I've got a secret: we've been teaching our kids how to diet. We may call it weight management or healthy choices, but whenever it's about

• cutting back
• food rules
• focus on the scale, body size or shape to define success
• fear of diagnoses and consequences if we don't "follow the plan"

... that's restriction talking. It's diet/wellness/fitness culture, and it's doing a number on our children. Their self-esteem, their body image, the emotional health are all experiencing a toll.

What's a parent to do?

Hey - I thought that I was teaching my kids how to be healthy too. After all, I'm a pediatrician, lover of all things healthy and... yup, food rules, finding candy wrappers under the bed, worries about growth and seeding shame.

Here's what I've found and share with parents:
 

• it's not about the food.
   
• it's not about the rules.
   
• it's not about the scale.
   
• it's not about the growth.
   
• it's not about the fear.
  
  It's about the relationships. FOCUS on relationships.
  
  Now here's the kicker: we've all been taught about what diets, weight management and exercise plans look like. We haven't been taught about what relationships are, how to nurture them and how they actually create our health from the inside out.
  
  Learn why the focus on relationships is CRITICAL to help our families, prevent disordered eating and address the concerns we already have. Learn about the most important relationships you can have, and how they set you up for lifelong health.
  

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• How to best help our children develop healthy relationships with food, body and self?
• How to stop all the food fights (in the name of health, Serenity Now!)
• Why are eating disorders increasing during efforts to address pediatric obesity?
• The three things to help your children who struggle with weight & eating habits

• How to start helping your children TODAY

• Address the obstacles you face in your unique life and family with open coaching
• You.are.not.alone.