EATING DISORDER CONCERNS!!ADVICE NEEDED...

[tjgx]

Hi all...n good evening...ive 2 dds. ages 13 n 11n 1/2...yrs old...im seriously worried about my 13 yr old...she eats extremely well a brill eater infact....but she constantly complains about her size...she isnt big at all...she has a lovely figure...all i hear is mum im fat...mum my belly is 2 big..mum my thighs r massive...im going on a diet...i feel like crying mum...im fat...n now her words r starting to rub off on my 11 yr old...who says mum my thighs r big...now tonight my 11 yr old has just come in2 me an said my eldest says ooo im sooooooooo fat...im not going to eat....i really dont know what to do....i tell her ...your growing ur body will change as u grow in2 a woman...she has just started her periods also...but all this started months b4 they came....and im onest when i say she isnt over weight...is in her own age range clothes...she does eat...but as soon as she has eaten she starts to complain....and i constantly reassure her that she is fine...but i am worried incase this does start in2 something or should i say eating problems....i would be really grateful 4 any advice on how 2 handle this...thanx alot x

it's hard to know what to do...I don't have any experience yet of teenage daughters doing this but all I can say is and am sure you already have done so, but can you set aside half an hour or so and ask them do they think they are fat at all and why? Are lots of girls at school slimming and size 10 etc,...it's a young age to be worrying about their weight when they should be eating a lot.....what is their relationship with food, do they help you shop for ingredients, in which case if they do could they not help choose things that are healthy, like salad leaves and also have treat food, buns in the oven etc and maybe help prepare some meals....apologies if they do that already but I know that if people know about food and touch it , feel it, they like to know how to do things with it ...have you ever thought of growing your own vegetables/fruit etc...I hope you can have a good conversation with them as loving food is good and sorry that you ahving to ecperience this dilemna and the mo, and wish could be more help to you too!