I was interviewed for Virginia Sole-Smith’s NYT Parenting article, sharing advice for parents who struggle with food and self-image on how to avoid inadvertently passing along unhealthy behaviors.
“If you’re feeling like, ‘I need to hide my diet from my kids,’ maybe what you’re really saying is, ‘I don’t want to do this but I don’t know what else to do,’” said Rebecca Scritchfield, M.A., R.D.N., a registered dietitian nutritionist who offers family counseling in Washington, D.C. “It’s OK to be in a hard place with your body. You don’t have to have all the answers. But if you want your kids to not have such a fraught relationship with pizza, then you need to work on your own relationship with it.”
Scritchfield suggests evaluating any potential diet or workout plan by asking two questions: “In the long run, will this plan allow me to have a flexible, positive and joyful connection to food and movement?” And, “Is this advice I’d happily teach my kids?” If the answers are no, it might be time to reframe your health goals in a kinder, more body-positive light. “Forget calories, and focus on enjoying your food — even the ones you think of as ‘bad,’” Scritchfield advised.
Read the full article: Your Kids Don’t Have to Inherit Your Body-Image Issues
Listen to the two podcast episodes I did with Virginia:
- Podcast 115: Please Don’t Screw Up Our Kids! Part 1: A Conversation About Food, Weight and Body Image with Virginia Sole-Smith of Comfort Food Podcast
- Podcast 127: Please Don’t Screw Up Our Kids! Part 2 – A Conversation About Food, Weight and Body Image with Virginia Sole-Smith of Comfort Food Podcast
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