Dieting in the Mothers of Young Girls
How a Mother’s Dieting Practices Can Affect Her Daughter
Dieting can be a great way to help you achieve your weight loss goals, but it can be a source of negativity if you have children -- especially if you’re female and you have daughters. Daughters who watch their mothers’ frustration with dieting can be more likely to develop eating disorders. If you are the mother of a young daughter, you need to be mindful of your behavior when dieting.
Keep It In Perspective
Mothers of young girls should keep the following tips in mind. Don’t vocalize your dieting efforts in front of your daughter. If you daughter hears you constantly speak about what foods you can or cannot eat, she might begin to worry about your health. She also might begin to worry about whether or not she needs to lose weight herself. Girls as young as age six have expressed the need to lose weight because they have heard the same complaints from their mothers.
Realize the Risks
Teenage girls are at risk for anorexia and other eating disorders. If they grow up hearing mothers who are constantly vocalizing negative feelings about their weight and their dieting efforts, they are at greater risk of developing an eating disorder. Don’t burden your young daughter with an unnecessary concern. You can always simply tell her that your doctor suggested that you lose ten pounds, so he put you on a diet. You don’t have to avoid dieting completely; you just need to be observant of how your daughter perceives the situation.
It’s Not a Show
If you are worried about how you can continue dieting and make sure you don’t upset your children in the process, just be discreet. Try not to draw attention to the fact that you are not eating an ice cream sundae when everyone else is. You can order a small sorbet when you go out for ice cream. Sorbet is low in calories and tasty too. Also, don’t let your daughter overhear you complain about your wide hips or increasing waistline. It sends a negative message that is too easily devoured by impressionable young girls.
Keep the above tips in mind when dieting. Dieting can help you achieve a healthier state of being, but it shouldn’t come at a high price for your young daughter.