Hunger and Appetite

Two or three glasses of milk or juice can give the child the basic amount of calories he needs in a day.

Hunger is the body’s need for energy and the child responds to it. Appetite has connotations of personal taste as well as the need for food. This is cultivated. Why a child prefers one food over the other is not easy to understand.

The response depends on taste, smell, texture and associations the food brings. We can persuade the child to eat a nutritious mix but cannot force food down his throat.

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Milk

Childhood is a time of discovery and amazing mental growth. Children are often impatient with routine and are haring off to play or meddle around in their process of learning.

Many of them would rather down a glass of milk or juice and get back to whatever they were doing rather than eat spoon by spoon of solids. Two or three glasses of milk or juice can give the child the basic amount of calories he needs in a day and he may not show much interest in a proper meal.

Three glasses a day is often recommended. But some kids hate milk. Curd could be used as a substitute.

(Source: Webhealthcentre.com)