Podcast 126: Concerned about your child's weight? Here's how you can help them without harming

In the wake of Episode 125 reacting to WW’s Kurbo app, people are asking, “So what do I do then?”. That’s what I want to help with today. No matter if you’re a parent or you have a job or community service that interacts with kids, we all need to advocate for the well-being of all kids and we use our voices to stop the harm and speak out against making weight loss the goal for growing kids.

I share the practical steps I recommend for approaching kids’ health, including:

Centre the wellbeing of the child and affirm their goodness and worthiness exactly as they are, no matter what.
Sleep patterns
Enjoyable movement
Leisure, hobbies and fun time (without screens)
Food – taking a family approach without policing foods
Limit screen time

I also share an excerpt from my 2017 interview with my friend and fellow author Leslie Schilling. You may know her best as the creator of the Born To Eat® approach and co-author of the award-winning book, Born To Eat. For context our kids were 3 and 4 at the time, and even then we dealt with issues around people policing their food. Our chat includes… where do you start with your kids in feeding and eating skills and how do you talk to them? And how do you set boundaries at school friends when you’re concerned about hurting others feelings?

What if we all took a bold and brave step to eradicate diet culture? I think we can change the world. I hope you find this episode helpful. If you have a question for me, please submit it here.

If you’re a helping pro and want to learn more about my Learn & Grow, my 10 month virtual mentor program, early applications will be reviewed soon, add your name to the info list here.

Listen here to Episode 126 here:

Links mentioned

Putting Kids on Diets Won’t Solve Anything – Amanda Mull, The Atlantic
Diet Apps Are Putting Kids at Risk – Leslie Schilling, US News
Pediatrics study: Intergenerational Transmission of Parent Encouragement to Diet From Adolescence Into Adulthood

About Leslie

Leslie Schilling owns a Las Vegas-based private practice, specializing in nutrition counseling for families, those of all ages with disordered eating concerns, and professional athletes and performers. In addition to running her practice, Leslie serves as a performance nutrition consultant for Cirque du Soleil® and an eating disorder specialist and supervisory consultant for eating disorder treatment centers in Nevada. With her warm, compassionate, and entertaining personality, Leslie been featured in media outlets like Women’s Health, Self, Pregnancy Magazine, The Yoga Journal, Bicycling, BuzzFeed, the Huffington Post, US News & World Report, and on HGTV. You may know her best as the creator of the Born To Eat® approach and co-author of the award-winning book, Born To Eat.