What is anorexia nervosa, manifestations of anorexia nervosa in children?

Psychogenic anorexia occurs very often in young children and worries parents. Discover the cause and how to fix this situation in the article below with Tnhelearning.edu.vn

Psychological anorexia in children

Anorexia in general is very common in young children . The condition is common in children, especially those aged 1 to 6 years old. There is no standard definition of anorexia in children, but anorexia can be recognized when at least 2 of the following signs are present:

• The child refuses to eat the required amount of food in the ration or each meal lasts more than 30 minutes.
• Children eat little, less than half of the required diet for age.
• Children hold food in their mouths and refuse to chew or swallow.
• Refusing to eat by crying, screaming or running away when seeing food.
• Baby vomits, vomits when seeing food.
• The baby’s weight has not increased for 3 consecutive months .

Anorexia nervosa is a common cause of anorexia in children. Psychological anorexia often comes from the fact that the child is forced into a certain framework during the meal , the feeding is not correct, the meal atmosphere is stressful, the parents do not understand the child’s psychology , or the child is spoiled. excessive afternoon.

Psychological anorexia in children

Manifestations of psychological anorexia in children

The symptoms of anorexia in children are similar to those of normal anorexia such as:

• Children refuse food by covering their mouth, refusing to open their mouth or turning away when they see food.
• When the child is able to put food in the mouth, the child often sucks on the food, refusing to swallow. If forced to eat, the child may cry or scream to protest.
• Older children with anorexia may run away at mealtimes, or show displeasure, dislike eating, or eat very little.

Psychogenic anorexia in children can lower blood sugar, not having enough energy for a child’s day of activities. In the long term, anorexia can slow down the child’s weight gain, malnutrition or immunodeficiency , affecting the physical and mental development of the baby.

Manifestations of psychological anorexia in children

Psychological causes of anorexia in children

Children with anorexia nervosa can be caused by a number of reasons:

• Children feel disrespected when forced to eat.
• Parents and feeders do not properly understand the psycho-physiological needs of children at each stage of development.
• Food and food preparation are not suitable for children’s preferences, location and development, for example, only feeding older children with broth, pureed porridge or improperly feeding children.
• Stressful meal atmosphere affects children’s psychology when eating.
• Excessive pampering , for example, letting children watch TV at every meal to “bribe children” makes children psychologically only eat when watching TV.
• Yelling and threatening when children refuse to eat or eat slowly will make children psychologically miserable and afraid to eat, gradually children will react against eating and hate people who feed them.
• Sudden changes in the child’s living environment such as going to kindergarten, changing schools, or changing caregivers,… can be the cause of the onset of anorexia nervosa in children.

Psychological causes of anorexia in children

Handling when children have anorexia psychological

To overcome this problem, parents need to be patient to deal with the causes related to the child’s psychological factors, along with love and care, and take care of the child properly.

Parents can apply the following measures to overcome this situation:

• Do not force children to eat: Children with anorexia nervosa, if forced to eat, the problem will become more serious. When food refusal develops, it can become anorexia rebellious in children. The more the child is forced to eat, the more likely they are to resist by crying, turning away when being fed, and even running away when it’s time to eat.
• Feeding with the whole family: Feeding your baby separately can help focus children, which is suitable for young children when their diets are different from adults. However, in children with anorexia nervosa, feeding children with the whole family can change the child’s eating mood, create a happy atmosphere, and help children eat more deliciously.
• Do not bribe or intimidate children: Children’s eating should not be used as a condition to reward children for this or that, this does not solve anorexia nervosa in the long term. Children should not be intimidated if they refuse to eat, because it will make them psychologically resistant to eating.
• Slowly transitioning to the environment: A sudden change in a child’s living environment such as starting school, transferring schools,… can trigger anorexia nervosa in children. Therefore, it is necessary to have a gradual transition so that children can get used to and adapt to the new environment, reduce their worries, which helps to improve the quality of life. children’s psychological anorexia. Parents can tailor meals at home based on their child’s school menu so that the child feels closer to class meals.
• Feeding children on demand: Instead of forcing children to eat, parents can feed children on demand and respect their children’s decision to stop eating, do not force children to eat when they feel full and do not want to eat anymore. . This makes the child feel respected and avoids a hostile mentality when eating.
• Split meals: Psychological anorexia in children can be overcome with small meals during the day, which both helps children reduce the feeling of boredom when they do not have to eat an excessive amount of food in one meal. Ensure adequate nutrition and energy for children.

Handling when children have anorexia psychological

Above are the symptoms, causes as well as ways to overcome the situation of anorexia children that Tnhelearning.edu.vn has synthesized. If you have applied the above measures but the child’s psychological anorexia does not improve, parents often take the child to see a doctor, nutritionist or psychologist for advice!

Source: Vinmec

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