Balanced and rational nutrition plays a huge role in ensuring the development of the child, contributes to the normal development and functioning of organs and systems.
Along with this, the process of nutrition directly affects the supply of energy to the body for active participation in the processes of communication, social interaction, speech, motor, mental and emotional development. Features of eating behavior in the future may limit the child’s ability to participate in an active social life, influence the development of communication processes, and even lower self-esteem.
Feeding disorders can occur for various reasons:
1. Neurology (decreased muscle tone of the tongue, facial and chewing muscles, etc.)
2. sensory integration disorders (reactions to external stimuli, difficulty in perceiving the texture of food)
3. Psycho-emotional problems (due to the behavior of parents and the process of education)
The most common feeding problems are:
1-3 months
Problem: Poor jaw stability, sweeping sucking movements
Solution: gentle support of the jaw with two fingers during feeding
Problem: increased anxiety of the child, problems with swallowing food
Solution: reducing external sensory stimuli (light, sounds), with artificial feeding – reducing the rate of outflow of liquid from the bottle, keeping the baby in an upright position during feeding
4-6 months
Problem: the child does not accept the introduction of puree in the diet
Solution: immediately before feeding, “activate” the receptor fields of the oral cavity (massage with a toothbrush), the use of unusual feeding techniques (bring a spoon to the corner of the mouth / place puree between the gum and cheek)
7-9 months
Problem: Refusal to try new dishes with bites
Solution: Alternate familiar and unfamiliar dishes in different quantities
Problem: Baby won’t move food around in mouth to chew
Solution: Under parental supervision, offer solid food (crackers/crackers)
10-12 months
Problem: Doesn’t touch food, doesn’t eat with hands
Solution: training fine-motor functions, finger games
Problem: Decreased chin stability
Solution: the game “who is stronger than whom” (using a drinking straw, clamping it with his teeth, mother and child try to pull each other’s straw)
2 years
Problem: the child is too lazy to eat with a spoon on his own (at the same time, he knows how)
Solution: “Chain Acceptance”
Step 1: take a spoon
Step 2: scoop up food
Step 3: bring and put food in your mouth
Step 4: put the spoon
Learning each step, followed by the execution of the parent’s commands, first in forward, then in reverse order
Problem: Baby refuses a cup in favor of a bottle
Solution: simply move the bottle out of sight.
Problem: Child does not like to chew food
Solution: Arouse the desire to chew through solid food that he likes to taste.
3 years
Problem: Difficulty putting food on a fork
Solution: work on improving coordination and strength in the hand, fine motor skills exercises
Problem: impaired awareness of body schema, shifting spoon/fork from one hand to another
Solution: training to master the right-left orientation, feeding in front of a mirror