Parents can get a bad rap in the world of eating disorders. Any health concern for a child is hard to bear, and eating disorders hit parents in a very sensitive place -- their desire for their children to be safe, healthy and well-nourished. Anorexia and bulimia challenge parents to wonder whether they've been "good enough" in raising their children.
Parents can do harm; there's no question. And they can be of tremendous help in preventing eating disorders and encouraging healing when they arise. How you interact with your child makes a huge difference.
Parenting to Promote Health and Avoid Eating Disorders
Knowing what kinds of family systems promote eating disorder and which guard against them is vital. Your influence is profound and, thankfully, something that you can control.
- Family dynamics of those with eating disorders
- Parenting by example to fight eating disorders
- Teaching children to make good food choices
Parents Can Protect Against These Eating Disorder Risks
It's not often easy to tell where an eating disorder came from in a teen. But many influences can make them more likely. Know the possibilities and evaluate the risk factors in the lives of your children.
- What causes eating disorders?
- Hiding food from kids promotes eating disorders
- Abuse is fuel for eating disorders
- The lure of pro-eating disorder (pro-ana and pro-mia) web sites...
- ...and how the pro-ana culture mirrors cult behavior
Taking Care With Issues Important to Kids and Teens
Ever feel as though your kid has you wrapped around her (or his) finger? Are there things you just can't question for fear that there's going to be a fight? Balance your perspective to allow a level-headed approach as you talk with your child.
- Barbie -- good or bad for body image?
- Should you worry when your child becomes a vegetarian?
- What's the media's influence on body image?
Encouraging Treatment and Recovery From Eating Disorders
You think your loved one may have an eating disorder. What next? And what happens after that? It's time to take action, but in a way that helps rather than hurts.
- Your first move: Bringing up the problem with strength and care
- The role of family in treatment
- The Maudsley method employs family in healing
- More treatment options
Parenting When the Eating Disorder Has Arrived
Even the best parenting sometimes isn't enough to stop an eating disorder from arising in a daughter or son. If it happens, you have a different kind of task ahead of you as you care for your child. Being good parents means nurturing your relationship as partners whenever possible. But the chaos of the eating disorder can make life difficult.
- Discovering the eating disorder
- Dealing with challenges in meals, time, and money
- When parents start feeling like food
- Maintaining healthy marriages and other relationships
Embracing Hope
Whether you're just a concerned parent or a battered veteran dealing with a chronic eating disorder in your child, change is possible. It's important to maintain hope that issues will improve, because hope gives us energy to seek wisdom and stay involved. If you feel hope fading, don't neglect yourself. Find a good therapist for you if need be. Recharge by intentionally caring for yourself. It's a good example to set, and it makes it possible for you to continue to seek good for your daughter or son.
