Halloween Joy, and What are You Afraid of?
I wanted to share this email (with permission) from a former client. We had two calls a few years back addressing her concerns about nutrition and higher-than-average (but healthy) weight and appetite. Note the contrast between anxiety and the sense of calm enjoyment. Hi Katja, It’s Halloween night and our whole family had such a wonderful time! Halloween is fun for our family and we are not full of anxiety. Maya and Andre (5 and 7) got home from school and into their costumes. The...
Read MorePart of a “Complete” or “Good” breakfast?
I remember watching Saturday morning cartoons in the late ’70s. The cereal commercial barrage always ended with, “Part of a complete breakfast!” That complete breakfast included juice, milk, cereal, toast and butter and some kind of fruit (or a close variation). It seemed like a wholesome spread! You’d have to sit down for that meal. Recently I caught an ad for a ‘sugary’ cereal and the phrase was changed to “Part of a good breakfast.” The...
Read MoreWhat Are You Worried About? Part 3 Food ‘Obsession’
This is part 3 of a 5 part series on food preoccupation. Read Part 1, Max’s Journey of Healing and Part 2, Is My Child Obsessed with Food? This is a long post because the fear of fat and the consequences of that worry are harmful, and barrier to supportive feeding… The food preoccupied child is anxious and works hard to get food. The worried parent keeps food from the child. The harder the child works to get food, the harder the parents have to work to keep food away, even...
Read MoreAnother Veggie Study. Will it Change How You Feed?
Good reminder: often and early exposures help children learn to like veggies says an article about a recent study, which confirms earlier findings— most children learn to like foods with repeated exposures, and most parents give up after only a handful of tries. (Reminds me of my favorite “green bean study” which states that parents aren’t always good at knowing what foods a child “likes,” and to keep offering that food.) This study (original here) seems to...
Read MoreParents on dessert with dinner
I asked my facebook readers and a few past clients to share their experiences with serving dessert with the meal. For many workshop attendees or new clients, this is the idea they struggle most to accept: “How will I get them to eat anything if I can’t bribe with dessert?” or, “I can’t accept that he gets rewarded with something he likes if he hasn’t eaten anything healthy first.” After serving family-style, serving a child-sized portion of dessert at the same time as other...
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Recent Comments
katja on Healing a Child’s Food “Obsession” (Part 1): Max’s Story
Thank you so much for chiming in and sharing how hard the process can be. So many parents give up...Anonymous on Healing a Child’s Food “Obsession” (Part 1): Max’s Story
Hi everyone. I am so happy that Max's story was so helpful to so many parents; it was largely...katja on Healing a Child’s Food “Obsession” (Part 1): Max’s Story
Oh Rachel, hang in there. There are many, many parents in the same boat, alas. I would encourage you to...Rachel on Healing a Child’s Food “Obsession” (Part 1): Max’s Story
I cried with relief reading this, thank you so much for being vocal about this as my son is exactly...katja on Trying to Get Kids to Eat Less Backfires: Part 4 Food ‘Obsession’
Send a friend request to Bonnie Appetites on facebook, then you will get an invite to the group. We do...