What to do if children have poor appetite in summer

Children tend to become picky eaters in the summer, dislike meals or have a poor appetite. This phenomenon is called summer bitterness. In the unbearable hot summer, children's appetite will become very poor. This is because the body regulates body temperature, causing the blood to dissipate heat to the surface, and then the blood supply to the internal organs will become less, which will affect the secretion of gastric acid and lead to loss of appetite. So, what should we do if our children have poor appetite?

Children cannot rest and sleep well when the weather is hot and humid, unlike in autumn or spring when the temperature is suitable. If a child does not sleep well, the central nervous system will be in a state of tension and the activity level of our body's endocrine glands will change. These will affect the peristalsis of the gastrointestinal tract and thus the digestive function of the gastrointestinal tract. In summer, saliva becomes thicker, causing thirst. Drinking a lot of water at once will dilute our stomach acid and may also lead to decreased digestive function or appetite. Drinking small amounts multiple times is more effective than drinking a large amount at one time. In order to prevent children from having loss of appetite, we generally use the following eight methods to improve it.

First, create a good living environment for children and keep our rooms ventilated and cool through air conditioners and electric fans. Ensure that your child gets enough sleep in a suitable temperature and humidity to avoid excessive sweating.

Second, breastfed babies should be fed on demand. Artificially fed babies must ensure adequate milk intake.

Third, ensure adequate supply of high-quality protein. One type of high-quality protein includes fish, meat, eggs, and poultry; the other type is tofu and various legumes and plant protein. In summer, we need to ensure adequate protein but pay attention to light nourishment and not too greasy. We should choose meat products with less fat content, higher protein content, and benign and cool nature from the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, such as chicken, duck, pork, and pigeon meat. In order to increase the intake of plant protein, you can appropriately increase your child's intake of tofu, soy milk and soy products. These plant proteins contain very little oil and are suitable for children to absorb in summer. When cooking for children, try to steam or boil the food, and avoid frying, stir-frying, or stir-frying. Babies sweat more in summer, so when cooking for children over one year old, it is better to use fresh, salty and fragrant dishes to help their lost appetite recover a little. Use some vinegar when cooking. Vinegar can increase the absorption of vitamin C in vegetables and improve the taste. It can also make the food look better, taste better, and fully stimulate the child's appetite. This requires mothers to spend more time and effort.

Fourth, easily digestible fruits such as winter melon, watermelon, and loofah are foods that cool blood and quench thirst. Babies should drink more vegetable and fruit juices, and children from four to six months should add more fruit or vegetable puree.

Fifth, drink enough water in small amounts and multiple times. We lose more water in summer, so we need to replenish it in time to meet the body's metabolic needs. The body's water loss is gradual, and you will feel thirsty only when you lose a lot of water. We should let children drink more water in time before they feel thirsty. In addition, if you always concentrate water and drink a large amount at one time, on the one hand it will dilute stomach acid, and on the other hand it will be detrimental to our digestion of food and sterilization. Many mothers bring a water bottle when they take their children out to play, and let them take a sip from time to time. This is a good idea.

Sixth, the weather is hot in the summer and older children especially like to drink cold drinks or eat ice cream. We should pay attention to eating less sugary ice cream or cold drinks. Children are born with weak spleen and intestines, and their spleen is afraid of cold and moisture. Eating cold drinks in the summer will strain the spleen. In the summer, we do not recommend giving cold drinks to infants. If children over three or four years old must eat cold drinks, we recommend that they should eat less each time and not eat on an empty stomach. It is best to eat one or two hours after a meal. Eating too many cold foods is not good for children's digestion and absorption. If they drink some cold carbonated drinks, carbonated drinks will produce some carbon dioxide. In addition, the coldness stimulates the contraction of blood vessels in the gastric mucosa, which can easily lead to abdominal distension, abdominal pain, indigestion and poor appetite. Parents should pay special attention when giving cold food to children.

Seventh, generally speaking, the days are long and the nights are short in summer, and children’s activity levels are relatively high, so their energy consumption is also relatively high. We generally recommend giving infants and young children some snacks between meals. These snacks can be of many kinds, such as almonds, cashews, small fruits, small biscuits, and small cakes. However, be careful not to add snacks more than one hour before the main meal, as this will affect the appetite during the main meal.

The above are some solutions for dealing with children’s poor appetite in summer. The most important thing is to regulate children’s eating habits and learn to make some cold dishes. When learning to make cold dishes, remember to choose some brightly colored ingredients, such as tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, etc., and arrange them in various attractive shapes so that children will have an appetite to try them.