Psychology Do not force children to eat

Children should be allowed to leave food

05/06/2013

Children should have the opportunity to leave food when they no longer have an appetite. If the parents force them to eat their meal altogether, this has a negative rather than a positive effect, reports the Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ) in a recent press release. Also, individual foods should not be completely banned, so the BVKJ on.

"You eat what's on your plate!" There's no getting up while there's something left on the plate! If you do not eat, it's bad weather tomorrow! " Everyone knows the phrases with which children should be moved to eat. However, according to the BVKJ, the children also have the option of leaving the remains of the food, as otherwise the risk of overweight increases significantly later in life. A similar negative effect is the complete ban on certain foods, said the BVKJ spokesman Dr. med. Ulrich Fegeler citing one in the trade magazine „Pediatrics“ published American study.

Fathers with their sons while eating very strict
The American investigation has shown that especially fathers to their sons often insist on the empty food of the plate, so the statement of the BVKJ. An approach that can have a significant long-term impact on children's health. „This educational behavior prevents children from paying attention to their own hunger or satiety“, stressed Fegeler. Instead, they would learn to let themselves be influenced by outside influences, such as too much food. Here it would be better, the children „to encourage healthy eating habits, to provide abundant fruit and vegetables and to allow moderate snacking“, explained the pediatrician. Of particular importance is also „the parental role model for children“, so Dr. Fegeler continues.

Strict ban on certain foods increases the risk of overweight
US researchers headed by study director Katie Loth of the University of Minnesota had analyzed the data of more than 2,200 teenagers at the average age of 14 and their parents (3,431 people), focusing in particular on the relationship between eating habits, educational standards, and education Development of body weight analyzed. They conclude that the children should be carefully introduced to a conscious diet. For example, if they are allowed to choose their own food, they must learn not to indulge in random food on their plate, which in the end will not be eaten anyway. Also, the study showed, „that children who were strictly prohibited from certain foods were already overweight in childhood“, reports the BVKJ. Here, the researchers suspect a psychological effect. The forbidden seems particularly enticing to children, which is why they greedily access, if they have the opportunity. (Fp)