My
son isn't eating on a regular schedule. Should I be worried that
he won't grow properly? When
your baby was born, he came equipped with a well-programmed computer
in his head. It provides a constant read-out of the child's condition:
"January 15. 12 pounds, 15 ounces. Looking good." Furthermore,
this computer has a very sensitive alarm mechanism: "11:30.
All's well. Oops! RED ALERT: Hungry!" And when that alarm
goes off, your baby will let you know it in no uncertain terms.
You'll have no trouble understanding your baby, and he'll yell
loud enough to awaken the neighbors. Overfeed him, and he'll spit
up. It's a very straightforward and extremely effective system.
What I'm saying
is that babies know when and how much they should be eating. There
is a part of the brain called the appestat. Just as a thermostat
regulates the temperature in your house, the appestat regulates
the appetite control. If your child knows that food is always
available, he learns there is no reason to eat too much because
he can always have more later.
But if he asks
you for an apple at 4:30 in the afternoon and you say, "No,
you'll spoil your dinner," then you've given the message
that food is only available at certain times instead of when he's
hungry. What you're setting up is a mindset that prepares for
possible problems ahead because the hunger pang isn't satisfied.
Instead, if you allow your child to eat healthy foods on a demand
schedule for the first three years of his life, you will have
a slender, sturdy toddler who shouldn't have any eating problems
later in life.
Most of the time,
when I hear complaints about not eating, the children are about
one year of age. Up to that point, your baby has doubled, or even
tripled, its birth weight. For the next three years, the growth
is going to slow down considerably. A 20-pound, 12-month-old will
usually become a 38-pound, four-year-old. Obviously, his caloric
needs will have decreased rather dramatically by his first birthday.
As your child learns to walk and becomes more active, he uses
calories more efficiently. If you offer a good, varied, and balanced
diet, a child will choose to eat as much as he needs and then
stop.
One reason adults
become obese is that they were taught to eat more than they wanted
at set intervals in the day, whether or not they were hungry.
Children come into this world knowing that they should eat enough
to stop the hunger pangs and no more. Instead of trying to change
their behavior, we should take a lesson from it! |