It’s not uncommon for parents to see their kids push their plate away at meals. I know how frustrating it feels. You might be surprised at why your child rush to the refrigerator for snacks every time when coming home after school but not feel hungry in time for their meal after all your efforts of prepping, cooking, and serving a meal for him.

Here are some common reasons:

A poor state of appetite: A child could have eating highly palatable foods, like sweets, salty snacks in the midst of hunger which cause a poor sense of appetite later at meals.

Desire for sweets: Sometimes kids have a sweet tooth they want to satisfy. They may eat food merely because it looks good.

Do You Know??

In children, a phenomenon called eating in the absence of hunger, or EAH, describes the eating that occurs when children aren’t hungry. Sweets and salty snacks especially, play a role in the development of this phenomenon, but a parent’s feeding style and practices, a child’s genetic makeup and socioeconomic status can also influence the development of EAH.

How to overcome them?

You may help your child develop self-regulation skills by building a healthy meal routine for him. This may take time for your child to get use to the routine, but it will be helpful in the long run. Tell him that he will have a natural consequence of hunger later if he choose not to eat dinner.

Besides, dietitians suggest you can help your kids avoid sugary, and fatty junk food by packing healthy, tasty and light snacks such as yogurt, or fruit like a banana which are good sources of protein and carbohydrates that will keep their growing bodies and brains going.

Snacking is essential for your child’s proper growth. They should snack...anytime if they are going more than 4 hours between meals. In fact, four hours is about the maximum amount of time one should have between meals. If they go longer than that, their metabolism will slow down.

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