What message is louder for your children at the dinner table: what you say, or what you do? Are you worried about creating life-long picky eaters or passing on the toxicity of diet culture to your children? Do you have hangups you inherited and do NOT want to do this to your children?
This is so close to my heart. I have had so many conversations about how our parents' food "stuff" has trickled down onto us. It's time we all work to stop the cycle, but just imagining it can be daunting!
My number one tip in casual conversation? Choose your battles. Healthy attitudes about foods cannot be trained - we have to encourage our children to make choices that serve their bodies and their needs. If we focus on how WE feel about food, it will inevitably influence how our children feel about food. What if we could have a neutral position on things like candy and salad? What if we could offer a variety of healthy foods so we know our children are making choices from what we've offered?
Next tip: talk about what you see in the media. When your child asks about dieting commercials, answer them honestly without putting your own spin on it. Be frank and honest with yourself, too: are you eating separately from your children? Does your plate always look different than theirs? Are you behaving like those folks on TV? Is the example they see contradicting the words they hear?
What next? Well, I'm saving some of my hottest tips for my Lunch and Learn THIS THURSDAY! This heavily-requested topic