Children and Eating Disorders - Part 2
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Anorexia and Bulimia used to be thought of as a teenage disorder, not any more. Children as young as 4 years old are developing the deadly disorder. There may be a neurological component that predisposes some girls to an eating disorder, but research to date indicates that the vast majority of children who develop eating disorders have done so as a defense against an emotional dilemma.
There are several similarities in family dynamics of children who develop serious issues involving food. For most children it is a combination of beginning to feel badly about their body and feeling as if they don't have control over any aspects of their life other than food and weight.
"A recent study (Davison, Earnest, Birch; Participation in Aesthetic sports; International Journal of Eating Disorders April 2002 pgs. 315-316) demonstrates that in comparison to girls who participated in non-aesthetic sports or no sports, girls who participated in aesthetic sports reported higher weight concerns at ages 5 and 7 and girls who participated in aesthetic sports at ages 5 and 7 reported the greatest concern about their weight."
Children who are in several after school activities that focus on their bodies (ballet, Karate, soccer etc.)can become worried that their body isn't good enough, or that they aren't as thin or as athletic as another person on the team. This combined with a family dynamic that focus on weight or the weight of others is a set up for an eating disorder.
Girls who have mothers who are frequently dieting, talking about their weight, or the child's weight are setting their daughters up for at minimal a distorted body image. If the family tolerates negative remarks about others who are heavy or if the child is compared to others physically, the child is being molded perfectly for an eating disorder.
A family that is filled with chaos such as a having a parent with an alcohol or drug addiction is creating a home in which the child feels little or no control over their life. In these situations it is not uncommon for a child to learn that the only thing they can control is their food intake. This can lead to everything from anorexia to obesity.
Take care to be a healthy example to your children by conducting yourself in a way that shows that you feel good about yourself and that you have no bias against people who are heavy. Your good example will go a long way to helping your child develop a healthy outlook toward themselves and others.
There are several similarities in family dynamics of children who develop serious issues involving food. For most children it is a combination of beginning to feel badly about their body and feeling as if they don't have control over any aspects of their life other than food and weight.
"A recent study (Davison, Earnest, Birch; Participation in Aesthetic sports; International Journal of Eating Disorders April 2002 pgs. 315-316) demonstrates that in comparison to girls who participated in non-aesthetic sports or no sports, girls who participated in aesthetic sports reported higher weight concerns at ages 5 and 7 and girls who participated in aesthetic sports at ages 5 and 7 reported the greatest concern about their weight."
Children who are in several after school activities that focus on their bodies (ballet, Karate, soccer etc.)can become worried that their body isn't good enough, or that they aren't as thin or as athletic as another person on the team. This combined with a family dynamic that focus on weight or the weight of others is a set up for an eating disorder.
Girls who have mothers who are frequently dieting, talking about their weight, or the child's weight are setting their daughters up for at minimal a distorted body image. If the family tolerates negative remarks about others who are heavy or if the child is compared to others physically, the child is being molded perfectly for an eating disorder.
A family that is filled with chaos such as a having a parent with an alcohol or drug addiction is creating a home in which the child feels little or no control over their life. In these situations it is not uncommon for a child to learn that the only thing they can control is their food intake. This can lead to everything from anorexia to obesity.
Take care to be a healthy example to your children by conducting yourself in a way that shows that you feel good about yourself and that you have no bias against people who are heavy. Your good example will go a long way to helping your child develop a healthy outlook toward themselves and others.
Labels: children, eating disorder, family, kids, parenting, pica, self esteem
Eating Disorders - How Do They Begin?
Friday, May 11, 2007
Many years ago I made a comment to a friend that if she continued to force her daughters to finish everything on their plates that they would develop eating disorders. Of course my comments fell on defensive ears - I wasn't very tactful back then.
Two decades later she confided in me that her daughters were both morbidly obese and how she often thought about my comment, and her previous lack of belief in my words. Now, she is dealing with the mortality of her two adult daughters and she wishes she could do it all over again - differently this time.
Mom's are naturally sensitive to what their children are eating - or not eating; attempting to control our child's intake is often a sore spot for both mother and child. But control isn't often the answer to a toddler's picky eating habits. A better way is to let them pick at the variety of foods you have offered them until they are feeling satiated or satisfied.
Children by the time they are old enough to feed themselves with finger foods are generally pretty good at figuring out what their body needs. It is an innate ability for human beings to crave what they need and to dislike what they don't need. That is why a toddler may hate peas at one meal but love them at the next. They want them when their body needs the particular nutrients that the peas have to offer.
As adults we are so far removed from knowing how to listen to our body, to interpret it's code and to trust that it knows exactly what it needs, that we begin the process of teaching our children to rely on what others tell them to eat instead of nurturing their ability to feed themselves in a healthy way for them.
If you are providing your child a variety of foods such as protein, fruit, vegetables, simple and complex carbohydrates as well as regularly introducing new foods for them to try, your child will pick and choose what they actually need now to help their body benefit most.
However if you allow your poor snacking habits to become your child's poor snacking habits, their innate ability to know how to eat properly will begin to diminish. If this is a regular occurrence your child will - like you - begin to crave sweets and fats that temporarily trick the body into believing it is getting what it needs. And that will be the start of a life-long eating disorder.
Next week I will cover another aspect of how eating disorders may have their roots in early childhood and what you can do to prevent your children from developing one.
For more on eating disorders click here to go to Psych-Net Mental Health
Two decades later she confided in me that her daughters were both morbidly obese and how she often thought about my comment, and her previous lack of belief in my words. Now, she is dealing with the mortality of her two adult daughters and she wishes she could do it all over again - differently this time.
Mom's are naturally sensitive to what their children are eating - or not eating; attempting to control our child's intake is often a sore spot for both mother and child. But control isn't often the answer to a toddler's picky eating habits. A better way is to let them pick at the variety of foods you have offered them until they are feeling satiated or satisfied.
Children by the time they are old enough to feed themselves with finger foods are generally pretty good at figuring out what their body needs. It is an innate ability for human beings to crave what they need and to dislike what they don't need. That is why a toddler may hate peas at one meal but love them at the next. They want them when their body needs the particular nutrients that the peas have to offer.
As adults we are so far removed from knowing how to listen to our body, to interpret it's code and to trust that it knows exactly what it needs, that we begin the process of teaching our children to rely on what others tell them to eat instead of nurturing their ability to feed themselves in a healthy way for them.
If you are providing your child a variety of foods such as protein, fruit, vegetables, simple and complex carbohydrates as well as regularly introducing new foods for them to try, your child will pick and choose what they actually need now to help their body benefit most.
However if you allow your poor snacking habits to become your child's poor snacking habits, their innate ability to know how to eat properly will begin to diminish. If this is a regular occurrence your child will - like you - begin to crave sweets and fats that temporarily trick the body into believing it is getting what it needs. And that will be the start of a life-long eating disorder.
Next week I will cover another aspect of how eating disorders may have their roots in early childhood and what you can do to prevent your children from developing one.
For more on eating disorders click here to go to Psych-Net Mental Health
Labels: children, eating disorder, education, family, food, kids, parenting, self esteem, teens