Thread: The One Question I Ask All Parents Who Are Struggling With Their Kid's Eating

Parents and carers reach out to me with all kinds of concerns about their kid's eating behaviours. Maybe they're super selective and only eat a handful of foods. Or maybe they're fat and the grown-ups are trying to square their belief that body size doesn't equal health or worth, with their kiddo's apparent obsession with sweets. Or maybe they're neurodivergent and using food to stim. Or maybe they're garden variety fussy eaters. Or having difficulties weaning. And so on and so on.

But whatever the problem, there is one question I like to ask everyone. This question helps challenge the idea that a kid is somehow broken or defective, an underlying belief that drives so much of how we related to our kid's feeding differences.

And while parents and carers don't cause their kid's eating difficulties, if they're operating from the place that their kiddo needs fixing, they're more likely to pile on unhelpful pressure, leading to more stress, worry, and anxiety for everyone. This in turn makes eating worse.

So I ask parents to reflect on the following question to help break that cycle: