Pediatric Feeding Disorder: Signs and How to Help

Getting children to eat nutritious meals is a constant battle for most parents and guardians. It might be a natural growth cycle or just tantrums that the child is throwing, but for others, it is a big problem that the parent should not overlook. Pediatric feeding disorder or dysphagia is a condition in children. Symptoms include a lack of adequate food intake and nutritional needs of the age of the child. In America, over 2 million children who are below five years suffer from it annually. Other signs that a child suffers from the food disorder include the following:

Signs of Pediatric Feeding Disorder:

For adults, eating is a simple task that does not require a lot of effort. However, for children, it is a difficult task. To swallow a single bite, one will need more than 20 muscles and six cranial nerves. The feeding system can be impaired when various functions do not coordinate. The factors that may seem subtle may matter a lot in the nutrition cycle of babies and children. They include the following:

1. Medical:

Parents should identify if their children suffer from any medical conditions that warrant further investigations of food disorders. Such diseases include cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, premature babies, acid reflux, excess food allergies, and autism.

2. Nutrition:

Children should get an adequate supply of nutrition. That will enable them to grow into strong and healthy adults. Enough uptake of nourishment from their meals will also mean that they will reach all developmental milestones. The food the child eats should be relevant to the kinds of meals and quality their age mates partake. Infants who do not transition to weaning well may also suffer from it. Children who find it hard to maintain hydration levels or get tired while eating might have the disorder.

3. Feeding skills:

Children need the cooperation and development of several parts of their bodies to eat well. They include the movement and sensory systems. Some children are picky eaters because they do not like the texture of a particular food group. Swallowing and chewing food becomes painful.

4. Psychosocial:

Mealtimes also cover the table manners of the child and how they react to certain foods.

Pediatric feeding disorder has several subtle signs that might be difficult for any parent to decipher. Indications such as a child who refuses to show up for meals or coughing or gagging might indicate that they have the disorder. Any time that the feeding habits of the child cause concern. Then they should investigate further if the child has the food condition. Ignorance may lead to severe repercussions like a disability.