10 Words to Stop Saying About Food with Your Kids
When it comes to food, the words we use can have a big impact on how our kids think about eating.
10 Words to Stop Saying About Food with Your Kids
As any parent knows, kids are always listening. Even when we think they’re not paying attention, they’re taking in everything around them. And when it comes to food, the words we use can have a big impact on how our kids think about eating.
There are certain words that we should try to avoid using around kids when it comes to food (even though it’s so hard to do!). Words like “good” and “bad,” “healthy” and “unhealthy,” “clean” and “treat.”
These words are ones we grew up hearing and signal to our kids that food is black and white: that there are good foods and bad foods, healthy foods and unhealthy foods, clean foods and fattening foods.
And this black and white thinking around food can actually lead our kids down the path of learning to not listen to their own body and hunger and fullness cues, and start overeating or under-eating and feel shame when they eat certain foods.
Instead of using these black and white words, we should try to use more neutral language around food. We can talk about how crunchy or sweet a food is or even better connect with them at meals about things unrelated to food. We can also model healthy eating habits for our kids, and let them see that we enjoy a variety of different foods. Using this more neutral language around food is really powerful and can help our kids have a MUCH better relationship with food and their bodies than we did.
