Eating and Body Image Concerns
Have you found yourself obsessing over how many calories you eat in a day? Or isolating from social engagements for fear of eating too much?
Is your 10 year old commenting about how “fat” they are, or you notice that they have been missing at mealtimes, or complaining that they had a big lunch so aren’t hungry at dinner?
Do you spend a lot of time in front of the mirror checking your body, pinching parts of your body, or criticizing yourself because of how you look? Do you ever exercise to the point of exhaustion, or use exercise as a form of punishment?
These might be passing concerns but they are also signs of what we can see with budding eating disorders, so it could be useful to explore in a conversation with one of our team.
EVALUATING MOOD CONCERNS at GBWC
Perhaps you have noticed that your 16 year old has seemed more tense or cranky lately, sleeping less (or more), or putting themselves down? Maybe their grades are slipping, or they don’t seem to invite kids over or have plans as much as they used to? Or they want to quit a team or other out of school activity? Sometimes our kids don’t want to worry us as parents about things they may perceive as “not a big deal” or that they know are serious but worry it will worry us!
Sometimes this can happen because of situations that bring us down, like a disagreement with a friend, or being turned down by a potential love interest, and this can be shorter term. Sometimes, however, it is depression, which is not something most of us “snap out of”. We can evaluate this more thoroughly and work with your child and you to understand what is bugging them and create some action steps to them feel their usual self again.