7 Creative Ways to Boost Appetite and Immune Health in Children
How can I increase my child’s appetite? She is healthy but doesn’t seem to be eating enough for her activity level is there anything I can use to help stimulate her appetite safely?
Raising Kids is something that there is no exact manual to tell you how to be the best parent. You learn many things as you go when parenting and having more than one child gives you a lot of experience in solving problems. At the end of the day, we all want to do what is best for our kids. Over time you figure out little things to help solve issues that you may run into as a parent. Each child is different so there is no exact way to do things. I had a friend ask if I knew anything to help increase their oldest child’s appetite and that is how this article was born. Sharing information like this can help many others by giving them ideas to try on their own. I know that when I run into struggles, I look for articles or info like this to give me some ideas as to how to solve the problem myself before consulting a doctor or professional. With that being mentioned this is not medical advice. Be sure to contact a physician if you have any concerns. Here are 7 creative ways to help increase appetite in children but also how to boost their immune system which is very important when going back to school. Here are some of the tips and tricks I have learned on this topic over the last eleven years of parenting:
– 1. I am sure we have all heard DON” T PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD, right? In this case, I believe you can achieve some success by making eating fun more than a chore. By letting them feel like they are helping you make the food or experimenting with their food they will be more excited to try new things and eat in general. As an example, using a protein powder to mix into yogurt or adding a couple of m&m candies which will make the yogurt turn colors can make it so they begin to enjoy food and eating more than feeling like it is being forced on them. Let them know that if they are willing to eat the food with you, they can help make it or do “experiments with it” meanwhile you add some things they may like or that may benefit them to help with nutrients or to help them enjoy eating.
-2. Adding probiotics can help a lot with immune health, eczema, and digestion. This can sometimes lead to a boost in appetite. If their stomach can digest and process the food more efficiently from using the probiotics this will lead to an increase in appetite, I recommend using a good brand for your kids something like the Florajen Children’s formula or the Florajen eczema packets which are safe to use in kids 6 months and up. These helped us a lot with our kids. These two are good for kids but we also carry other brands of probiotic gummies that do not require refrigeration. Be sure to pay attention to the age recommended on the products. If you are in search of good vitamins and supplements for kids, please reach out to us at TGB Supplements I would be personally happy to help you find what is best for you and your family. You can reach me at trevor@tgbsupplements.com or call the shop at 724-550-4241. There are a lot of products on the market and some products are better than others. If you reach out to us, I will let you know what I personally use for my kids and be happy to get you set up.
-3. To increase appetite, it is good to have frequent small meals like the snack packs that have cranberries, cheese, and almonds are good. Some kids don’t like almonds so you can find cheese sticks by themselves but finding a good snack can help by keeping them eating more frequently they will start to want to eat more often. Using protein powder that tastes good like our Iron Forged Nutrition Whey Isolate you can make protein pudding and or ice cream which you can have ready to go. I usually make small containers in the morning and keep them in the refrigerator for the rest of the day. Moderation is key. Most kids don’t get a lot of protein from their diet, but you also don’t want to give them more than they need I usually like to aim for 50% of their body weight in grams of protein as a starting point for my kids.
-4. Use Frozen fruits. We buy fresh fruits, but my daughters really like to take blueberries and raspberries and freeze them. So, we wash them and then freeze them. They enjoy snacking on these and if we make a protein shake, they will add some into the shake. I usually give my girls about a half scoop of protein which is about 12g with almond milk and let them add fruits that they like into the blender. Adding Peanut butter can also help to increase calories due to the fats. Fats have 9 calories per gram, and they like to add it to the protein. They have fun making their own shakes.
-5. Be sure to eat breakfast. Eating breakfast especially carb-based foods like Fruits will make your kids have more of an appetite for the rest of the day because the carbs can increase glucose which will help by utilizing your insulin sensitivity which is high in the mornings. I start with a small protein food like an egg and then have fruit or cereal for my kids. By doing this in the morning insulin sensitivity is high so they will get an increase in glucose then their body will release insulin to shuttle it for storage as energy for later, but this drops the glucose in the blood again and will cause hunger. They love frozen blueberries and raspberries in the morning.
-6. We make amino acid popsicles. This helps them get protein and the building blocks of protein powder are a good supplement. It is one of the most useful things to have in a survival situation because it is so important for the body. Most kids lack protein in their diet. This makes a huge difference in strength and recovery. Which will lead to the muscle which in turn increases metabolism and the desire to eat.
-7. Letting your kids feel like they are taking part in cooking or preparing the food makes them have a desire for the food to be good. If the food is good, they feel like they did a good job cooking it so they want it to be before they try it and they are more likely to enjoy the food since they helped make it. Giving them positive reinforcement for helping and doing well to get the food ready makes them feel good. It also teaches them something useful that they will remember for the rest of their lives.
In general, rewarding your kids for following directions makes them feel good. If a child doesn’t get enough of that they will sometimes act out to get attention and even though it is bad attention it is still attention when a child is lacking attention, they don’t care if it is good or bad, they just want someone to pay attention. There aren’t many products out for kids but using creative ways and little diet tricks can make a huge difference. Letting my kids feel like they are making hard-boiled eggs or just mixing the protein makes them more likely to want to eat or try things because they are making it and I act like they are good at it even though there isn’t effort required. They love making pancakes and French toast for example. Of all the things we have tried, this is what has helped us I hope it helps you as well.
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