Welcome to another episode of the Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast. Today, we will be sitting down with Dr. Mark Kirshenbaum who is a board certified pediatrician based in Brooklyn, New York with over 10 years of experience. He graduated from Tourocom, which is Touro colleges medical school, and sees all types of pediatric pathologies, which includes babies from day zero through adulthood throughout their development. He is also your go-to guy for any mental health concerns.

In this episode, we will dive right into how pediatricians deal with eating disorders, how parents can foster healthy relationships and environments for their children, and the importance of consulting a primary care doctor. Let's dive in!

[00:01 - 08:17] Opening Segment

• I introduce our guest for this episode
• Dr. Mark talk about his background
• How a pediatrician got into eating disorders
• • Dealing with mental health
  • Dealing with more eating disorders

[08:18 - 24:40] Fostering Healthy Relationship Between Food and Children

• Being aware of the teenager's attitude and behavior
• Communicate and get to the nuances of the relationships
  • Establish a judgement-free environment
  • Don't shut the kids down
  • Establish an environment where people can speak freely
• Check ourselves as parents
  • Role modeling to your kids
• Younger siblings look up to older siblings
• Things to lookout for as red flags
  • Different red flags in different communities
  • The way we define "unhealthy" is defined by social norms
  • Utilize the professionals in schools like teachers, counselors, older friend

[24:41 - 42:15] Experience with Specialists and Hospital

• Regular adult nutritionists will do at times significant damage
• Working with someone whose specialty is weight loss will not be the person that's going to help somebody who's struggling with their relationship with food
• Knowing the end goal
• Importance of conducting a risk assessment
• Exhaust other options before going to the hospital

[27:29 - 51:41] Closing Segment

• Final words
• Share this episode to those who might need to hear it!
• Connect with me through the links below

Tweetable Quotes:

"As a doctor, I'd say the one of the biggest knots that we get as a don't sit down, and listen, we just talk so much. And it makes it hard for parents to feel like their concerns are being addressed." - Dr. Mark Kirschenbaum

"Never try to shut down a kid who's opening themselves up to you for guidance." Dr. Mark Kirschenbaum

"When you talk about laying the groundwork for mental health and eating disorders, in particular, it's about open lines of communication and modeling for your kids." - Dr. Mark Kirschenbaum

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You can connect with me, Rachelle Heinemann on Instagram, through my website www.rachelleheinemann.com, or email me directly at [email protected].