Self-Control in Appetite

The foundation of forming Christian character in children is training appetite. Appetite is a natural instinct placed in humans by the Creator to sustain the body with necessary energy obtained from food and water. Appetite is a lower force of the soul and must be under absolute control of reason and will. If proper attention is not paid to this quality, then the child's appetite will take power into its own hands and will control the higher forces of the soul according to its own desire and taste.

Training a child in the area of appetite begins with training abstinence, tastes and habits in their parents, especially in the mother. Ignorance in understanding the importance of proper formation of children's appetite leads parents to take an easy and convenient path, which ultimately leads their child to serious consequences.

Since the human body is closely connected with their spirit and soul, one needs to consider and take into account everything that strengthens this connection and what destroys it. I think that even the most ignorant parents' plans do not include raising a drunkard or drug addict, but it is precisely the formation of proper taste and appetite or the lack thereof that lays the foundation for all future troubles and blessings. And parents need to start with themselves in this matter. Their personal example in the sphere of abstinence and order will have greater influence when their appetite is under absolute control of their will and reason.

The nutrition of a pregnant mother, food quality and the regimen of taking healthy products—all this directly affects the formation of the fetus inside the womb. Already at this time, love for order and abstinence is being laid. Although pregnancy time may influence the formation of some inclinations in the child's taste, the main influence and training of appetite still occurs after birth.

If immediately after birth an infant is brought to the mother's breast, they already know what they need to do and begin to suck what is offered to them. Many parents, knowing this natural instinct, give the infant a pacifier and see how they calm down, having received something substantial that satisfies their instinct.

The child's appetite, given to them by God, needs natural food that the mother's body naturally produces in her breast. Milk is formed based on what the mother eats and drinks, what light falls on her skin, what she breathes and in what environment she is. At the same time, the mother studies her child and establishes feeding times. There are no identical children, and although they all have different features in taking food, there are general principles that need to be known and considered when feeding. It should not be continuous when the child is awake, but should have specific hours. The child's body very quickly forms a nutrition schedule and loudly reminds that the time has come, which cannot be missed in any way.

In my life there was a case when I took my month-old daughter for a walk in a stroller in fresh air, thinking that oxygen would have a sedating effect on her. But exactly when feeding time came, she began to cry, asking for her due nutrition. I tried to calm her, explaining that we were walking and mom was not nearby, but she would not calm down and demanded her due. And even when mom came out to meet us, the daughter did not calm down until she received her rightful portion of milk. I understood that arguing with hungry children is useless, and took this as a note.

The older the child becomes, the longer pauses in food intake are necessary, while also increasing the amount of milk itself. Water or herbal tea should also be present in the infant's diet to replenish the body's deficit of necessary fluid, and sometimes replace premature feeding.

A mother's intuition suggests solutions to all these questions, but it would be good to also know a sensible approach to this process. For example, a child experiences internal discomfort and expresses this aloud, and they are immediately given food without understanding their true needs. Appetite quickly gets used to such reaction and demands food on time and not on time. As a result, the sense of taste begins to dominate over common sense and nutrition schedule, and much more patience, strength and courage will be needed to overcome this vice and subordinate appetite to accepted norms.

A child's body very quickly adapts to the order or disorder in nutrition that parents arrange. For some, establishing a nutrition regimen occurs easily and naturally, while some mothers need to overcome their internal fears to be principled in this matter.

When a child turns six months old, besides milk, they need to be given additional complementary feeding, using healthy vegetables and fruits in the form of puree, considering that the child does not yet know how to chew independently.

Parents' mistake can also be that as their child grows, they decide that they are big enough and can eat the same food that they themselves eat. But although children have a mechanism for quick digestion of food, they are still very small to thoroughly chew and digest what is heavy for the children's body. Even food that is healthy for parents can be unacceptable for the children's digestive system and harm the whole body. And if this is not visible to the naked eye, then the consequences of such nutrition will make themselves known later, and parents are unlikely to remember their common meals, seeing in them the cause of intemperance or damaged health. Common nutrition saves time for food preparation and is very convenient, but this does not mean it is beneficial for the baby. Here special wisdom from above is needed for choosing age-appropriate nutrition and its preparation.

There is a delusion that can strongly influence the consciousness of inexperienced parents when they are told that someone's children ate what their parents ate and grew up healthy. Let such people bear consequences in their families, but may you have common sense in everything.

Small children often are capricious and experience various stresses, for the solution of which they naturally run to parents, and instead of understanding the child's need, mom shoves another treat in their mouth. Such solution to difficult situations forms in the child's mind a habit of eating away their problems, which they will subsequently do consciously and constantly.

Much has already been said about the harm of snacking between meals, but for some reason this problem remains relevant for many to this day, and some see no problems in this.

In my childhood, adults taught me that what got into the mouth was beneficial. And I believed this. But the time came when common sense began to show me another side of life, and the Lord began to destroy accepted stereotypes.

The most beneficial nutrition for a child is what nature itself prepared, starting from mother's milk and including vegetables, berries and fruits. Modern industry is focused on obtaining maximum profit with minimum costs, so products are stored for a long time. One should not trust manufacturers with care for the tastes and health of your children. Prepare food yourself.

1. Please read Eccl. 5:11; 9:16-17; Isa. 22:13-14; 66:17; Prov. 23:20-21; 25:16; Ezek. 16:49; Luke 6:25; Num. 6:2-4; 2 Pet. 1:6 in light of this chapter.

2. What other verses from the Bible came to your mind?

3. What did you understand from this chapter?

4. What is training appetite?

5. Do you think eating habits acquired in childhood will affect subsequent life?

6. From what age can one begin practicing abstinence?

7. What is abstinence?

8. Do you think it is difficult for an infant to learn self-control in nutrition?

9. What benefit will parents have from their child eating only healthy food on schedule?

10. Should one instruct a child in correct nutrition principles when one violates them oneself?

11. Why does training another begin with oneself?

12. What to do if I now understood these important truths about abstinence in food, but before this ate carelessly?

13. Can a mother's fears about her child's starvation prevent her from having firm principles in feeding an infant?

14. Is there anything in common between an infant and you in the matter of training appetite?