What to feed your child in hot weather?

When the sun is blazing down and your little one demonstratively turns their head away at the sight of a traditional dinner, frustration comes easily. Relax – a lack of appetite during hot weather is a completely natural reaction of the body, which, instead of heavy meals, needs lightness, cooling and smart hydration. In this article, we share how to adjust your child's summer menu stress-free and what meals to serve to fuel them for their holiday adventures.

Why do children lose their appetite in summer?

When the sun is blazing down, the natural response of the body – both adult and child – is a noticeable drop in appetite. High temperatures mean the body doesn't need as much energy to keep warm as it does in winter, and digesting hearty meals puts an additional strain on it while raising its temperature from the inside.

Little ones intuitively sense these changes and may firmly refuse to eat standard, warm dishes, which is a completely normal biological phenomenon. As a parent, you don't need to worry about this, as long as your child is staying properly hydrated and keeping their usual energy for play.

How many meals should a child eat on hot days?

During summer heatwaves, the simple rule of "less, but more often" works far better than a traditional daily schedule. Instead of three large, traditional meals, it's worth serving your child 5–6 smaller, light meals and snacks throughout the day. This approach doesn't overload the delicate digestive system, and your little one will be much more willing to eat smaller portions served during the cooler moments of the day.

Remember, too, that liquids such as fruit smoothies, soups or homemade fruit compotes also partly satisfy hunger and fill up your child's tummy, which is worth taking into account in the overall calorie balance.

How to feed your child in hot weather?

Feeding a child in summer requires us, as parents, to be quite flexible and to fully trust our little one's natural instinct. To make mealtimes a pleasure rather than a source of unnecessary stress for both sides, it's worth building a few simple rules into your household habits:

• Don't force it. A child knows perfectly well when they need fuel to keep going – let them decide how much food to eat and don't fight over every proverbial spoonful of soup.

• Change your mealtimes. Serve more substantial, nourishing dishes early in the morning (before it gets hot) and later in the evening, when the outdoor temperature has clearly eased off.

• Introduce a mandatory rest before dinner. After intense outdoor play, give your overheated little one about 30 minutes to calm down and cool off indoors before inviting them to the table.

• Change where you eat. If a hot flat and a stuffy kitchen put your child off eating, arrange dinner in a shaded garden, on the balcony, or set up a mid-morning snack in the form of a picnic.

• Take care of smart hydration. Give your child room-temperature water (avoid ice-cold), and if your little one turns their nose up at the lack of flavour, add some pieces of fruit or a few mint leaves. In the case of exclusively breastfed infants, remember that mum's milk adjusts itself to the weather and becomes more watery – so it's enough to put your baby to the breast more often (and to drink far more water yourself).

⮕ Find out how to keep your child properly hydrated during hot weather.

What is worth feeding your child on hot days? – 5 ideas

In summer, a child's menu is best built around light, easily digestible dishes based on fresh, seasonal vegetables and fruit, which naturally help keep the body hydrated.

Here are 5 tried-and-tested, tasty and quick ideas for summer meals:

1. Cold soups (e.g. Lithuanian chłodnik or gazpacho). A great alternative to hot broth. You can make Spanish gazpacho by blending skinned tomatoes with cucumber and pepper, or go for the classic Lithuanian chłodnik based on natural yoghurt and young beet leaves, served with a boiled egg.

2. Pasta or a nourishing porridge with seasonal fruit. Combine cooked pasta or a light wheat porridge with natural yoghurt (or formula milk) and fresh strawberries, raspberries or blueberries blended into a smooth sauce. It's a delicious and very quick dish.

3. Sweet fruit soups (e.g. cherry soup). Simmer pitted cherries in water, thicken with a little potato starch and gently sweeten with honey to taste. This soup tastes wonderful served cold with small pasta.

4. New potatoes with a fried egg and kefir. A classic Polish dish that most children love. It's light, well balanced, and the addition of chilled kefir, buttermilk or soured milk cools the body beautifully from the inside.

5. Homemade ice cream and fruit sorbets. Blend natural yoghurt with your child's favourite fruit (e.g. strawberries, bananas, raspberries) and a little honey or vanilla, then pour the mixture into special moulds and place in the freezer for about 5 hours. It's a brilliant way to make a healthy dessert and sneak in a portion of vitamins.

What not to give your child in hot weather?

During high temperatures, some foods can put excessive strain on the delicate digestive system, cause tummy ache and even intensify the feeling of heat. The table below shows the food groups best avoided in your child's summer diet, along with the reasoning and healthy alternatives: