Raising Kids Who Don’t Hate Their Body

When we talk about raising kids to enjoy and feel confident about mealtimes, it’s means more than them just enjoying a variety of food. It actually extends to the way they feel about themselves, too.

Take a minute to imagine what you hope your child's relationship with their body will look like. What are your wishes for how they feel in their body, and for how they feel about their body?

For us, we hope our kids don’t really think about their bodies very much at all.

We want them to live peacefully in their body, and to treat themselves with kindness and respect.

To look in the mirror and think mostly neutral thoughts like “there are my arms” and “I have two legs” along with some positive thoughts like “I like my hair”.

To choose clothes that they like the look of and feel comfortable in, not because the pieces hide the natural curves of a body.

To get rid of clothes when they no longer fit.

To choose whatever they want from the restaurant menu.

To get into every photo without a second thought.

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It’s great if our approach means your kids grow to love their body, but body neutrality is actually so much deeper than that. Because bodies change throughout our lives.

We don’t want our kids to spend their precious time and energy trying to change the shape of their body. Or to miss out on things because they were waiting until the day their body was different.

We want them to deeply know that their body is good, whatever it looks like, and to live an amazing life within it.

Many of us don’t feel this way about our own bodies. We have been conditioned to dislike our bodies and to expend energy trying to change them. But we want better for our kids.

We want our kids to understand:

Your body is your home. Every body is a good body, just as it is.

You don’t need to change your body to be healthy.

Food offers us so much more than just a few nutrients.

Food is not our enemy, the way we're taught to think about food (eg diet culture) is.

There are lots of different ways to eat well.

Our bodies are so much more than a visual presentation of ourselves.

Our health is much bigger than whether we are sick or not.

And there is a large and growing body of scientific evidence that supports all of these statements. If you want to hear more about them and how to live this, come join us.

Raising kids who don't hate their body

Raising kids who don’t hate their body requires a lot more than our words. We need to disrupt cultural norms, challenge our own thinking and role model a different way to move through the world.

But you don’t have to do it alone.

Family Mealtimes is full of parents who are trying to do better, just like you. Dr Gemma and I are with you every month, unpacking the diet culture baggage, and helping make the load lighter.

And as we support our kids to have a better relationship with their bodies, I’m confident it will help soften your relationship with your own body too. What a gift.

Dr Kyla

Dr Kyla is a paediatric dietitian with a passion for helping families to feed their children well, without the overwhelm. She has a PhD in childhood weight management and 20 years experience working with restrictive eaters in her clinic and online programs. Kyla is also a mum of two and she knows the struggle today’s parents have with navigating limited time, information overwhelm, picky eaters and societal expectations.