What does a baby's body "say" when being forced to eat?

Using phones and toys to soothe children into eating properly.

Ms. H., 32 years old, is the mother of B. (26 months old). B. was born full-term, weighing 3.2 kg at birth, and developed normally during her first year. Since being weaned from breastfeeding at 18 months, B. has become a picky eater, only wanting to drink milk and eat soft, sweet foods like thin porridge, biscuits, or yogurt. For the past 6-7 months, B. has almost completely refused to eat, running away whenever she sees her mother bring out a bowl of rice. Each meal lasts 1-1.5 hours, and Ms. H. often has to let B. watch TV or use a phone to get her to swallow, or chase after her to force-feed her spoonful by spoonful. Recently, B. has shown signs of vomiting, crying, and refusing to open her mouth to eat.

Fearing her child was malnourished, Ms. H. often cooked very thick porridge, adding plenty of meat and oil, and tried every way to make her child eat all the food she had prepared. However, the child ate less and less, gradually refusing all the food she offered.

The child has barely gained any weight in the past 3-4 months, not to mention losing weight after each illness. The mother is very worried and took her child to the Institute of Nutrition for assistance.

This is a "daily" situation that doctors at the Institute of Nutrition receive advice on. "Forced feeding" is when parents or caregivers force children to eat even when the child doesn't want to. This often stems from the love and anxiety of parents or caregivers who fear their child will lack nutrients or grow slowly, so they try to feed their child "as much as possible." To achieve this goal, parents/caregivers today often coax children with phones, toys, or promise rewards if they eat; they beg, scold, or spoon-feed even when the child turns away in resistance. Typically, children are forced to eat for more than 30 minutes to "finish their portion." But have you ever "listened" to what your child's body is telling you?

For children, eating is a learning and experiencing process. When forced to eat, food/meals are no longer a joy, but become a "battle" between parents and children. Parents pour all their love, carefully selecting and preparing nutritious meals for their children, hoping they will eat everything and grow up. Children avoid the food their parents bring out, even turning away at the mere word "eat." Many children react by clenching their teeth, vomiting, feigning stomach pain, pretending to be full, secretly throwing up food, or going on a hunger strike as a form of resistance. Children aren't "pretending"; their bodies are undergoing a real series of psychological, physiological, and endocrine reactions.

The psychological reaction of "fear and resistance": When parents force-feed, scold, or use a tense tone, children trigger a natural fear reflex. When this fear is repeated many times, mealtimes become a negative signal in the brain. At mealtimes, children become stressed even before seeing the food, their hearts race, their hands sweat, and they may cry, avoid food, or reflexively vomit. Over time, children develop an aversion to food, no longer finding joy in eating, leading to eating disorders (psychological anorexia, selective eating, or fear of swallowing), laying the groundwork for eating disorders in adolescence or adulthood later on.

Illustrative image

Hormonal response: The body "switches to defense mode." Children have a complex hormonal system that regulates eating behavior, including ghrelin (an appetite-stimulating hormone), leptin (a satiety hormone), and digestive hormones (CCK and peptide YY). When children are forced to eat, this entire system is disrupted. The stress of forced feeding causes the brain to release the stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones increase heart rate, constrict blood vessels, and increase alertness (an instinctive reflex that helps the body "prepare to fight against danger"). At the same time, the body inhibits digestive activity by reducing saliva, gastric juice, and digestive enzyme secretion. As a result, even if the child swallows food, the stomach does not digest it properly, leading to bloating, discomfort, vomiting, or constipation. The more afraid and stressed the child is of eating, the higher the cortisol levels, and the more the digestive system "goes on strike." That's why many parents see their children not gaining weight despite trying to force them to eat. It's because the body is "fighting" against that very meal.

Physiological response: The body loses its natural hunger-satiety signals. Children are born with the ability to regulate their food intake according to their body's energy needs. This is a natural physiological mechanism. However, when forced to eat for a long time, this signaling becomes disrupted, and the brain no longer accurately recognizes when it is full because the child is forced to eat even when the stomach is already full or about to be full. Conversely, the feeling of hunger also gradually decreases because the body "gets used" to being forced to eat rather than freely choosing when to eat. As a result, children eat less and less, or eat without feeling, only swallowing on command. As they grow older, children find it increasingly difficult to control their hunger-satiety feelings, easily leading to eating disorders or obesity in the future.

Long-term impact on behavior and emotions: A child who is forced to eat often develops a defensive attitude towards the person feeding them (fear of their mother, teacher, or the table) or feels guilty when refusing food, being labeled "naughty child, unloving mother" or "wasting food is a sin." The child loses faith in their ability to listen to their own body. These experiences not only affect nutritional status but also negatively impact the child's emotional development and self-confidence. Over time, they may lose the ability to recognize their body's "warning signals," potentially putting them in danger without realizing it.

Forcing children to eat not only makes them "not want to eat," but also causes their brains, hormones, and digestive systems to react negatively. Once a vicious cycle of fear – stress – digestive upset forms, it takes much longer to fix than if the feeding had been done correctly from the start. Therefore, instead of forcing your child to eat a few more spoonfuls, help them learn to listen to their bodies, feel the joy of eating, and love family meals. That is the foundation of a child's physical and mental health.

Comment (0)