen, for example, that the baby does not want to eat from the bottle.
Feeding behavior disorders may arise from:
- sensory food hypersensitivity or hypersensitivity (when the child's senses react badly to a given taste)
- difficulties due to emotional reasons (such as phobias and post-traumatic feeding disorders - e.g. after choking, choking, food choking).
It is worth noting that feeding difficulties or disorders resulting from trauma, such as choking, do not occur immediately (at first, the baby eats normally), but may appear with some delay. An important determinant is the way in which parents will react to the situation related to the trauma incident and with what emotions they will approach the feeding situation again.
Therefore, if an infant does not want to eat soups or dinners, it cannot be ruled out that it is experiencing difficulties related to food allergy. In turn, choking or choking while feeding with a bottle can effectively discourage a toddler from this method of feeding. This may be why your baby refuses to eat from the bottle.
Expert advises
It is worth paying attention to the relationship in feeding or eating - the relationship between the child and the caregiver has a great influence on the proper course of this activity. The child's refusal to eat seems to enable him to express his emotions in a relationship with the caregiver, and to reduce the experienced tension. It can also be used to direct caregivers' attention to their own needs. Therefore, it is important that feeding or shared meals take place in a friendly atmosphere for the parent and the child, without the need to exert pressure and force them to eat.
What should worry us?
When wondering why the infant does not want to eat porridges or soups, it is worth taking a look at the entire feeding process. Parents' attention should be drawn to symptoms such as:
- long duration of meals;
- child's lack of initiative - the feeding process is not spontaneous, i.e. the child does nothing in this respect on his own initiative, is not open to new experiences, does not look for them);
- the need to distract the childto increase consumption (strategies such as "flying the plane", "for mummy, for daddy" etc.);
- refusing to eat foods of a certain consistency - this could mean a problem with, for example, the muscle tension in your baby's face. So if an infant does not want to eat dinner, maybe it cannot cope with their consistency?
Signs of difficulties in feeding
Regarding the previously described milestones in the development of feeding and eating skills, it is considered worrying when:
- Approx. 4-6 months of age - the toddler cannot keep food in his mouth;
- Approx. 6-8 months of age - the baby does not try to put fingers in his mouth, does not transfer food from hand to hand, does not try to scoop food from a plate or bowl with his hand, does not hold e.g. a piece of bread in his hand, or lift it to his mouth;
- Approx. 8-10 months of age - the toddler does not drink from a cup, does not take a teaspoon in the handle, cannot eat with fingers (as at this age babies are still fed with milk;
- Approx. 12-15 months of age - the child has trouble chewing and swallowing food.
It is worth remembering that older infants, even if they are able to eat independently, will not be able to eat large portions, since they are still fed milk. Perhaps, then, our baby does not want to eat porridges simply because he is full.
How to deal with difficulties with feeding a baby?
The causes of eating difficulties in children may be different, so it is worth taking care of the entire feeding process, including the appearance of dishes and the atmosphere at meals.
- Meal planning and duration - pshould take place regularly, at certain times (or at least that's how they should be offered to the child). The duration of the meal should be adapted to the child's capacity, but should not be excessively long (max. 20-30 minutes).
- Organization and surroundings of meals - warto highlight the individual elements of the meal (without mixing them) to get the child's attention and enable him to make a choice. Avoid applying pressure while feeding - nothing by force. In addition, it is important to clearly separate the meal from play (so as not to distract the toddler from food). It is best for the child to eat together with the household members. At the same time, pay attention to such details as the size of the teaspoon (too large a teaspoon can be discouraging) or the temperature of the dishes (not too hot and not too cold).
- Behavior during a meal - cIt is up to the parent to decide when and how often the child gets something to eat the child should decide how much he wants to eat. When an infant does not want to eat soups or porridges, it is worth asking yourself whether the problem is rather related to our expectations as to how much of this soup or porridge should be eaten. Remember that encouraging eating should be the parent's response to the child's hunger and satiety signals. It is worth showing a little patience and support the development of independence in eating (e.g. letting your child eat with their fingers, picking up the spoons or playing with them). It is important, however, to not to ignore your child's inappropriate behavior at the tablesetting clear boundaries in this respect - this applies, for example, to a situation where a toddler wants to eat something unsuitable for his age.
Expert advises
The parent should observe and react - the point is to find the best solution thanks to constant and careful observation, e.g. in a situation where the baby does not want to eat soup or other dishes, and not be guided by subjective feelings and expectations towards the toddler. We should remember that when feeding a child, it is important to affirm success - so let us praise our child when he tries even a small amount of food. Before we start cleaning up after a meal or wiping your toddler's mouth, make sure that he has finished eating and drinking.
Objectively and without coercion
Before worrying about your baby's refusal to eat, it is important to distinguish between the actual feeding difficulties and the subjective feelings of the parents. Research results show that a large proportion of parents of young children (20–60%) believe that their children do not eat properly (eg they are too picky, eat too little, do not want to eat more complex meals or eat low-value products). Failure to eat a child causes anxiety in parents, provokes fantasies about the child's health and assesses the quality of the parental role they play. It can cause you to experience the guilt of being an "incompetent" parent.
Whether it's subjective feelings or real problems, resorting to pressure or force will not do any good and can have negative consequences for the parent-child relationship.
In the case of more serious problems, expert support is necessary - children with feeding disorders should be subject to a multi-specialist developmental assessment. Remember that at the beginning it is worth consulting a pediatrician so that he or she can have a dietician, psychologist, speech therapist or gastroenterologist assess the child's development.
Author
