Preventing childhood eating disorders is a culture-wide effort, not limited to parents alone. Even if we follow evidence-based eating guidelines in our own homes, our children are still exposed to diet culture and fatphobia when at school, on sports teams, places of worship and at friends’ homes. That’s why it’s so important that as a society we build toolkits to support teachers, religious leaders, physicians, coaches and other parents so they understand what is acceptable food behavior when they are involved in our child’s eating experience.
When it comes to our children’s body acceptance and full health (mental and physical), society can be extremely toxic. Let’s all rise up and start educating people about the dangers of diet culture and fatphobia!
We found this excellent printable that can be given to teachers to help them remember what is (and what is not) their responsibility when it comes to our children’s nutrition. We’ve heard horror stories of well-intentioned teachers telling children to cut back on certain foods, espousing certain diet plans, and even shaming children who bring desserts to school. Such behavior is never OK. We hope that all of us can make an impact on our children’s lives with critical education about boundaries when it comes to diet talk in public spaces.
Thank you to Elisheva Dorfman, MS, LMFT (email: elimft@gmail.com) and Dina Cohen, MS, RDN, CERD (email: eatwellsoon@gmail.com)
Sources: ellynsatterinstitute.org and thefeedingdoctor.com
Food Refusal & Picky Eating Printable Worksheets
Give your child the best tools to grow into a confident, calm, resilient eater!
Ginny Jones is the founder of More-Love.org, and a Parent Coach who helps parents who have kids with disordered eating and eating disorders. Combining science, compassion, and experience coaching hundreds of families, she helps parents understand what’s going on with their kids’ eating behaviors and teaches them the science-backed skills to heal kids’ relationship with food, improve their body image, and feel better about themselves, their relationships, and life in general.
Ginny has been researching and writing about eating disorders since 2016. She incorporates the principles of neurobiology and attachment parenting with a non-diet, Health At Every Size® approach to health and recovery.