“As an eating disorder therapist, one thing I know can be an issue is constantly commenting on a child’s body or the way they eat, even if it’s meant to be positive,” Rachel Goldberg, LMFT, therapist and founder of Rachel Goldberg Therapy, told Parents.com.
She advises against saying things like “oh, you look really good in that outfit today” or “that doesn’t really suit your body,” and stresses that negative or judgmental comments about how much a child eats are equally harmful.
Beyond all of this, there’s a bigger issue that many parents struggle with, which is accepting that their children are their own people. Kids grow up and figure out who they want to be, and that vision doesn’t always match what their parents had in mind.
Dawn Friedman, MSEd, LPCC, a licensed professional clinical counselor specializing in child anxiety, emphasizes that letting children make their own decisions and learn from their own mistakes is how they build the independence and self-confidence they’ll need as adults.
That includes everything from the subjects they study to the sports they play to the extracurriculars they choose to pursue. If you find yourself controlling those choices, it’s worth taking a step back and giving your child some room to explore.
#28 Please Listen To Your Friends And Save Your Child Years Of Bullying Followed By Years Of Therapy
Parenting is hard, and nobody should beat themselves up over every small mistake. But there’s a real difference between the occasional misstep and patterns of behavior that leave children carrying wounds they’ll spend years in therapy trying to work through. Kids simply don’t deserve that.
#29 Am I Wrong Thinking The Mom Should Take Her Daughter To A Psychiatrist?
#33 Found In A Local Childcare Connect Group. Overnight Babysitter To Look After 7 Year Old Who Stays Up All Night And Sleeps All Day
#39 Why Is It That People Think Saying "No Judgement" Excuses Their Awful Behavior?
