Loss of Appetite

At the age of three years, children will be more interested in playing and less interested in eating.

This is a universal complaint among parents. Most parents feel that their child doesn’t eat well though often the children are within normal weight and height proportion.

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A child who weighs 2.5 kg at birth doubles its birth weight at six months and trebles at one year and is four times the birth weight in two years. The rapid horizontal growth of first year is replaced by delayed, vertical growth in the second and third year of life.

Hence a child who was looking chubby with puffy cheeks appears to lose weight because it grows in height. His cheeks and shoulders lose their rounded contour, and this shifts to his belly region. Hence children below two to three years appear to have "potbelly".

At this stage children will be more interested in playing and less interested in eating. Today each family has only one or two children; they do not have the competitive spirit to eat more. The practice of servant feeding the child should be discouraged and parents should take personal interest. Tasty cooking and attractive presentation of food items is also essential.

(Source: Webhealthcentre.com)