Episode 23: Amelia Sherry: How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Raising Girls in This Diet Obsessed Culture
My guest today is Amelia Sherry and she is going to be sharing about….
How to Avoid the Pitfalls of Raising Girls in This Diet Obsessed Culture!!
Amelia Sherry, MPH, RD, CDCES is a registered and certified dietitian nutritionist who specializes in working with families and children who are struggling with issues related to weight, growth, and diabetes via a New York-based private practice. Amelia is also the founder of NourishHer, an online resource that offers community, education, and support to mothers who are kicked dieting and/or disordered eating and want to raise who are protected from diet culture.
In today’s episode, Amelia shares how it’s not only the child that has to change their way of thinking about food but the parent as well. As parents, it all starts with US!
Amelia uses a model that she shares that can help you as a parent to not have certain expectations, or put pressure on a child to eat a certain way. All food has nourishment and rather than feeling like you need to pack a lunch that your child doesn’t enjoy and ultimately won’t end up eating, pack them something that is appetizing to THEM.
During the pandemic, eating became very disordered. There was a lack of structure. Amelia is a firm believer in structure with meals.
Amelia herself struggled with eating growing up. She was always dieting, and she shares how her teaching model that includes structure really helped her.
So many times, dinner is the only time a family sits down and gives attention to one another.
This is a critical time for children!!
There’s nutrition in all food, and the fact that you’ve made time and prioritized this time to sit down with your child to whatever extent you can even if it’s just one day a week is a huge, beautiful gift you’ve given your child. And you’ve done the parenting part of feeding which is - you’ve come to the table and offered them food and you’ve been present there.
So, Amelia encourages you to celebrate that! Don’t beat yourself up if it wasn’t the right ratio or organic, or whatever ideas we get in our head.
We need to trust our children to eat. They have the skill to feed themselves so long as you give them the opportunity.
If you have a picky eater you understand the power struggle parents can go through, and after listening to today’s episode, I think you will feel a lot less stress about feeding your child!
We also talk about letting your child eat dessert, when is the best time, do you make it a reward, and what to do or say if you suspect your does have an eating disorder?
You can find out more about Amelia and follow her here:
If you’ve enjoyed this Episode, you can find more at Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcast, Apple or wherever you enjoy listening.
I would SO appreciate you leaving a rating and review in Apple Podcast if you’ve found this podcast encouraging, and inspiring in any way!