Angela Onwuzoo Allowing children to play with toys during mealtime will distract them from eating well, a Registered Dietician-Nutritionist, Olusola Malomo, has said. He advised that toys be kept away from children, especially those under the age of five years whenever they are eating to avoid poor food intake. The dietician said such a habit makes babies vulnerable to malnutrition because of insufficient dietary intake.
The United Nations Children’s Fund recently raised the alarm over the burden of child malnutrition in the country, stating that 12 million out of the 35 million under-five children in Nigeria are stunted due to malnutrition. According to UNICEF, Nigeria is ranked number one in Africa and second in the world in terms of malnourished children. “The effect of stunting can carry on and contribute to developmental delays and impair cognitive development.
For a child, it can have an effect on the school performance and also his productivity as well as going into adulthood”, UNICEF said. Malomo, who is an Assistant Chief Dietician at the Ajeromi General Hospital, Lagos, disclosed this during an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise, advising parents to avoid anything that causes distraction while feeding their children. He stated that playing with toys while eating is a bad habit that kids should not be allowed to develop and indulge in.
According to him, poor food intake can affect their growth and development besides the risk of suffering from malnutriti.