Home 
About Us Parenting Corner A Healthy Relationship with Food all Starts Now!
About Us Parenting Corner A Healthy Relationship with Food all Starts Now!
A Healthy Relationship with Food all Starts Now! |
|
|
|
| Written by Danielle Keiser | |
| Wednesday, February 08, 2012 | |
|
My good friend told me that once you become a parent, from day one there is always something to worry about. As a baby, you ask, “Are they eating enough?” As a toddler, you question, “Are they on track with their developmental milestones?” In preschool you wonder, “Are they getting along with others?” Of course, the list goes on. Who would have thought that any parent would need to worry about a child’s relationship to food or their body image? With the media’s pressure to be super thin and the food industry’s push for “super size” portions, maybe it’s time that we started to pay more attention to this issue. Some people eat to satisfy an emotional need or they eat because of distorted thoughts and habits around food. A healthy relationship with food means that one is able to eat to satisfy a physical need. There are certain factors that may contribute to your children developing an unhealthy relationship to food as well as a distorted body image. The ramifications to these issues are serious. Thankfully, there are ways to help your children set the building blocks for good physical and mental health. Have you ever woken up on a Monday morning and said, “I ate so much this weekend that I feel huge?” Or how about, “I feel so fat; I really need to lose weight to feel better?” These comments heard by our children are teaching them to become preoccupied with weight loss, weight gain and that how we feel should depend on how we look. Without realizing it, what we are saying and doing may not be sending the right messages to our children. Using treats or sweets as a reward or punishment teaches children that food is about power and control. Food is not powerful; it’s simply something that we need to nourish our bodies. On a similar note, offering food to children to calm them down emotionally teaches them that food is a way to take care of their feelings. The media plays a huge role in undermining any good habits we do try to teach our children. The pictures on magazine covers of models with “perfect” bodies are unrealistic but children don’t know that. They begin to measure their own body image against a false notion of “perfection.”So what happens when children develop a complicated relationship with food or have a poor body image? In today’s society there is a rise in childhood obesity and related medical issues. We are seeing children at younger ages, especially girls, restricting their diets and questioning how they look. A vast majority of 3rd to 6th grade girls say that they are “very afraid of gaining weight”. Almost half of this age group say they would like to “lose weight” and 1/3 of girls this age say that they have already tried restrictive dieting (Statistics from Kater, xxi).These statements indicate a preoccupation with weight gain and appearance which if not addressed can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia, bulimia and restrictive eating. These disorders involve severe restricting of food or eating large amounts and then vomiting so as not to gain weight. Adolescents are at a higher risk for these disorders due to the pressure to be accepted and to fit in with their peer groups. This may push girls to go to great lengths to look and eat “perfectly” in order to be liked. How can we help our children? As with all other parenting issues, talk and listen to your children. Give them information about body changes they may be experiencing, find out what they think about society’s preoccupation with appearance and weight and remind them that you support them. Allow your children to speak about their feelings. When they are upset, angry or sad, give them concrete suggestions on what to do with these feelings. These can include writing in a journal, engaging in some kind of physical activity, reading or spending quality time with friends or family. Don’t encourage them to use food as a way to soothe themselves. Live a healthy lifestyle and lead by example. Do you make good choices around food? Do you focus on your weight and your appearance too much of the time? Do you lead an active lifestyle? How do you cope with the stressors of life? If you have good answers to these questions then you are modeling the development of a good relationship with food. Eat a variety of foods and show them that managing food is not black and white: it’s about balancing your food intake and your choices. Teach children to learn their body cues of hunger and fullness. Allow them to decide if they need to eat more or if they need to stop. Allow them to stop eating after the first portion to check if their body really needs more food. Teach them to ask themselves questions like, “Does my stomach feel full?” or “Is my stomach still making growling noises?” Don’t praise them for finishing all the food on their plate; praise them for listening to their body cues. Regularly praise your children for their inner qualities and efforts they put into their schoolwork and their outside activities. Make sure children have something that they like to do or excel at other than their academics. This fosters good self esteem and gives them a focus other than being preoccupied with their appearance or their weight. If you suspect that your child may have an eating disorder, talk to your pediatrician or your own doctor. Food is certainly something that we all need to grow, to have energy and to live. Food can be delicious, satisfying, interesting and fun. However, if we use food to deal with our emotions or as a tool to get what we want, then food turns into something negative and powerful. Sending the right messages to our children and teaching them good habits at an early age will instill a lifelong healthy relationship to food and a good feeling about their own body. ReferencesKater, Kathy J. "Healthy Body Image: Teaching Kids to Eat and Love Their Bodies, Too!" N.p., 2005. Web. 6 Jan. 2012. Comprehensive Resource Manual and Lesson Guide for Grades 4, 5 & 6. |
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
