Understanding Overeating - and how you can help:

Cause of Overeating:	What you CAN do:	Please DO NOT:
1) Often, overeating is a reaction to feeling Restricted. Restriction breeds interest.	·       Serve a variety of food (all foods fit!) at reliable times ·       Allow a treat daily and consider having dessert on the menu sometimes as well. (Serving a small-ish portion of dessert together with the meal can work very well.) ·       Practice serving treats family style (unlimited) at snack-time on occasion ·       Limit eating TIME instead of eating quantity. “Snack time will be over in 2 minutes” ·       Keep food neutral – foods are not good or bad	·       Get rid of the nosh ·       prompt your child to eat more/less of certain foods ·       Pester your child about whether they are really still hungry ·       Shame child for overeating ·       Use scare tactics (if you keep doing that you will end up like your aunt) ·       Do not teach nutrition information to kids under age 11 (11+, proceed with caution!)
2) Soothing or avoiding uncomfortable EMOTIONS	·       Teach and model coping skills ·       Teach a rich emotional vocabulary ·       Read children’s books about dealing with emotions ·       Seek advice from a therapist ·       Validate emotions. Then, Meet the need without food: ·       Sadness: soothing, giving a hug ·       Anger: helping to set and defend boundaries ·       Fear: protecting from danger (we do not protect anxiety) ·       Anxiety: helping to confront the anxiety-provoking situation with love and support ·       Help problem-solve ·       Teach/ model self-care ·       Teach/ model tuning into body to determine true hunger vs other need	·       Give treats to “fix” a boo-boo ·       Dismiss an emotional need ·       Ignore emotional display ·       Shame an emotional display (ex. Boy crying – I thought you were tougher than that) ·       Restrict food ·       Shame children for overeating ·       Use scare tactics to reduce intake
Boredom  or Sensory-Seeking	·       Provide structure: eating times and not-eating-times ·       Use spices, textures and combinations to excite the senses. ·       Provide adequate opportunities for movement (music/dance time, buy dance mat, sign up for sports/dance/gymnastics) ·       Have child write a list of activities they can do when bored or seeking stimulation ·       Work with OT ·       Have times when kitchen is open and closed ·       Teach/model tuning into body to determine true hunger vs other need	·       Restrict food ·       Allow constant grazing ·       Shame children for overeating ·       Use scare tactics to reduce intake

References: https://www.emotionfocusedfamilytherapy.org/steps-of-emotion-coaching/

Noa Miller, RDN provides integrative coaching to help individuals and parents find balance with eating and feeding. Reach out at nourishedwithnoa@gmail.com and learn more at nourishedwithnoa.com