7 minute read
Health & Fitness
Health & F tness Are You Raising an Emotional Eater?
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by cindy Weinberger MS, rD, cDN
this Sunday, families across the nation celebrate Mother’s Day. The typical response when many are wished a “Happy Mother’s Day” is “Mother’s Day is every day.” Although this line may be cheesy, it is indeed very true. A mother has daily duties that if she even stops being a mom for one moment, the household will crumble!
As mothers, it is our responsibility to not only take care of household chores like dishes and laundry, and believe it or not, we do more than find your shoes, too. A mother’s job does not end at bedtime. A mother is constantly thinking and worrying about her children. Like the popular saying goes, “Mothers don’t sleep. They worry with their eyes closed.”
What more can a mother worry about than her child’s health? A child’s diet plays a key role in his or her health. Not only does which food a child eats affect his or her health, the setting and atmosphere affects him or her as well.
Eating for emotional reasons, other than being physically hungry, can be characterized as emotional eating. Emotional eating is when people use food as a way to deal with feelings instead of to satisfy hunger. We’ve all been there; we’re all guilty of emotional eating – finishing a whole bag of chips out of boredom or downing cookie after cookie while reading a book. But when done a lot – especially without realizing it – emotional eating can affect weight, health, and overall well-being.
Children (as well as adults) use food for reasons other than to satisfy their hunger and nutritional needs. In fact, obese children often eat in response to their emotions and feelings.
How can we prevent our children from becoming emotional eaters? Emotional eating is a phenomenon that starts at birth. A baby’s crying is pacified by being fed. As the child grows, we give them snacks in public places to keep them busy and quiet. Or we may stuff our children with candy when they’re in shul to keep their mouths otherwise occupied.
Some common emotions associated with emotional eating are the following: • Anger • Boredom • Change • Confusion • Depression • Frustration • Loneliness • Loss • Resentment • Stress
A big parenting challenge is to determine whether your child is eating for the right reasons. To help you be aware of whether or not you are raising an emotional eater, take this quiz found in Parents Magazine: 1. When your child asks for snack, what’s your typical first response? a) Do you feel hungry? b) How could you be hungry already?
We just ate. c) Sure. I can give you… 2. The last time your child got antsy or bored in public and you couldn’t take him somewhere to let off steam, how did you react? a) I let him use my phone to play a game or watch a video. b) I got a snack and/or drink out of my bag and gave it to him. c) I read to him or played with him. 3. How many times in the last week has your child seen you eat snacks or dessert directly from the package? a) None
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b) Once or twice c) Three or more times 4. Suppose your child’s sports team went out for a sugary treat after every victory or defeat. Would you allow your child to go? a) Yes, but I’d make sure the portion was small. b) Yes, and I wouldn’t worry about the portion. c) No, I’d suggest an alternative or decline most of the time. 5. Consider how you help your child handle her emotions. When she brings up something that went wrong with a friendship at school, which of the following are you most inclined to do? a) Empathize b) Empathize and offer a coping strategy/solution c) Suggest she’s overreacting 6. Your general approach to soothe a crying child who hurt himself playing consists of: a) Hugs and kisses b) Hugs, kisses, and a toy or game c) Hugs, kisses, and a sugary drink or treat 7. When your child asks to get up from the dinner table after eating most of his meal, what do you say first? a) Are you sure you’re done? I don’t want you asking for a snack before bed. b) Are you full? c) Okay! You know what to do with your plate. 8. How often do you let your child eat any meal or snack in front of the TV? a) Every day or almost every day b) A couple of times a week c) Once a week or less 9. How often do you find yourself saying something like, “Behave and you can have dessert!” or “You didn’t listen, so there won’t be dessert.” a) Frequently b) Once in a while c) Never 10. Has your child ever related an emotion to a request for food, such as “I’m so sad Mommy. Can I have a cookie?” a) Yes, once in a while b) Yes, it happens pretty often c) Not yet anyway
Scoreboard
Add up the points for each of your answers. 1. a) 4, b) 1, c) 1 2. a) 1, b) 0, c) 4 3. a) 4, b) 2, c) 1 4. a) 2, b) 1, c) 4 5. a) 2, b) 4, c) 0 6. a) 3, b) 3, c) 0 7. a) 1, b) 4, c) 2 8. a) 0, b) 1, c) 3 9. a) 0, b) 1, c) 3 10. a) 1, b) 0, c) 6
What your score means
30-40 points- You’re teaching you child to eat only when she’s hungry. 20-29 points- You’re trying hard to discourage your child from eating for emotional reasons, but sometimes you fall short.
Fewer than 20 points- You’re on the path to raising an emotional eater.
In order to prevent raising an emotional eater, ask yourself questions like: does he eat at times other than regular mealtimes and snacks? Is he munching at every opportunity? What factors might be contributing to his overeating that call for you to intervene? Additionally, avoid rewarding children with food and punishing them with missing out on food.
If your child is already on the emotional eating path, don’t worry. Just as emotional eating is a learned behavior, it can be unlearned, too. Encourage him/ her to eat healthy snacks and don’t bring junk into your house. The next time you see your child reaching for comfort food, try to figure out what emotions they are feeling and create a coping mechanism that does not involve food. As a parent, be sure to model good eating habits for your child. When your child does make changes under these circumstances, parental praise and positive reinforcement goes a long way. However, make sure the reward is not food! Use verbal praise and give other types of rewards.
As hard as it may be, keep in mind that a healthy child makes a happy mother.
Happy Mother’s Day! Every day!
Cindy Weinberger MS, RD, CDN, is a Master’s level Registered Dietitian and Certified Dietitian-Nutritionist. She graduated CUNY Brooklyn College receiving a Bachelor’s in Science and Master’s degree in Nutrition and Food Sciences. She is currently a private nutritionist. She can be reached at CindyWeinberger1@gmail.com or at 917-623-6237.
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