How do you teach your child about nutrition and healthy habits without making them anxious about food? How do you set boundaries around certain foods in or outside of the home without creating fear or restriction? And how do you protect your child from developing disordered eating or an eating disorder in a culture that is constantly sending them confusing and fear-mongering messages about food, weight, and their bodies?
In this episode, I sit down with eating disorder dietitian Dina Cohen, who brings over 15 years of experience working with children and families impacted by eating disorders. Drawing from what she has seen throughout her years in her private practice, we have a nuanced conversation about how parents can support nutrition while also helping their children build a healthy, trusting relationship with food and their body —and the common, well-intentioned approaches to stay aware of that can sometimes do more harm than good.
We discuss:
• Why perfectionism may be one of the most underrated challenges parents face when feeding their kids—and how it can create unnecessary pressure around food
• How to balance caring about nutrition with keeping food relaxed and emotionally neutral
• The difference between setting reasonable boundaries around food and creating rigid rules or anxiety
• What to do when your child gains a lot of weight, starts eating more, and it triggers your own fears—including Rachel's personal experience with her child
• How parents' own unresolved food and body concerns can unintentionally influence the way they respond to their child's eating or changing body
• A powerful question to ask yourself when concerns about your child's food intake or weight come up
• How to talk to kids about food coloring, sugar, and other foods that are demonized or may truly be a concern without creating fear or moralizing food
• What age-appropriate nutrition education can look like from preschool through the teen years
• Why puberty, weight gain, and normal body changes can become particularly vulnerable times for the development of disordered eating and how to work through this season with your child
• How to help kids navigate diet culture, nutrition misinformation, advertising, and conflicting messages about food and bodies
• What it takes to play the long game in raising children who grow up to be adults with a healthy relationship with food and body image.
This conversation isn't about parenting perfectly or eliminating every possible influence of diet culture. It's about understanding how the messages we send around food, health, weight, and bodies can shape our children's relationship with eating—and how we can be more intentional about creating an environment that supports both their physical health and their long-term relationship with food and body image.
Whether you're worried about your child's relationship with food, want to prevent disordered eating, or simply find yourself worrying, Am I doing this right?, this episode offers a thoughtful and practical perspective on what matters most.
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Rachel's Resources:
Dina's Resources:
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Check out Dina's book: Smart Cookie, A Girl's Guide to Healthy Eating, click here.
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Visit Dina's website for support options and resources by clicking here.
