Should children (toddlers) have the freedom to eat?

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Although the process of parenting is not difficult, it can always be a little troublesome. For example, the most basic problem of eating and drinking, for many parents, every meal is a hard battle. My baby didn’t like breastfeeding since he was a child, and now he doesn’t like to eat. It also caused a lot of family disputes.

Some people say that if you don’t eat, you’re not hungry, just a few meals. I have also tried this method, and the effect is not obvious. And this kind of laissez-faire can lead to a noticeable thinning of the body. For example, I went to my grandmother’s house for a month in the summer, and I gained some weight when I came back; If I let him eat at will, then I am very worried about his health. Should young children have the freedom to eat? The freedom to eat here is not the freedom of time. After all, no one has time to wait for his dispatch at any time. It’s about whether he can eat as much as he wants in a restaurant, and not eat if he wants to.

Legally speaking, a minor is generally a person with limited capacity for conduct, that is, no or only partial capacity for conduct. A person with limited capacity generally refers to a person with cognitive problems for some reason, such as a minor or a mentally disabled person. These concepts are usually used in “actor-to-other” relationships, which reduce responsibility (or immunity) due to lack of ability, and act to protect the ill-informed; of course, they can also protect other aspects of “transactional relationships”. A party knows that it is underage, for example, by checking the ID card, and therefore does not deal with it, but this aspect has a lower priority.

Because there are people who limit the responsibility of the actor, so there is the concept of guardian. The guardian is responsible for maintaining the personal health and safety of the ward. At first glance, it seems that the guardian must have the power to decide whether the child eats and how much. But there are two hidden problems here:

  1. Does the guardian decide how much food to eat to ensure the child’s health?
  2. If forced to eat, will it affect the mental health of children?

Different people have different or even very different requirements for the type and quantity of food, and the speed of eating is also very different. For example, I finish a meal in 5 minutes, and some women may need to chew slowly for half an hour. The amount of meals given to children is generally fixed, and there is usually a time requirement. There are contradictions here, which may lead to eating problems. On the other hand, although there are some gaps between demand and supply that have little impact on physical health, guardians usually want to close these gaps, and then use some means, such as threats, intimidation, abuse, and even violence. It is likely to have adverse effects on children’s psychology. I believe that human nature loves freedom, and children’s nature to pursue freedom will be stronger, and long-term oppression will definitely lead to psychological distortion.

As a parent, it can only be said that it is very contradictory, especially for a genetically poor (short) parent like me. A 3-year-old child may know that eating and drinking milk is related to height and fitness, because this simple relationship will be instilled through long-term preaching; but the importance of height is difficult for children of this age to understand, and can only be anxious.

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