What Parents Should Not Say To Their Children About Losing Weight

Obesity is an epidemic in the lives of children today. As parents, it is hard to know exactly how much to say to help change this in our children. If we push too hard, we could end up making the problem even worse or we could harm the relationship that we have with our children. If we don’t say anything, then we are in some ways condoning the problem and not giving them the tools that they need to help make this problem better. There are some things that you should refrain from saying to your child if they have a weight issue. Here are five things you should keep from saying:

- Pushing and recommending new diets to your child. You would be much better served to help them learn more about nutrition, so that they have the tools to find healthy foods for their body. Diets may seem like the answer, but training them how to eat correctly be modeling it in your home is a much better answer to obesity.

- Pushing exercise. Yes, exercise is healthy, but pushing them to exercise more and more can be dangerous. Even athletes can be pushed by their parent to do more and this can cause them to exercise to the point where it is dangerous for their health. Plan activities that you can do together that are fun. Walking, biking, and other exercise that you do as a family can be helpful without making an issue of it. Making exercise fun can be the key to helping your child deal with their weight issue.

- Projecting your feelings onto your child. Yes, you may have hated your body when you were a teenager, but sharing that with your child may in turn, cause them to hate their own body. This can cause them to have self-image problems. Sometimes it is best to leave those thoughts inside, so that our child can develop their own self-image, rather than us projecting our poor self-image onto them.

- Praising them for weight loss. Yes, it is great when they shed a few pounds, but this praise can cause them to lose weight just for the added praise and attention. This can then turn into an eating disorder that could cause extreme medical issues.

- Comparisons. Comparisons with other children can be quite damaging to their self-esteem. Remarks like “You are more big-boned than your sister” can have a huge impact upon how they think about themselves. This is why you want to refrain from making comparisons.

Children need parents that will give them the tools that they need to lose weight or maintain a health weight. Acting like a drill sergeant with their exercise and food may sound helpful, but it will only add to the problem. By modeling health habits yourself and being there when they need your support, you are giving them the tools that they need to grow into healthy and secure adults.