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It's hard to be happy with an eating disorder
Eating dysfunction and body image concerns are
responsible for creating some of the most devastating forms
of unhappiness...and these days, this unhappiness is typically
hitting kids as young as age 4 and 5.
Eating disorders sap a child of the capacity
to access feelings of well-being, to be alert and learn optimally,
to make and sustain friendships, to confront and solve problems,
to establish flexible self-controls, and to remain available
to life-expansive, risk-taking opportunities leading to maturity.
Parents can help keep kids happy by preventing
eating disorders through promoting mental health, providing
positive role modeling and healthy foods, and making themselves
available to their child to impart healthy values and attitudes
towards body and eating. Parents who offer their child the
gifts of self-esteem and self-respect can virtually immunize
their child against the onset of these diseases.
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About the Author:
Abigail H. Natenshon, MA LCSW has been a psychotherapist in
private practice specializing in the treatment of eating disordered
individuals and their families for the past 28 years. She
is co-founder and director of Eating Disorder Specialists
of Illinois; A Clinic without Walls, and the author of "When
Your Child Has an Eating Disorder: A Step-by-Step Workbook
for Parents and Other Caregivers" (Jossey Bass, San
Francisco, October, 1999). Visit her web sites at www.empoweredparents.com
/ www.empoweredkidZ.com
and www.treatingeatingdisorders.com
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