Obesity and weight loss are the topics that you must discuss with your kids but with care. If you are talking about shape and size, this develops insecurities and weakness in kids. Your intention may be on the side of health and fitness. Then the way you talk about must convey the same. I have seen parents talking to their kids in a wrong way about overweight and obesity. Let not the little and sensitive minds hurt.
When you are thinking about talking to your kids about weight loss, then consider a few things. Kids need your right guidance and inputs on weight loss. Don’t let them feel inferior or low at any point.
While you are talking about weight loss to your kids, let love and care be part of the discussion. The first thing that you need to mind is, not making it sound like a problem to them. You may need more inputs to make it a good influencing discussion on weight loss for your kids.
Things To Consider While Talking To Kids About Losing Weight
You can start a weight loss practice for your kids in an unnoticed way. Which is only to focus on their health and well being. It is not the matter of looks and beauty for kids at a very tender age. Anyways, they will know the leads of being in shape and size as they grow. By the time they become teengaers, they must be confident and follow the right ways of losing weight or maintaining the right weight. So, parents are the ones who can root the healthy weight loss practice for their kids.
We are mentioning the best ways to talk and lead your children for weight loss. Consider these things while you are talking to your kids about weight loss. They would do it all right as you are saying it right!
1. Create weight loss awareness in steps
The young minds need awareness in steps. If you are giving them awareness about calories intake for weight loss then it would be beyond their understanding capability. You need to start with basic awareness.
The effective teaching starts from the basics. So, for your child to understand the importance of healthy weight management, you must start with basics and it must be in steps. Don’t feed too much knowledge to their minds at once.
I suggest you give them awareness about health and well being. Give them an idea of being healthy.
2. Tell them benefits of fitness
Weight loss is not just about appearance. We adults take it in the wrong way and strive to reduce weight to come into desired shape and size. But losing weight is not never totally about appearance and good looks. Don’t misguide your kids linking their weight to appearance. You better give the helping weight loss tips for your kids by linking it to fitness and health/
Tell your kids it is beneficial to lose weight for fitness. Tell them- they can be active when they are physically fit. Also explain the health benefits of maintaining healthy weight. This is how you guide kids to lose weight without hurting their feelings or making them conscious about their appearance.
3. Appreciate their efforts
If your child is showing interest in physical fitness then appreciate the efforts. They come up to you for your guidance and support. Then give your time and let them proceed for weight loss in a healthy way.
If you are giving less attention or ignoring their efforts of losing weight then slowly they will give up on their goals or interest in physical fitness. This can make weight loss a bigger milestone than in real life.
4. Encourage them to speak
Do you feel your kid is facing some kind of difficulty about their appearance? Then you need to encourage them to speak more. Let your kids be expressive about the sensitive matters like beauty, appearance and weight loss. They need more support from your end as a parent. That is how you can give next guidance and right inputs for their interest in losing weight.
The more knowledge they gain from your talks and guidance will be useful for them even when they grow up. I notice successful people following their parents. So, lte them speak and lead them right which will be followed while they are growing.
If you are giving your kids to speak, they will also open up with their difficulties and challenges they face. You will on what you must focus more. Would you encourage them to talk about weight loss from now?
5. Talk about good food habits
When it is weight loss for kids, you must definitely stress on food habits. Diet tips for kids are very important. Don’t give tags as tips when talking to your kids but just keep it in mind.
Let me tell you why it is important to talk about food habits when talking about your weight loss- your little one may listen to someone saying food affects weight. The mishearing and wrong information misleads and affects their health. So, clarify and explain to them that good food habits are a must for weight loss.
Let them know what role food plays for weight loss. Don’t ignore their thinking and views about food when it is weight loss. If you are not taking their food habits seriously, they will practice bad methods of losing weight. This is how growing kids become the teengaers who follow the wrong diet and skip the daily meals. So, don’t allow your kids to make these kinds of mistakes and it all stops with your ways of talking about weight loss.
6. More positive talks
When you are talking to your kids about weight loss, you must include the most positive thoughts. Don’t make the weight loss process sound harsh for your kids. They are not as mature as adults to understand the weight loss importance. I also advise parents not to talk about shape and size as it becomes a negative talk about weight loss. Children are too young and need to grow if you want to talk limitless or without boundaries about weight loss.
