• Calorie restricted diets are not recommended; healthy eating is. Establish a healthy eating pattern and encourage more activity for the whole family.
• Make a variety of nutritious food available and allow your child to decide how much he or she wants to eat. Restricting food and denying favorite desserst, treats and snacks can lead to an unhealthy preoccupation with food.
• Encourage your child to particpate in activities he or she enjoys. And particpate your yourself. Find activities you and your child enjoy - walking, exploring, skating, tobogganing, swimming, building a snowman, biking. Don’t force a child into an activity he or she hates.
• Be sensitive to your child’s feelings about weight and the social and emotional burndens. Overweight children often suffer terribly at the hands of other people, and their self esteem is often low.
• Work with your child to build self esteem and self worth through activities and accomplishments unrelated to size, shape and phyiscal performance. Don’t send the message that your love and acceptance depend on weight loss.
• Finally, be prepared to acept the fact that not all children will achieve a healthy weight. Nevertheless, these children still need to maintain a pattern of healthy eating and regular phyical activity.

Anne Lindsay