SZN 2. Ep. 5/ A Parents Guide to Teen Eating Disorders
A Parents Guide to Teen Eating Disorders
By: Kristen Book, PMHCP-BC
How does a parent know if their child is just dieting or struggling with an eating disorder? There are many early on symptoms that an eating disorder may be developing in your child. Disordered eating and eating disorders exist on a continuum. As a psychiatric nurse practitioner specializing in eating disorders, my goal is to educate parents about how to prevent and treat eating disorders in their children sooner rather than when it is too late.
Without education or awareness, it will be difficult for the adults to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of eating disorder behavior in their child in order to get the proper treatment early on. Early parental involvement in a child’s eating disorder treatment increases the chances of recovery two fold.
There is not one set of rules that families can follow in order to prevent a loved one from developing an eating disorder, however, there are things that everyone in the family can do to play a role in creating a recovery-promoting environment around food, body image, and weight.
I have heard many times in my psychiatric sessions with parents that their child is making a choice to engage in their eating disorder. For example, I often hear “Well, she knows what she needs to do, she just won’t do it. She just needs to follow the food plan.”
To an individual without an eating disorder, it seems like a simple choice. But, to a child struggling with a deadly, complex, medical and psychiatric illness that is furthest from the truth. To a child with an eating disorder, it is absolutely terrifying to stop their eating disorder behaviors.
In this podcast interview, I have outlined some tips to help empower parents and caregivers to play an active role in the prevention and early treatment of their child’s eating disorder. I hope parents will gain some insight, understanding, and support with the steps I introduce for parents to take when there are concerns about their children’s behavior around food, weight, and body image.
