Trying to avoid eating disorders developing in my daughter

[Dingdong99]

I had an ED when i was younger, from age 18 to 26. It was a hard time for me

I have a daughter aged 9 now, and worry that she will develop one when she is older and go through what I went through. She's not displaying anything to be concerned about now, but it does concern me as it's even more rife now than when I was young

I know that they can develop for all sorts of reasons, but I'm wondering what I could be doing now and in the next few years to help reduce the risk of it happening to her

She's also a very picky eater and barely eats, and I find it's a fine balance between encouraging her to eat more, and creating an issue in the future by not strictly getting her to listen to her appetite / body when it comes to how much to eat (she's very thin so I can't resist asking her to eat more!)

Keep her off social media, and get her into a sensible sport like football, netball or hockey.

Really try not to cajole her to eat more. Notice any she likes, feed her that, make it a total non issue.

I have a similar fear, having had an ED for a similar time. My DD is currently 4 and I will list things I am trying to do, although I appreciate your daughter is my older.

Try to I still body confidence and acceptance of all bodies, so not talking about other peoples’ figures, weight, size and shape etc, particularly your own!
No talking about diets or negative body commentary about yourself.
I provide all food at the same time when I can, including dessert and she can eat that in whatever order she likes.

I’m not perfect and recognise I still do some things that are not perfect but I’m trying my best and it sounds like you are too ❤

Yes, I’m in the same position and I worry as I’ve seen research that says susceptibility to an ED can be passed on through genetics.

Keep her off social media even if she moans that all her friends have it be strong.

try and get her interested in women’s sports causally. Maybe having it on the tv so she can see good examples of strong healthy women.

make sure you and people in the house hold aren’t talking objectively about your own or other peoples bodies or how you shouldn’t be eating something because it’s bad/you feel fat etc.

give her compliments not just about the way she looks but about things like “you are so kind to others” “I love how you make me feel” etc

biggest lesson is that our bodies are instruments and not ornaments. They do amazing things for us every day that we take for granted. Just being able to walk, see, talk, hear, taste is a huge blessing that not everybody has.