So when there is a discussion about weight loss, then add the positivity in it. For example, you can use the terms like “healthy weight” or “physically active” instead of “slim”, “good looking”. The words and phrases you are using can make it a positive talk about weight loss for your little ones.
7. Health is the priority- let them know
Kids need to know that health is the first priority for weight loss. As they have less knowledge on the connectivity of health and weight loss, kids may not prioritize health. If you can show them a short clip with related and proper information then that would be helpful for kids to understand the importance of health for losing weight.
In your talks with your kids about losing weight, you need to stress more on good sleep, food habits, lifestyle. Even kds must have a healthy lifestyle routine which includes play time, simple exercising and study hours. This is simple for all kids to follow for a healthy and happy stay. While you are considering weight loss for you kids, don’t miss to throw some light on health and well being.
8. Confidence is important- explain it
Kids bullying is a bad influence for young minds. Kids come across different types of bullying. They dont be vocal about it to parents but slowly lose their confidence. One thing that can save your children is your talks and time you give them. Your attention and affection is very important for them to fight any kind of bullying.
Children with overweight and obesity also go through bullying. So, take time and talk to your kids to fight the bullying in friends circles, schools and anywhere they gather in groups. Help them increase the confidence that other children take a chance in bullying about appearance.
9. Talk about simple and healthy weight loss practices
It is not just to talk about weight loss to kids but also to guide them with simple and healthy practices. You must talk about the role of exercise and outdoor games for weight loss. Teach the simple but effective physical activities which are great for overall health.
You can teach the easy and basic yoga poses for kids. You can ask them to go for a walk and play a sport everyday. It is a fun and effective weight loss game for little ones. They would do it without being conscious about their appearance and size as it is a casual thing of routine lifestyle.
10. Assure your support
When you are preparing your child for weight loss then assure your support. This is needed for below 10 years old kids and early teenagers. For kids below 10 years only need to be physically active and eat healthy.
By now you would know at what age kids should be taught about weight loss and involved in weight management discussion. Whenever you are doing a weight loss discussion, your support must come first to develop their interest in being fit. Let them know that you are there to lead them. Also don’t forget to keep feeding positive points.
Don’ts When Talking To Your Kids About Weight Lose
Before starting your discussion or in flow of talking about weight loss to your kids, you must remember these don’ts. We need not tell much about it as no parent would hurt their kids intentionally. But these are reminders to keep in mind when you are talking to your kids about weight loss or obesity. It keeps your kids away from hurting themselves emotionally or health wise when it comes to losing weight.
● Don’t body shame
When you are talking to your kids body shaming is a big “no”. Parents generally protect their children from hurting them. But unknowingly they hurt from their side. If you are seeing your kids are putting on weight don’t create a negative image about their appearance which is ultimately body shame.
● Don’t talk about dieting
Kids get to listen widely about dieting. The advertisements and random talks give the wrong glimpse about weight loss diets. As adults and grown ups we understand the right path. But you can’t expect your kids to understand and step right.
Firstly, don’t talk about dieting and in case your kids know anything about dieting, then you need to correct their wrong views.
● Don’t ask to eat less food
When you are talking to your kids about weight loss, don’t slip asking them to eat less. So, how can you control their eating habits?
When we are saying what not to do, they would ask what to do as well. You cannot ask your kids to eat less or let them eat unlimited. Both are not right. Just give your kids the right amount of food in small meals and snacks. Make sure that they eat less junk and more healthy food. If your kids are active in outdoor games and any kind of physical activities like sports and exercises then you need not keep them under strict control of food. You must talk and also monitor their food habits for them to maintain healthy weight.
● Don’t tease- not even for fun
You may tease your children but it is not taken as you are expecting from their side. In discussion with your kids about weight loss, it can be friendly and elaborated but not teasing. Make it a healthy and friendly discussion with other elements like positivity, appreciations.
We already mentioned the importance of positive talks on weight loss. So, let us also tell you that there would be no teasing where there is positivity, especially with kids.
As you are fully aware of your kids mindset, you will implement these considerations in the talk about weight loss and obesity. The sensitive minds need simple ways to work on their fitness. Not only at a young age, they also grow healthy and remember some of these ways as they grow up and work on fitness.
