Tips for Not Singling a Kid Out About Food and Body
Published October 21, 2021
At WithAll, we believe it is important, no matter the reason for your concern, to not single out a child or a subgroup of children when encouraging food and exercise habits. This can be stigmatizing and isolating and can indicate to the child that their body is wrong or needs to be fixed.
One Way to Not Single Out Kids About Food and Body
Try This Instead
Instead, apply everything you do related to food, body, and exercise to all kids in your life equally.
If you do decide to make changes, make these changes as a whole family. If these changes really are about health, everyone in the family can be doing it together.
Find activities the whole family can enjoy together that are focused on enjoying the activity, not weight loss or changes to mealtime. This looks different for each family, but here are some ideas for encouraging movement.
Looking to go deeper?
Check out our Q&A video with Emily Pisetsky, PHD, LP. about if we should encourage kids to lose or gain weight.
Check out our Simple Guide to What to Say which touches on this principle of Not Singling Kids Out when it comes to food and body.