Children Eat Emotionally, Too

Adults often use eating as a method to cope with their emotions. Sometimes this is effective and does not lead to negative effects in terms of health, weight, and self-image, especially when the emotional-eating is isolated to an occasion or two. However, emotional-eating in general is a less-than-healthy coping strategy in the longer term. This is also something that children do and it is important for their parents and caregivers to be aware of the signs, as well as aware of strategies to redirect children to healthier coping strategies. This article from the NY Times provides some background for parents on the topic of emotional eating in children and gives some guidance on ways to address it effectively.