Effects Of Force Feeding Your Child and Why You Should Not Be Doing It

Team AckoFeb 9, 2024

The effects of force feeding your child can be quite worrisome. Some kids are good when it comes to eating habits and some are very fussy eaters. It becomes a big challenge for the parents to make them eat and this leads to force feeding. Parents often run after their children to eat veggies so that they stay healthy and also develop a taste for them.

But they forget that their kids have their own appetite and taste as well and by forcing them to eat leads the kids to often dislike the food or they eat less. This habit of force feeding should be stopped at any cost by the parents to make the feeding time happy and healthy.

Force feeding your child: Common feeding mistakes 

You may not be aware but there are many mistakes that you often do while feeding your child when your child refuses to eat. Your worry leads you to this forceful nature and you just start force feeding your kid. Let’s take a look at some of the common mistakes that you are making in your daily routine while feeding your child:

1. Feeding your child with your hand even when he can eat all by himself independently.

2. Pressurizing your child to eat all the food that is there in the plate.

3. Moving around in the house with a plate in your hand and telling him to eat the food.

4. Getting angry or threatening him when he does not eat the food.

5. Forcefully putting food into his mouth.

6. Bribing him with chocolates or anything that he likes so that he can eat food well.

Harmful effects of force feeding your child

There are harmful effects of force feeding your kid and you should know them to give your child a happy and healthy upbringing:

1. Forced eating leads to loss of interest in children when it comes to eating.

2. They might over eat or under eat when they grow up.

3. Eating disorders like obesity or anorexia might develop in children when they grow up.

4. Children might develop a strong appetite for sweets instead of eating healthy food.

5. Force feeding might lead to destruction of your child’s natural appetite.

Read: Important thiings to remember when child starts feeding himself

Ways to stop force feeding your child 

When the child is not eating right then this worries a parent a lot as you want him to eat better. But, this is also a fact that every child eats enough of food to keep himself full and healthy. When your child refuses to eat the food then you need to ignore him sometimes and relax yourself.

Do not let that pressure build upon you or else that pressure will surround your child as well. Do something else and distract yourself from feeding your child. When your child feels hungry, he will let you know himself.

Do worry when your child skips a meal, eats a lot at a certain time and does not want to eat in the next session of feeding. Every child has a different taste for different things so do not expect your child to eat anything or everything. 

There might be certain situations where your child might want to just play outside with friends or he might want to watch some cartoon or maybe wants to indulge in some kind of activity at a given point of time. So let him do that instead of forcing him to eat food.

You need to arouse the need in your child to eat food properly and forcing will not help in any way as this will lead to obesity and other problems as well. So force feeding should be avoided at any given cost when it comes to your child.

Also read: Follow a proper schedule for your child

Force feeding your child: How to make meal time a happy time?

A happy child will be a healthy child and this happens when your child eats food when he is in the right mood. There are certain techniques that will make meal time of your child a happier one:

1. When you are feeding your child you are giving him food to eat, you should also eat from the same plate. Relish the food and talk about its taste and texture.

2. When you eat healthy food then your child will also start eating the same but never force him to eat it right away as this will take time for him to develop his taste.

3. Remove every possible distraction when you are feeding your child. TV and mobile should be off and there should not be any distraction around. Even if your child gets distracted gently bring his attention back to the food. Do not scold him.

4. Never compare your child’s eating habits with other kids as all of them are different in one way or another. Let him eat what he likes and at his own pace.

These tips and tricks will lead to give you and your child healthy eating habits. So just relax and try it out for a happier child! 

Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only, based on industry experience and secondary sources. It is not a substitute for professional advice. Please consult a qualified expert for health or insurance-related decisions. Content is subject to change, refer to current policy wordings for specific ACKO details.