Be careful when abusing appetite syrup for children

(Baohatinh.vn) - In the hope that their children will eat well and grow quickly, many parents are arbitrarily giving their children appetite syrup as a quick "solution", despite warnings from experts about side effects and the risk of dependence.

“My child is a picky eater. Every meal, I have to scold and coax him to eat a few spoonfuls of rice. Seeing other people's children using syrup and eating well, gaining weight and developing clearly, I was so impatient that I bought some for my child to try,” shared Ms. NTT (Tran Phu ward).

The syrup that Ms. T. ordered was advertised widely on parenting groups with attractive words such as: "2 packs a day, 30 minutes after eating, after only 3-7 days, your child will eat better, increase resistance, and absorb well; using 2-4 boxes will gain 1-2kg".

Initially, Ms. T. was quite pleased to see that after about two weeks of use, her baby ate better, faster and more. However, the joy quickly faded when she stopped using the syrup, and the baby fell back into the same state of anorexia as before, even more tired and lethargic.

Not only Ms. T., many parents in Ha Tinh , especially those with children who have poor appetite, slow growth, or are often sick, are also following the trend of using appetite stimulants and weight gainers to "push" their children to develop faster.

Nowadays, on social networks and e-commerce platforms, it is not difficult to order delicious syrup for children.

On social networks, a series of products such as syrups, probiotics, digestive pills... are advertised with attractive offers such as: "help children gain appetite after 3 days", "significant weight gain in 2 weeks", "increase height significantly". Many products are also labeled "imported goods", "extracted from natural herbs", with pictures of chubby, healthy babies, making parents more confident and easily "open their wallets".

Many parents, although still concerned about the quality and origin of the product, still choose to "try it out" because they are impatient and worried that their children will develop less than their peers.

Ms. LTH (Cam Xuyen commune) shared: “At first, I was also hesitant because I didn't know if that syrup was safe, but seeing all my friends using it for their children, and boasting that their children ate well and gained weight, I thought it was probably okay. After using it for more than a week, my child started to have signs of stomach pain, so I stopped. After taking my child to the doctor, the doctor said that I shouldn't use foods of unknown origin like that."

While many parents place their hopes on delicious syrups to improve their children's health, there are many low-quality products on the market that pose a potential risk to children's health.

Police determined that the product “Hai Be Appetite Syrup” with more than 100,000 boxes sold on the market is counterfeit. (Screenshot).

Most recently, a delicious syrup called “Hai Be” was advertised and distributed by tiktoker “Gia Dinh Hai Sen” (who was prosecuted for being involved in the trade of counterfeit goods). The results of the assessment from the authorities showed that the content of micronutrients such as vitamin A, C and calcium in the product was only less than 70% of the announced standards, violating food safety regulations.

Not only stopping at appetite stimulant syrups, the market today is also "blooming" with many types of probiotics, dietary supplements labeled as imported, hand-carried or promoted as "secrets to successful child rearing" by famous people. However, most of these products have not been clinically tested, have no scientific documents to verify or have been inspected by competent health authorities. Many parents, because they believe too much in the introduction, have arbitrarily bought them for their children, leading to the situation of "raising children according to the word of mouth" instead of relying on professional guidance.

Proper care will help children develop comprehensively, avoiding dangers from food of unknown origin.

In fact, children's loss of appetite is a common problem, which can come from many causes such as: digestive disorders, psychological changes, weather or simply boredom with the menu. However, instead of taking children to see a doctor and finding out the root cause, many parents choose to "handle it quickly" with supplements and appetite stimulants. As a result, children easily fall into a state of drug dependence, lose the feeling of natural eating, leading to digestive disorders, sleep disorders and even affecting long-term development.

In the context of the increasingly complex market of functional foods for children, parents need to be more alert. Choosing products for children is not just a matter of "eating healthily" but also a matter related to safety, long-term physical and intellectual development of children. Therefore, do not let a moment of impatience and the expectation that "children must be plump and tall like their friends" become a serious mistake in the journey of parenthood.

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/can-trong-khi-lam-dung-siro-an-ngon-cho-tre-post292087.html