Harmful consequences of force-feeding your child
Parents often force their children to eat in order to ensure they have a balanced diet for proper growth and to prevent deficiency diseases. However, this can lead to unintended outcomes.
Different types of forced feeding include:
- Pressure - "I want you to eat all your veggie"
- Warning - "Just eat that little piece in there"
- Emotional Blackmail - "A good girl will eat her dinner after mom has worked hard to cook it"
- Using Rules - "Eat two chapatis because you are big now"
- Bribes - "If you eat everything on your plate you can leave the table and play"
- Punishment - "You can't watch TV if you haven't finished your food"
- Forced feeding – “physically putting food into the child's mouth and forcing him to swallow”
If parents want to learn more about why children force-feeding is not good at all, we encourage you to read the following article about it.
What exactly is meant by forced eating?
Force-feeding is when a child is coerced or pressured to eat or swallow food, which can be harmful and should be avoided.
Forced feeding may include-
- Deciding how much, when, and what the child will eat
- Feeding large quantities of children even when angry
- Comparing children with other children or blackmailing children into eating or eating large portions
- Ignoring child's requests to eat less or more slowly
- Worried that the child is not eating enough
Why Do Parents Force-Feed Their Children?
Here are some reasons why parents force-feed their children
- Introducing new foods: Parents force children to eat new foods to ensure they get proper nutrition.
- Worried about insufficient intake: Parents worry that their child is not eating enough to be healthy.
- Lack of understanding of children's needs: Parents may assume they know what their child needs, including how much to eat.
- Completing what's on the plate: Some parents believe children must finish everything on their plate, even if they're full.
- Introducing solid foods: Parents may try to force babies to eat foods they don't like, rather than letting them develop their taste preferences.
- Spoon-feeding older children: Some parents continue to spoon-feed their children even when they are old enough to feed themselves, which can lead to overeating.
Consequences (Outcomes) Of Forced Eating
Force-feeding is something parents should need to avoid. However, we understand that as a parent you do everything you can to raise your child and food is an integral part of that.
Need of force-feeding avoidance is required because of these some of the consequences of force-feeding-
- Food hate - many times children do not like what you give them to eat, which can also lead them to refuse the food.
- Loss of appetite - We eat when we are hungry, and so do our children. But as parents, we question our children's food judgment and force-feeding those results in killing their appetite.
- Negative emotions - Children can develop negative feelings and emotions towards food and even parents due to force-feeding.
- Eating Disorders - Because there is no control of eating patterns, children can experience eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia, and others.
- Malnutrition problem - As a child grows, they may eat less than they eat in larger amounts.
- Vomit - Feeding your child against his will may cause vomiting or nausea.
- Leads to unhealthy eating habits - Your child may develop unhealthy eating habits because they may not like healthy food.
- Lack of control over eating habits - One of the worst side effects of force-feeding young or older children is that they can lose control of their eating habits.
- Life repulsion over food - Children can develop long-term dislikes and hate for food as they age.
- Control of parents over food causes eating problems - children feel lost and out of control when parents force-feed their children to eat, which can lead to low self-esteem or confidence issues such as depression and anxiety.
How to stop pressuring kids to consume food
To stop pressuring kids to consume food, it's important to avoid force-feeding and understand why the behavior is happening. If your child is eating less or refusing food, it's normal and important to stay calm and let them ask for food when they're hungry.
What can I do to help a child eat properly without forcing them to eat?
Here are some suggestions parents can do without force-feeding are-
- Eat with your child
- Be patient when introducing something new food
- If the child is distracted, return his attention
- Be patient
Conclusion
Parents often force their children to include nutrition for child betterment. Instead of force-feeding, try to serve food beautifully with good taste to maintain your child's health and body shape to complete nutritional value.
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