Arming Your Child With Positive Attitudes Toward Food, Size And Shape

By Marcia Herrin

Give your child the freedom to choose foods, while gently encouraging her to eat well.

Provide regular meals and snacks.

Encourage but do not pressure your picky eater, slow eater, or inhibit child to eat a wide variety of foods.

Model body self-acceptance by keeping disparaging remarks about your own body or plans to diet.

Model healthy approaches to eating and exercise behaviors.

1. Explain at an early age that different kids have different body types; focus on body function over body shape and size.
2. Limit the number of magazines you buy that glorify thinness.
3. Ban all teasing about weight.
4. Avoid overly purist attitudes about food.
5. Establish a family approach to eating that has no place for fear of fat, or counting calories or fat grams.
6. Be wary of restricting your child’s eating access to food.
7. Avoid using food as a reward or punishment.
8. Avoid the “clean-plate” rule.
9. Don’t label foods as “good” or “bad”.