If you find your child saying – ‘I am becoming too fat!’ very often and eating very little or on the contrary gorging just too much, may be it is time for you to check if she is suffering from an eating disorder. It is not that uncommon to see young children suffer from eating disorders, these days.
Children may refrain from eating the adequate quantities, which hampers their physical and mental growth or they may just devour too much, making them overweight, or in extreme cases, obese. So, it makes sense that parents must have thorough knowledge of eating disorders and ways to deal with them.
The top two most common eating disorders among children are:
- Anorexia – in this condition, children develop an extreme fear of becoming fat and as a result they barely eat.
- Bulimia – in this condition, children eat huge amounts of food rapidly after which, they force out the food by vomiting or heavy physical exercises to avoid gaining overeat.
Children, sometimes, may even show symptoms of both these disorders. So, it is very important for parents to take control and help their children restore their proper diet by:
- Trying to calmly discuss the issue with their children and understand the reason for their actions.
- Making the children realise that you love them very much, irrespective of their shape.
- Not discussing about their weight or appearance to them, even not as a compliment.
- Taking professional help to help them confront their problems and maintain a balanced diet.
- Being a role model by taking apposite nutritional food and keeping themselves fit and healthy.
