Comforting kids with food leads to emotional eating later in life
Photo: iStockphoto
Treating my six-year-old daughter to a generous bowl of her favourite ice cream after she had two teeth pulled was a no-brainer. The promise of the sweet treat was barely enough to get her reclined in the dentist?s chair?and that was with My Little Pony already playing on the television. The whole experience was traumatic for both of us, so when she was still upset the next morning, I caved and gave her another bowl of cold, chocolatey goodness before lunch. (At least it was organic")
As a parent, it?s easy to turn to food as a solution when your kid is upset, but experts are beginning to suggest there are unexpected consequences to stopping tears with treats. According to a new study from Norway, young children whose parents use food to soothe them are more likely to have problems with emotional eating later in life. ?Emotional eating is not due to nature, but nurture,? says Silje Steinsbekk, an associate professor at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and lead author of the study. ?Although food may comfort your child, the downside is teaching children to rely on food to handle negative emotions, which may have negative consequences in the long run.? Emotional eating?consuming food in response to a bad mood?can increase a child?s risk of being overweight and developing eating disorders.
The longitudinal study, published in the journal Child Development, looked at the eating habits of 801 Norwegian children...
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