How to help DD eat more healthily

4 replies

Cookbookcollector · 03/10/2023 09:39

I don't feel great about posting this but I would really appreciate advice.

DD has started to eat bigger and bigger portions and snack late at night. How on earth do we help her? I'd hate to make her feel worse about herself - I think it's comfort eating. I have sometimes said something if I see her eating near to bedtime - ie you don't need food so close to going to bed. I'm sure it's linked to wider issues. But she's happy and chatty at home - though doesn't do much outside of school.

How do we tackle it? I worry straight talking will make her feel awful/be one of those things that sticks with her for years to come. (We'll do things like cut down on snacks in the house - it's more how to talk to her).

OP posts:

DynamicK · 03/10/2023 09:48

Is she overweight? How old is she?
Genuinely hungry? Growth spurt?
There's nothing wrong in saying that late night snacking is bad for us and makes us put on weight if that's the problem here.

Khvdrt · 03/10/2023 09:49

We’ve had some similar issues and it is a very delicate balance. I asked DD if she was finding that she was hungry at night and did we need to think about the time we were eating at or portion sizes as I was worried that it wasn’t good for her digestion to be eating lots just before bed. That opened up a conversation about that she just fancied a snack at that time and we then talked about what I could buy (that was healthy) for her to eat after dinner. Ideally I don’t really want her eating much after dinner but if it’s going to happen I’d rather it be healthy.
Also we made a big effort to not have too much unhealthy food in so snacks are mostly healthy and I serve out the dinner so portion sizes are managed

Original poster

Cookbookcollector · 03/10/2023 10:24

Thanks @Khvdrt that's good advice.

@DynamicK I don't want to give any more details that might ID her at all (probably overly worried but do feel awkward about posting)

I just want to find ways of talking to her about this as sensitively as possible.

OP posts:

DynamicK · 03/10/2023 10:37

Everyone is different but I'm quite upfront with my dc. Sometimes if you approach things as more matter of fact, it's less embarrassing or humiliating.

If dc are eating too much I'll say 'if you carry on eating that much rubbish, your teeth will rot and you'll put on weight. Why not have some proper food if you're hungry?'

Flip