Have you ever wondered how to support your teen in eating disorder recovery? If so, you’re not alone.
Supporting your teen in eating disorder recovery can feel overwhelming and confusing. The good news is that there are practical, compassionate steps you can take as a parent to positively influence your teen’s recovery journey.
The Importance of Parenting Styles
Research highlights that parenting styles significantly affect children’s attitudes toward food and eating behaviors. Studies, such as those by Piotrowski et al. (2012), show that nurturing and supportive parenting helps children develop better self-regulation and healthier eating habits. The most effective parenting approach involves clear communication, emotional support, and collaborative problem-solving around meals.
Key Strategies to Support Your Teen in Eating Disorder Recovery
Here are essential strategies you can adopt to help support your teen during their eating disorder recovery:
- Provide Unconditional Support: Offer emotional support without judgment about your teen’s eating habits or body image.
- Structured Meal Support: Instead of relying solely on your teen’s hunger and fullness cues—which might be unreliable during recovery—provide consistent meal and snack schedules to help normalize eating patterns.
- Use Positive, Neutral Language Around Food: Avoid labeling foods as “good” or “bad”. Instead, focus on discussing food in terms of nourishment, enjoyment, and energy.
Research by Katzman and Steinegger (2010) emphasizes avoiding negative discussions around weight and dieting, as these conversations can contribute to disordered eating behaviors.
The Impact of Parental Body Image and Food Talk on Eating Behaviors
Your teen learns a great deal about how to relate to their body and food by observing you. Comments you make about your own body or eating habits can have a significant impact—often more than you may realize. Research has shown that children exposed to frequent body dissatisfaction or diet talk at home are at increased risk of developing disordered eating behaviors.
A 2010 study by Katzman and Steinegger emphasized that negative weight-related comments from parents, even when not directed at the teen, are associated with higher levels of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating in adolescents. Similarly, the American Academy of Pediatrics (2016) recommends that parents avoid discussing weight or encouraging dieting, focusing instead on healthy habits and positive body image.
What can help:
- Avoid speaking negatively about your own body in front of your teen.
- Steer clear of diet talk, calorie counting, or labeling foods as “bad.”
- Model a balanced, flexible approach to eating.
- Compliment your teen (and yourself!) on qualities that have nothing to do with appearance.
By being mindful of how you talk about your body and food, you can create a more supportive and healing environment for your teen.
Handling Social Media Influences & their Impact on Teen Eating Disorders
Social media often promotes unrealistic body ideals and harmful diet trends. These images and messages can create pressure to look a certain way, often disconnected from what health really looks like. It’s important to help your teen recognize that the bodies they see online are often filtered, posed, or genetically unattainable.
In fact, research shows that genetics play a significant role in determining body size and shape. A study published in Nature Genetics (2019) found that up to 80% of a person’s body mass index (BMI) can be explained by genetic factors. This means that no amount of dieting or exercise can override a person’s natural body blueprint.
Regularly engage in open conversations with your teen about the influence of social media, emphasizing that health comes in many shapes and sizes—and that comparison is rarely helpful. Instead of focusing on appearance, encourage curiosity about what their body can do, how it feels, and what it needs to thrive.
What you can do:
- Talk about how social media images are curated and often unrealistic
- Encourage media literacy—teach your teen to question what they see online
- Reinforce that health is about habits, not size
- Model body acceptance and kindness toward yourself and others
Social media often promotes unrealistic body ideals and harmful diet trends. Regularly engage in open conversations with your teen about social media influences, reinforcing the idea that health is about more than appearance and that bodies naturally come in diverse shapes and sizes.
Practical Tips for Home to Support your Teen in Eating Disorder Recovery
Implementing these practices at home can significantly support your teen’s recovery:
- Establish Routine: Regular meal and snack times can create a sense of security and reduce anxiety around eating.
- Involve Your Child: Let your teen participate in grocery shopping and meal preparation to encourage autonomy and reduce food-related stress.
- Positive Mealtime Atmosphere: Keep meal environments calm, enjoyable, and stress-free. Focus on connecting as a family rather than addressing conflicts or problems during meals.
- Empower Through Education: Share accurate, compassionate information about nutrition that helps your teen appreciate the importance of balanced eating without feeling pressured or shamed.
- Collaborative Problem-Solving: Regularly discuss with your teen what they find helpful or challenging about your approach to food and meals. Adjust your strategies based on these conversations.
- Clear Expectations: Clearly outline family expectations regarding grocery shopping, meal preparation, and mealtimes to reduce confusion and stress.
- Family Meals for Connection: Emphasize family meals as opportunities for enjoying each other’s company, avoiding serious discussions or problem-solving at the table.
Seeking Professional Support to Support Your Teen in Eating Disoder Recovery
Working closely with specialized professionals such as nutritionists, dietitians, and therapists is crucial. Nutrition experts can guide meal planning and nutritional education, while therapists can support emotional and psychological aspects of recovery.
Ready to find support for your child? Schedule a free call here
Moving Forward with Hope
By adopting these supportive strategies, you can play a significant role in your teen’s recovery from an eating disorder. Remember, your compassionate involvement can greatly enhance your teen’s healing process, helping them regain a healthy and balanced relationship with food.
Research Articles:
Parenting Style & Child Self-Regulation
Piotrowski, J.T., Lapierre, M.A., & Linebarger, D.L. (2013).
Investigating Correlates of Self-Regulation in Early Childhood
Parental Weight Talk & Disordered Eating in Adolescents
Katzman, D.K., & Steinegger, C. (2010).
Family weight talk and dieting: How much do they matter for body dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors in adolescent girls?
American Academy of Pediatrics Guidelines
Golden, N.H., & Schneider, M. (2016).
Preventing Eating Disorders in Adolescents
