In order for a child to grow normally, not to get sick and to develop fully, his nutrition must be balanced. In the first months of life, it is very easy to meet the needs of the baby with the help of breast milk or an adapted formula. Further, from the age of 6 months, the baby begins to get acquainted with complementary foods, his menu expands. But this does not always happen without difficulties - babies refuse some products. Most often, meat falls out of favor.
Reasons for refusal
Meat complementary foods appear in the diet of infants at 8-9 months. But many mothers are faced with the fact that the baby refuses to eat meat or spits out food as soon as it feels a new taste. This happens for a variety of reasons.
- The child does not like the look or taste of the meat puree. When a baby becomes interested in food from mom's plate, he prefers foods that have a more attractive appearance and smell, such as pieces of fruits and vegetables. But many toddlers find the taste, color and aroma of meat not very attractive.
- The baby has few teeth, so it is difficult for him to chew meat. This reason often causes a dislike for certain meat dishes, for example, steamed cutlets or boiled pieces of meat, while the child eats minced meat normally. As soon as mom tries to accustom to pieces, the little one refuses.
- The child has an intolerance to certain types of meat or allergies to animal proteins. With such problems, even after a small piece, a rash, nausea, and upset stools may occur.
For older children, for example, at 2-3 years old, one of the reasons for not wanting to eat meat is also the realization of how it is received. When a child connects the cows, chickens and rabbits seen by his grandmother in the village with what was served to him in a plate, he may refuse to eat the animal out of pity for him.
Other reasons for refusal include feeling unwell, too large a portion, lack of appetite, heat (you want less meat in summer).
The benefits of meat dishes
Meat and dishes prepared from it are a source of protein with a complete amino acid composition. From such products, the child will receive building material, which will become the basis for the synthesis of immunoglobulins, hemoglobin, hormones, muscle fibers, and enzymes. The fats obtained from meat are also useful, because they are represented by various fatty acids, among which there are those that are not synthesized in the human body (linoleic, arachidonic).
In addition, meat dishes include a lot of micro and macro elements. They contain a lot of iron, represented by the most assimilable form (heme iron), as well as calcium, magnesium, zinc, phosphorus and cobalt. Another plus of meat dishes is their dense structure, which stimulates the chewing apparatus.
In order for the jaws to develop normally, the teeth are healthy, and the digestion is not disturbed, the child needs to learn how to chew food, with which meat products do just fine.
What to do in case of failure?
First of all, one should not make a major problem out of unwillingness to eat meat. In most cases, it can be dealt with without panic and without forcing the baby to try meat dishes forcibly. First, consider the age of the little one. If this is a baby, the basis of the diet of which continues to be mother's milk or a mixture selected for age, then there is no special need for meat dishes for him.
At the age of 9-12 months, meat complementary foods are intended not to saturate the child's body with proteins, vitamins and microelements, but to introduce the baby to new tastes. Therefore, attempts to accustom a baby to meat should be careful and not too persistent. The desire to force a child to try what he does not want can lead to quite the opposite effect.
If the child reacted normally to meat earlier, and then suddenly stopped eating it, there is no need to panic either. As children's addictions grow, this is completely normal. Before, favorite dishes cease to bring pleasure, are replaced by other food, which is more needed for the development of the body at a particular stage. Often in such cases, after a while, the child returns to his favorite meatballs or cutlets, or begins to eat meat in a different form.
Here are some more tips on how to teach your child to eat meat if they just don't like it.
- Make meat complementary foods more varied... For example, if a baby refuses to cook meat puree at home, you can offer ready-made canned food, which is produced specifically for baby food. If the baby does not like the products of one manufacturer, you can buy other types of meat or jars of another company.
- Offer meat cooked in different ways. Many children do not like meat dishes due to the fibrous structure and excessive rigidity, therefore, for greater softness, it is recommended to soak the meat for several hours and then cook it under a closed lid over low heat. Stews, steamed or baked dishes can be an alternative to boiled meat. In addition, the child may like multi-ingredient dishes, such as dumplings, cabbage rolls or pies.
- Cooking with your child. Many children will like to form meatballs and cutlets together with their parents, and then try the result of their work. In addition, such a pastime will help the whole family spend more time, which improves relationships.
- It is interesting to arrange dishes. If the food looks attractive, you want to eat it faster. Perhaps a 5-7 year old child will refuse an ordinary piece of meat, even if it is tasty, but will agree to a cutlet decorated with a cute face of vegetables.
- Show by example... Toddlers often enjoy copying the actions of adults. Therefore, if mom and dad eat meat regularly, then the child will be interested and risk trying something new.
If the crumb, with all your tricks, is still cool to meat products, it does not matter. His diet will remain balanced and healthy even without meat.
It is only important to provide all the necessary nutrients from other foods. For example, you can try replacing meat dishes with fish if you are not allergic to it.
Fish dishes contain easily digestible proteins, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, iodine, B vitamins, zinc, phosphorus and other compounds. In addition, they are quite diverse, but many children refuse them in such cases:
- afraid to choke on the bone - the problem can be solved by buying fish fillets;
- repels a specific smell - since it is mainly found in river fish, you can offer your child sea fish.
The proteins that are in meat and fish cannot be completely replaced with plant foods, but mom need not worry if other sources of animal protein are present in the menu of her daughter or son, for example, eggs and dairy products. Of these, the child will also receive a daily dose of vitamins D, A, B12, iron, calcium and other elements.
As for plant proteins, it is not worth adding them in large quantities to the child's diet. Many of their sources are not recommended at an early age (nuts, beans), cause colic when consumed in large quantities (spinach, cabbage) or are less digestible.
In the next video, Dr. Komarovsky's recommendations are waiting for you if your child refuses meat.
