This article is to help parents preventing serious psychological disorders that may lead to anorexia and bulimia.

1. The most important thing you should do before teaching your children – is understanding yourself, how much common opinion affected your views, concerning appearance and figure. Further you should love yourself the way you are, and only after this tell children about genetic peculiarities of female and male bodies, nature of prejudices.

By the way, fullness of hips, waist and arms is a genetic peculiarity of female organism, one might say, a stock of nutritive elements for a baby, and also protection (in the area of waist) of fetus from cold and mechanical damages.

2. Analyze your dreams and aspirations. Ask yourself: May be you require too much from your child concerning his appearance? This question is especially relevant for girls. May be you criticize your child often in a way like this: “do not eat so much; if you could weigh less, I would like you more; you do not look like this cover girl; these stylish clothes are only for such slim girls, like models etc…”

Such phrases are a straight way to diseases, like anorexia and bulimia.

3. Discuss following things with your children (boys or girls):

a. How dangerous trying to remodel one’s figure due to a diet is;

b. How useful physical exercises are, both for figure and health in general;

c. How important regular nutrition, at least three times a day, and variety of foods are;

Besides, you should be an example of healthy nutrition and physical activity.

4. Tell your children that physical exercises should bring joy, not just being a method for fat burn and calorie waste. Completeness of life and merry emotions – here is a pledge of good figure.

5. Explain your children that they should not avoid some kinds of activity (for example, dancing, swimming etc.) only because someone can see their overweight there.

6. Teach your children treating people, especially women, not through appearance, but through words, actions, thoughts.

7. Explain your children that a fashionable image of a thin girl is created only to sell these or those things, and the thing they should strive for is individuality.

8. Encourage your children’s activity and praise them more often, even for the smallest achievements. Do not limit quantity of calories your children eat just because of your fancy. Only doctor’s recommendations can be a reason for this. Just give high-quality and healthy food to your children.