Many parents make mistakes when feeding their babies, resulting in the development of unhealthy eating habits. In this article, I will point out these errors for everyone to reflect upon and correct. I have also written another article on How to Cultivate Good Eating Habits in Babies.
▲ Using snacks as rewards
Using snacks as rewards can lead to a dependence on and preference for snacks over regular meals. It creates the misconception that snacks are better than proper meals. Instead, it is not recommended to bribe or use bribery tactics.
▲ Force-feeding
Forcing a baby to eat can hinder their ability to develop independent eating habits. It can also decrease mealtime efficiency and pose a choking risk. As mentioned earlier, it is important to establish mealtime rules and allow babies to have autonomy in their eating habits.
▲ Allowing distractions during meals
Some parents let their babies play or watch videos while eating in order to get them to eat more. However, this can distract the baby’s attention and disrupt the secretion of digestive enzymes, leading to poor digestion. Additionally, multitasking during meals does not promote the development of a child’s focus and concentration.
▲ Compensating with excessive milk or snacks
Parents sometimes worry that their child is not eating enough during meals and compensate by giving extra milk or snacks. This can lead to a pattern of not eating proper meals. Additionally, the limited capacity of a baby’s stomach means that excessive milk intake leaves little space for other foods, potentially resulting in nutritional deficiencies.
▲ Interrupting activities to force the baby to eat
If a baby is engrossed in playing with toys, drawing, or reading, it is advisable to wait and not force them to eat immediately. Interrupting their activities can make them lose interest and even become upset, further hindering their willingness to eat properly. Parents should respect their child’s activities and, when they are happily engaged, can ask for their opinion and inform them to wait for ten more minutes, allowing them to complete their tasks.
