Family Influences
Childhood is an important developmental period for humans, as we begin to make connections and formulate a sense of the world. The environment that you grow up in can influence your mental processes about specific things. Parents have a large influence on their children during this developmental period. Specifically, parents play a large role in how their children act around food, and how they view food and body image is influenced by observing their guardians. There are many ways that parents can unintentionally teach their children distorted eating habits and views. Many parents are unaware of this, but it’s necessary that parents are more informed about how their habits and language can negatively impact their children. The following information provides examples on behavior you should avoid in order to influence your child to develop a good relationship with food:
The term “fat”:
Using the term “fat” in any form creates a negative connotation. By using this term around your children, you can unintentionally teach your child to become more aware about their own body image by having a negative view about certain body shapes. This view of themselves could lead to them implementing their views onto their peers and becoming judgmental of others’ weight and size. It’s important to teach children at a young age to be accepting of all body shapes and sizes.
Rules of when to eat:
Some households have rules about when their children and/or family are supposed to eat. It is a common thing in many houses to have meals set at a certain time. Although this has been normalized, research has found that it’s important for children to feel hungry when they are hungry and to feel full on their own time so that they can learn to adjust to their natural physiological set point (Discovery Contributor 2021).
Choosing what your child is able to eat:
Another common rule in many homes revolves around what kids are able to eat. Some parents restrict their children from consuming sugary or “fattening” foods. This can lead their children to begin forming a habit of labeling foods as good or bad, which can continue to be influential into adolescence. Labeling food can cause people to create a judgmental image in their head regarding food.
Warning your child about weight gain:
Warning children about weight gain can have harmful effects. Warning children and adolescents about weight gain can cause harm from a mental and emotional standpoint. Children and adolescents should be able to go through their natural body weight changes without having to worry about their body image or being “fat.”
Hiding and taking away food:
Some parents can get into a habit of taking food off the table during mealtimes or hiding food from their children in order to prevent them from overeating or from eating sugary foods. This can make your child feel guilty for eating until they are full (Discovery Contributor 2021) and can cause emotional distress. Taking food off the table or hiding food can cause a child to feel scared about eating, feel guilty about their eating habits, or even can cause the child to eat more when they are hungry because of being nervous that their food will be taken away (Discovery Contributor 2021). These emotional feelings about food can contribute to a person developing poor body image and/or symptoms of disordered eating as they transition into adolescence or young adulthood.
Talking about your diet:
It’s important for parents to avoid talking about their diet, weight loss, or exercise in front of their child. Kids observe their parent’s habits. As an important influential person in this developmental period, kids look up to their parents as a modeling source and will begin to model their behavior. This could teach children distorted eating at a young age.