DD just told me she hasn’t been eating

[Meadowtrees]

She came for a hug because she was sad and didn’t know why.
Eventually told me that that is because she’s worried that she’s not eating enough. She says she just feels sick at the thought of it and doesn’t like her body. I haven’t noticed as she eats supper but hasn’t been eating at school. She’s 14 and very tall and slim. We had a shopping trip at the weekend- she wanted new jeans but non-fitted as all too short. She does know that she is slim but feels fat. The rest of the family and most of her friends are short.
She would like to talk to ‘someone’.
What do I do now? High achieving type and a dancer.

I’d see it as really positive that she has been honest with you and felt comfortable enough to tell you what’s going on with her. That she wants to talk to someone is great. I’d literally thank her for telling you as you definitely want to keep that line of communication open without judgment or fear.
In terms of talking to someone, there are specialist eating disorder counsellors, as well as the charity BEAT that could potentially be helpful. Dancing is a bit notorious for putting pressure on having a certain body shape, but dancers like Amanda LaCount (danced with Rihanna, Katy Perry etc) and Courtney Henry (very tall ballerina) could be positive influences in that field. Best of luck.

Absolutely be proud of her for coming to you and proud of yourself for being a mum she can come to.

No experience, but just keep communicating and supporting her x

Hi op - there is an excellent support group on fb for parents in your situation. Highly reccomended. Full of endlessly supportive and knowledgeable parents. Message me for details. From what Ive read about this (and my own experience with my kiddo) the sooner you latch on to it being an issue and try to help -the better. The longer they are "in" and struggling - it takes longer to find there way out. So its fabulous that she has come to you for support at this early stage (and lovely that she trusted you enough to want to talk about it with you) xxx

I've just found this thread after doing a search. My DD is 14 and is tall and very slim, and a dancer too. She hasn't been eating either. It's got bad quickly, maybe over the last 2 weeks. I'm scared and I don't know what to do.