I was picking up groceries at Trader Joes.

As I was putting a couple boxes of frozen corn dogs in my cart, a fellow shopper approached me to give me his input: “Don’t you know those things are bad for you? Eating hot dogs can take 6 years off your life!”

Even though this isn’t the first time something like this has happened to me, I’m always a bit flustered by people who decide to be the food police.

I laughed and told him, “Oh yeah? Well, how much joy and fun gets taken off your life when you cut out foods you enjoy eating?”

Because the truth of the matter is food rules are part of diet culture that will keep you and your family from enjoying eating together.

When did food become a moral issue?

There are no “good” versus “bad” foods - unless we’re talking about foods that are rotten and spoiled (in that case, they’re BAD - throw them out!)

When our kids hear us or others talking about food in this polarizing way, it can create inherent shame around food.

Remember - children are literal thinkers. This means when they hear statements like, “Don’t eat that food - it’s bad for you!”, they can translate it to mean that THEY are bad for wanting to eat certain foods.

This can seed feelings of guilt and shame around food from an early age, making it harder for your kids to have a positive + trusting relationship with food and their bodies.

Food isn’t toxic or poisonous. But you know what is? Diet culture.

Let’s stop the food shaming. You and your family deserve to enjoy freedom with food as a family (without a side serve of diet culture BS).

For a script of positive phrases you can say at mealtimes to help you raise intuitive eaters, be sure to snag my free guide: [ Ссылка ]

How are you changing the narrative around food in your home?

I’m cheering you on, friend!

свернуть