Episode Overview
How do we raise kids who understand that nutrition matters while protecting them from the food rules, body shame, and diet culture so many of us are trying to unlearn ourselves?
For parents who grew up surrounded by dieting, weight talk, and rigid ideas about "healthy" eating, it can be tempting to swing hard in the other direction. But does protecting our kids' relationship with food mean we shouldn't talk about nutrition, set boundaries, or teach them that some foods support their bodies differently than others?
In this episode, Jen and Annie sit down with registered dietitian, founder of Kids Eat in Color, and author of Feed Them Well, Jennifer Anderson, for a nuanced conversation about raising kids who understand nutrition while developing a flexible, confident relationship with food and their bodies.
Jennifer shares what she discovered after digging deeply into the research on child feeding—and why some of the popular advice parents hear about restriction, pressure, nutrition education, and picky eating isn't nearly as black-and-white as social media can make it seem.
They also talk about repairing past conversations about dieting and bodies, letting go of control as kids become teenagers, and why there may not be one "right" feeding strategy for every child. Instead of trying to parent perfectly, Jennifer encourages parents to pay attention to the kid in front of them, experiment, and be willing to change course when something isn't working.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- How to teach kids about nutrition without attaching fear, guilt, shame, or judgment to food
- Why protecting kids from diet culture doesn't require avoiding nutrition education or reasonable food boundaries
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