Verywell health: How Can Parents Better Help Kids With Picky Eating Habits?
By Stephanie Brown
Forcing “picky eaters” to eat may not improve their attitudes or behaviors toward food. According to a recent study, creating a positive, supportive and flexible approach to eating is more helpful.
The study found that 39% of helpful themes reported by the participants related to a “positive emotional context" around food. About 40% of the responses deemed mentioned that creating a “structure around eating" was helpful.
On the other hand, the participants said that being forced to eat or feeling like they made their parents angry by avoiding certain foods didn't help.
While the survey examined a large sample, the respondents were 75% female, 25% male, and 89% White.
"Unfortunately, eating disorders have long been associated as an issue limited to adolescent, white girls," Megan Carlson, PhD, a licensed clinical psychologist within the multidisciplinary Eating Disorders Center at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, told Verywell. "But as we continue to learn, EDs truly do not discriminate between body sizes, types, ethnicities, gender identities, or social-economic statuses."
Read the full article via Verywell Health
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