Why Is My Baby Refusing Solid Foods?

The reasons why babies refuse to eat complementary foods include poor eating habits, illness, and getting tired of the usual complementary foods. Here are the three main reasons:

1. Poor Eating Habits

Poor eating habits often lead to excessive snacking, which is most common in babies with anorexia. Some babies consume a large amount of high-calorie snacks between meals, especially chocolate, candy, cookies, and pastries before meals. Although the amount is not large, the blood sugar level in the baby's blood is too high, resulting in no feeling of hunger. Therefore, when it comes to mealtime, they have no appetite. Later, they fill their hunger with snacks, creating a vicious cycle.

2. Illness

Illnesses such as anemia, zinc deficiency, acute and chronic infectious diseases often lead to repeated colds, diarrhea, or other chronic diseases in babies. Their poor health status affects their appetite. In this case, it is necessary to consult a doctor for comprehensive treatment. If necessary, some traditional Chinese medicine can be prescribed to regulate the baby's spleen and stomach. Mothers can take their babies to the hospital for a check-up. If the doctor finds no illness, they should look for other reasons.

3. Boredom with Usual Complementary Foods

If babies get tired of the usual complementary foods, it is necessary to consider whether the color, aroma, and taste of the food are not appealing, resulting in loss of appetite. Adults also feel bored with eating the same dishes repeatedly, and babies are the same. Even for the same food, it is necessary to create more variety.

How to Add Complementary Foods to Babies?

When introducing complementary foods to babies, it is important to start with small amounts and gradually increase them. It is recommended to start with egg yolk, using the smallest spoon to give just a spoonful, regardless of whether the baby likes it or not. If there are no food allergy symptoms, the introduction can continue the next day, still with just a spoonful, to let the baby experience the taste of egg yolk. If there are any allergic reactions to the complementary foods, it is necessary to stop immediately. If there are no problems, other foods such as fruit puree and rice porridge can be introduced in the second week. When adding complementary foods to babies, it is essential to pay attention to the method of introduction, gradually increasing from liquid foods at the beginning and gradually increasing the amount of complementary foods.