This is such a hard issue to find out about, we feel for anyone who has ever had to endure an eating disorder or dealt with a loved one who went through it. While it can be full of agony, you can pick up on many of the symptoms along the way. Listen, we'll give you a list of the tips, tricks, and methods to learning more about your child's eating habits in hopes that it helps you in your situation or keeps it from happening all together.
The Sports Athlete
We understand that it's great to get your children involved in extra curricular activities. However, there are a few sports that require you to watch your weight. Wrestling and gymnastics are just a couple, but you only need one to have a change occur. So if you can, keep them out of these sports and if you can't, at least sit down and discuss the possible problems. Keep in mind a good solid meal three times a day can keep them at an ideal weight.
The Disorders from Disorders
It's bad enough that we have things like anorexia, bulimia or others like binge eating. The biggest problem associated with any of this is they can create other disorders and continue the spiraling effect further damaging the body. So it's important to overcome the obstacles before they get too far out of hand. Where do you start? Finding the symptoms as soon as possible is the key.
If you see your child skipping meals, have this uncontrollable knack for excessive exercising, or see a substantial amount of weight loss then you should be concerned. There are other symptoms as well like noticing this binge eating happening or an odd realization that they are counting calories during each meal. All of them are symptoms, and even if you don't see them yet, talking about them could bring things out into the open.
Oh, and we didn't mention any of the other disorders before because we didn't want you to be distracted from the information. However, you do need to know about them so you can get educated on as much as possible. There are many, but we'll just give you a few. Dehydration, hair loss, gum decay, tooth decay, muscle loss, and even death. Routine check-ups are recommended if several of these are noticeable.
The Discussion
When talking with your children about eating disorders you will soon realize it's not easy. If they may become defensive which you will want to tread lightly. An easier way to deal with the situation is to call your family doctor ahead of time and talk about the concerns. You don't want your child to drift further away, especially if there is a situation. So take precautions so the end result will be a successful one.
##
