Between 2013 and 2018, <\/a>the rates of people living with eating disorders across the world increased from 3.2 per cent to 7.8 per cent, with about 3.3 million lives lost to the disorder every year. <\/p>\nHow to talk to children about eating disorders<\/p>\n
Discussing eating disorders and the change in a celebrity\u2019s appearance is a difficult topic to bring up with children, family therapist and Eating Disorders Victoria (EDV) director of operations and programs Sarah Politt told NewsWire.<\/p>\n
\u201cTalking to your kids about celebrities\u2019 weight changes is hard, and it\u2019s normal to feel worried,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Ms Politt said parents should \u201cnot be afraid\u201d to have an open conversation with their children about the health of their favourite pop star. <\/p>\n
\u201cKey tips would be don\u2019t be afraid to have a conversation. Stay curious and resist jumping straight in: \u2018I\u2019ve seen this news about Ariana, I know you love her, how are you feeling about it?\u2019 Then listen first, share your concerns and go from there,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n
Associated Counsellors and Psychologists Sydney clinic director Dan Auerbach said primary school children should be spoken in a \u201cbrief and factual\u201d manner about eating disorders. <\/p>\n
Teenagers are a different story, which could present its own challenges. <\/p>\n
He said parents of teenagers should have a \u201creal conversation\u201d about eating disorders, which he said may lead to arguments \u201csince they will often defend either the celebrity or the commentary as a way of testing what you actually think\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cTeenagers are the group most exposed to this material and the least likely to raise it at home, so the parent usually has to go first,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
What parents should avoid saying to their children<\/p>\n
Despite the importance of the topic, Mr Auerbach said bringing up a celebrity\u2019s physical appearance may do more harm than good. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe instinct is to reassure a child by commenting on how the celebrity looks, and whether the comment is concerned or approving it lands the same way because the child hears that adults watch bodies closely and form judgments about them,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Mr Auerbach instead recommended asking a child what they knew about the celebrity, as it could indicate whether they had a \u201cpassing interest\u201d in the topic or \u201csomething the child has been sitting with privately for a while\u201d.<\/p>\n
He urged parents to say \u201cvery little about the person\u2019s body\u201d and \u201cquite a lot about the pressure they are under\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe more useful move is to shift the conversation from how someone looks to what it might be like to have millions of strangers discussing your body, which is a pressure no child has to work hard to imagine,\u201d Mr Auerbach said. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt is also worth saying plainly that eating disorders are illnesses rather than choices or vanity, and that you cannot tell whether someone has one by looking at them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Parents should also try and avoid using language that may encourage disordered eating. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat happens at your own kitchen table matters more than the conversation about the celebrity,\u201d Mr Auerbach said. <\/p>\n
\u201cA parent who talks about \u2018needing to be good today\u2019, or who comments critically on their own body in the mirror, is teaching a lesson that outweighs anything said about a pop star.\u201d <\/p>\n
A new Butterfly Foundation survey found that 84 per cent of Australians find it harder to speak kindly about their own body than someone else\u2019s. <\/p>\n
\u201cMost people know that they would never say to a friend the unkind things they say to themselves,\u201d Butterfly head of prevention Helen Bird said. <\/p>\n
\u201cBut negative body talk has become so normalised that it can influence how people eat, move, socialise and participate in everyday life.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing kinder to our own bodies is about building small, simple actions into everyday life.\u201d <\/p>\n
Signs parents should watch for<\/p>\n
EDV chief executive Paul Bird said while it was important to be open with children about bodies and weight, it was also imperative to watch for signs of disordered eating. <\/p>\n
\u201cEating disorders are on the rise, so it\u2019s crucial parents know the signs,\u201d he told NewsWire. <\/p>\n
\u201cBe aware of any shift in their usual patterns around eating. It may not be eating less, it could also look like \u2018I\u2019m going to be healthy\u2019. Any secrecy \u2013 for example, snacks going missing \u2013 or rigidity are also shifts to watch for.\u201d <\/p>\n
Mr Auerbach said there were some signs that should warrant immediate action, including a child entering a \u201csudden intense exercise routine\u201d or developing a \u201cpreoccupation with weight or appearance that has changed the child\u2019s mood\u201d. <\/p>\n
Mr Bird said parents should encourage conversations with their children and create a safe space for them to speak openly. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand parents\u2019 anxiety about their kids seeing content that challenges their ideas about their body or weight,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a lot they can do to protect their kids against the risk of eating disorders. <\/p>\n
\u201cOpen conversations, showing that you accept all body types, and not moralising food choices can all go a long way.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Parents have been urged to speak openly \u2013 but cautiously \u2013 with their children about mental health 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