As a parent coach, I can help you understand your child’s anxiety disorder and make a difference in their recovery. Anxiety disorders are scary, but also very treatable. Parents can make all the difference in helping kids recover from anxiety disorders. And the sooner you dive in and get started, the sooner your child (and you!) will feel a lot better. With new knowledge and skills, you can help your child recover from their anxiety disorder. Can kids recover from anxiety disorders? Kids can and do recover from anxiety disorders. With adequate treatment, including lifestyle changes and parent ..read more

Having an estranged child is hard on parents, and getting coaching and support can help you reconnect. When children become estranged, it’s easy (and understandable!) for parents to slip into helplessness and overwhelm. While it’s talked about more today than it was 10 years ago, parental estrangement is still considered taboo by many people, so it can be hard to find support and guidance as you seek to repair and reconnect with your child. Parental estrangement is much more common that most people know. In fact, studies have put the number between 25-50% of adult children reporting curre ..read more

If your child or teen has Avoidant Restrictive Feeding Intake Disorder, called ARFID, you want to find the most effective and healthy way to help them get back on their growth curve and expand their food and eating flexibility. ARFID is hard to deal with because it can look like the child is just being picky or difficult, when in fact there’s so much more going on. Power struggles, despair, and frustration are common, but full recovery is possible! What is ARFID? ARFID is a restrictive eating disorder in which the person has strong food aversions and struggles to meet their nutritional an ..read more

Hello! Today I’m going to respond to a letter from a mom whose daughter has both autism and an eating disorder. Her sister’s judgment and criticism are making family events unpleasant, so I’ll review how to set boundaries and provide education to family members. The letter Dear Ginny,  My 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with autism and an eating disorder. Sadly, these conditions have affected her social interactions, particularly family events, which almost always revolve around food.  Unfortunately, my sister seems to blame me for my daughter’s diagnosis. She says that my own foo ..read more

It’s both exciting and stressful when a child returns from residential treatment for an eating disorder. Parents can optimize success by planning a recovery routine. Here’s a letter from a parent who’s going through this right now.  The letter Dear Ginny,  My child is coming home from almost two months of residential treatment. Before that, there was hospitalization and some seriously traumatizing eating experiences.  Of course I am happy to have my child stabilized and coming home, but I’m also terrified. How in the world am I going to keep them on the road to recovery?  I ..read more

Getting parent support when kids have eating disorders can make all the difference in treatment and recovery. Parents are not the cause of eating disorders, and yet the way they approach treatment and recovery can make all the difference in whether their child accepts and ultimately embraces recovery. What causes eating disorders? The first (very important!) thing to say about eating disorders is that families don’t cause eating disorders. They are complex disorders that arise based on a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors.  Biological: People who have certain gen ..read more

If your college student has/had an eating disorder, you may want parent coaching to help you support them in making the transition to school. College students are at high risk of eating disorders, and unfortunately things are getting worse. About 15% of college students were at risk for an eating disorder in 2013, but today that number is up to 28%. This significant increase has a direct impact on your college student’s health and safety at college. You want to find the most effective way to help your child take good care of their physical and mental health, especially if they are living indep ..read more

If your child has ADHD, you may want parent coaching to help with eating issues, ranging from very picky eating, forgetting to eat, disordered eating and eating disorders. Eating issues are scary for parents, but they’re not uncommon. More than 1/3 of people who have eating disorders also have ADHD. This rate is much higher than the general population of people with ADHD (3-10%). Early intervention is key, so your engagement right now will make a difference! You want to find the most effective way to help your child eat healthfully. Additionally, you want them to develop a better relationship ..read more

Watching your child when they’re binge eating is stressful, but you can help. Your confident support before, during, and after binge eating episodes will help them recover. Here are my top five tips to help your child during a binge eating episode: 1. Remember that the binge is a symptom of a problem Seeing your child binge eat is hard to watch. Most parents feel their kids’ distress acutely. It’s painful to see them eating when you know they are feeling out of control and seeking comfort and control in food. It’s natural if you feel tempted to cut off the binge as quickly as possible. Yo ..read more

In this episode, I talk to a mom whose daughter has anorexia and is making threats of suicide during meals. This is terrifying and getting in the way of eating. I provide practical advice for how the mom can prevent and respond to threats during meals.  For more information about suicide: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Here’s a draft of the letter you can use: Sample Letter  If you want help caring for a child who has an eating disorder, schedule a consultation here: Website Read the full transcript/article associated with this episode here: Article You can submit y ..read more