Help Your Child to Love and Appreciate Their Body

I had a heart to heart with a friend once who grew up struggling with obesity. She described how her self-esteem was hurt over and over again, even by her own family who had good intentions when they sent her to ‘fat camp’ every summer. Even if she wasn’t being called names directly, (and many times she was) she still felt an underlying insinuation from fellow classmates and even adults that there was something less than perfect about her. Every year she added on a few more pounds until finally turning to gastric bypass surgery as an adult.

My own adolescent years were also fraught with an obsession with weight, but mine was a quest for thinness, as I think it was with most teens growing up in the 80’s. Diets were cool, my friends and I were always on one.

So how do we encourage healthy eating habits, prevent our children from obsessing about the scales or tipping them and avoid the unnecessary emotional suffering that goes along with it?

While I may not have all the answers and realize that some children with extreme weight or eating issues should be seen by a doctor, the following suggestions should help in ensuring your child has a realistic outlook about their body and health.

ü  Teach your child about healthy eating, you can a free Canada’s food guide at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/order-commander/index-eng.php

ü  Keep fruit and vegetables accessible for your child to snack on at all times (a child needs to have some control over what and when they eat)

ü  Encourage water drinking by having ice available (my kids never drank more water than after we got the fridge with the icemaker!) and fancy straws sometimes help

ü  Involve your child in meal planning, writing grocery lists, shopping and cooking

ü  Sit down to eat meals as a family as often as you can

ü  Prevent mindless eating by keeping your child from eating at the computer or while watching tv

ü  Try not to use food as a reward or way of comforting themselves (use social rewards such as hugs, tangible rewards such as a new book or an activity like a trip to the library)

ü  Encourage good eating habits and exercise by being a good model yourself

ü  If you’re struggling with a weight problem yourself, don’t allow your child to hear you talk negatively about your own body or about your fight to lose weight

ü  Talk positively about your own body and your child’s body. Talk about how great you feel, how thankful you are that you can perform certain activities, how strong your child is, how fast they can run, etc.

ü  Focus on your child’s good qualities and the good qualities of others more than their looks.

ü  Encourage regular physical activity; a daily walk, chores around the home, dancing to music, extracurricular activities or sports, kids yoga, interactive video games

ü  Praise your child when they choose healthy snacks, when they say great things about themselves and their bodies, when they exercise, when they say nice things about others

ü  As far as junk food goes, I have nothing against it, but try to save it for special occasions or a weekly ‘splurge’ night, so it doesn’t lose its appeal and become a regular ‘snack’