Top Ten Ways Parents Can Model a Balanced, Healthy Relationship with Food
1. Set daily meal and snack times for yourself, not just your family
2. Eat with your kid, not just feed them
3. Acknowledge your own food preferences and attitudes and how that influences your family’s meals
4. Stop talking about how much was or was not eaten at meals-including your own
5. Do not comment about weight (yours, theirs, or anyone else, even if joking or you think your kids aren’t listening)
6. Reward yourself with NON-FOOD rewards like “you time” or a spa treatment instead of food
7. Share what passions you do have about cooking and healthful eating with your family
8. When no longer hungry, stop eating. (This is a shift in focus. We are used to asking ourselves if we are full versus asking ourselves if we are no longer hungry. This will lead to a big difference in calorie intake at the end of the day.)
9. Set boundaries at the table: what you prepared is the meal, do not make special food or become a short order cook when food is refused.
10. Forgive yourself for not being perfect and be okay with trying again and again. Practice makes perfect!
Weekly Challenge: Choose one item on this list to work on in the following week. Have fun!
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