So many kids want to follow in their parent's footsteps but how do we help them avoid body dissatisfaction and eating disorders, especially if they have a lived experience themselves. Kids are great imitators and parents, teachers and other adult role models have a huge role to play in helping them accept the bodies they are in. In this episode, we're investigating how we can change the picture with kids.
Body dissatisfaction is one of the highest risk factors for eating disorders and studies tell us that if you struggle with body image as a kid or as a teenager, you're far more likely to carry those feelings with you into adulthood. The troubling news for those of us who are parents is that more and more young kids are telling us that they're dissatisfied with their bodies.
Psychologist and eating disorder prevention specialist Danni Rowlands tells host Sam Ikin “appearance and image are still such important things in our society and that's that's not helping people to feel comfortable or happy in their bodies.”
IT professional Kelly Griffin struggled with body image issues and eating disorders for decades. “Unfortunately, [my eldest daughter] had to see your dad go through [an eating disorder]. No child should ever go through this but, even more, no child should ever see their parent go through it.” Kelly takes us through how he is helping his kids build resilience to the issues he fell prey to.
Nuibeny Naam isn’t a parent but plays a large part in bringing up her sisters’ children. She says she suffered from body dissatisfaction because her body ‘wasn’t what you would call Australian”. She came to Australia when she was nine years old and suffered from eating disorders and body dissatisfaction for decades. She says she’s trying to help her nieces accept their differences and love the bodies they have.
Anne Smith, lived with an eating disorder from the age of 15 until she was 30. But it wasn’t until she became pregnant that she started to make up her mind to find recovery and set a strong example for her kids. “It took growing another life for me to realise how important mine was,” she said.
As a parent who's been affected by an eating disorder, it's one thing to say that we don't want our kids to follow in those footsteps, but actually protecting them from it is a whole other story.

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