At our recent Stop Emotional Eating webinar, we talked about how events and situations in childhood affect our eating habits now. Food is often used as a reward in many families, especially sugary things as a treat or for celebrations.
A participant asked what we can do to avoid making the same mistake with our children so we came up with some things that we can do to change the pattern:-
– Find healthy recipes that you and your kids can make together so no food becomes “taboo”. When parents are too strict about certain foods, it can mean a backlash in later life where people overindulge in it – just because they can.
– Replace white sugar with natural sweeteners like dates, honey, maple syrup, etc.
– Buy “healthier” snack options (see Danna-approved healthy snack videos for more ideas (1)). There are more and better alternatives out there now.
– Reward good behaviour or celebrate using experiences instead of food. Think about an activity that your child would like, playing a game, visiting a theme park, setting up a playdate, etc.
– Work on your own emotional eating mindset – kids don’t do what you say, they do what you do. Remember you’re their role model – good or bad. If they see you eating when you are emotional, they will think this is a normal way to suppress your emotions and not feel them and they will likely do the same.
If you would like to help to let go of old emotional eating patterns and eat more healthily, book a free discovery call with me.
Footnotes
- Danna approved healthy snack videos: https://www.facebook.com/organilicious.ch/videos/