Blog - Screen-Time & Food should not go together

Now a day, children are more into screens like phones and tablets. Many children need screens to eat food as well. Excessive screen time negatively impact the emotional and physical health of the kids. Many parents, or caretakers (for their convenience) are found to merge the feeding time and screening time.

Distracted eating in children refers to children eating food without focusing on what goes into our mouth. Their mind will be distracted as they may be reading a book, watching television or playing games while eating food.

Eating while distracted by a screen holds various negative impacts on the child.

• Increases The Chances Of Obesity: Eating while distracted by a screen makes it difficult to pay attention to hunger and fullness cues. This leads to overeating.
• Increases The Chances Of MalNutrition: Children, especially toddlers who have access to screen all day, have a tendency to snack whenever they watch TV or Tablets. They more likely will skip the meals or refuse to eat the main course of food in time. This may lead to malnutrition.

Mindful eating is a practice of enjoying the meals by attaining the taste, texture, and flavour of food. Mindful eating :

• Reduce overeating
• Encourage the child to chew well the food and, thereby, improves the digestion
• Help the kids to enjoy the smell taste flavour and appearance of the food in the fullest
• Most importantly keep them away from unhealthy weight
• Encourage the child to chew well the food and, thereby, improves the digestion

• The first step is to avoid all possible distraction during meals time. Be strict in implying the rule of no screens, no toys and no books in the dining table.
• Encourage family eating. It not only helps to take a successful step towards mindful eating but also helps to effectively introduce new foods to the kids.
• Make sure the child takes 20 minutes to eat his usual meal
• If the child tends to eat fast, ask him to eat with less preferred hand. That is if the kid is left-handed ask him to use right hand to hold the fork and vice versa.
• Ask the child to chew the food well and take small bites or spoons at a time

Once the baby turns six months, you have to start feeding him solid food along with the breast milk to meet their increased need for proteins, vitamins and minerals.

• You should feed the solid food first then after an interval feeds them breast milk. Remember, only if their stomach is not full, they will try new tastes.
• Introduce one new food at a time and continue feeding it for two-three days. This will help you to know if the child has no allergic issues with that food.
• While introducing a new food, let them start with a small quantity
• Avoid too much salt and sugar and spices for toddler’s food
• Make sure the food prepared for the toddler is nutritious, yummy and easily digestible.
• Never compel the child to eat food they don’t like
• Never compel the child to eat more if he says he is "full."
• Avoid food that causes choking
• Never give them junk food. It not only negatively affects their appetite but also brings health issues.
• Always try to give the toddler food prepared in the home