When eating, children tend to keep moving. Most children eat while walking, running around, standing up, and even playing. In fact, this habit is not good for children's development and health. Then how do you stop this bad habit? Consider the following review.
The habit of children eating while standing, walking, or playing
Children are actively engaged. As a result, children often eat while walking, standing or playing. Many parents forbid the child's habits as a form of discipline to children about how to behave (ethics) when eating. Training the ethics of eating early can provide opportunities for children to learn and get used to.
Especially when the child must be faced with a place to eat like a restaurant. You don't need to worry anymore about reminding your child not to take a walk or play when eating because the child can adjust his condition and maintain his attitude.
Why can't children eat while walking, standing or playing?
Prohibiting children from eating while walking, standing, running around, or playing is also better for health. Reporting from Live Strong, a 2007 study in the Journal of Academy of Nurition and Dietetics revealed that eating while sitting ate fewer calories than eating while standing, walking, or playing.
Eating in a sitting position makes the child focus more on the food. Children will eat more relaxed and pay attention to their chewing. Focusing on eating also makes children know the limits when their stomach is full or not, so it does not cause overeating or lack of food.
Reporting from Healthline, eating with lots of movements such as walking or playing makes the stomach become empty faster. This is because food, especially carbohydrates, is processed quickly into energy, making it feel hungry faster. Unlike eating in a sitting position, food will be digested longer.
When eating while standing, walking, or playing, encourage children to continue eating and overeating. Too much food in the stomach can cause stomach acid reflux with symptoms of burning in the middle chest and abdominal pain.
How do you get children to eat while sitting?
Train children to eat calmly; not while standing, walking or playing is not easy. For that, you need a strategy so that children want to change their habits and eat while sitting sweetly. Take it easy, you can apply the following tips.
- Prepare cutlery that suits your age, especially chairs. For initial training, you can use a chair that is the size and height according to the body and dining table. Because, giving a chair that is bigger than his body will make the child get tired and uncomfortable sitting.
- Prepare foods that are liked by children and easy to eat. The foods that children love encourage them to eat themselves in a sitting position. When the child eats alone, each spoon is not really full of food. So, choose a menu that is easy for children to eat. You can even involve children when shopping to choose vegetables or fruit to eat.
- Keep the smartphone and television while eating. Keeping your child away from these two objects can make it more focused on the food.
- Try to always give snacks on a plate and provide a spoon, like a pudding or cake. Children will certainly eat it in a sitting position. This is useful for getting children to sit while eating.