How to Handle Thanksgiving Without the Food Fights, Judgment, or Meltdowns
Manage episode 520391168 series 3697323
Thanksgiving is coming. And you're not worried about the turkey—you're worried about what happens at the table. Your child only eats three foods, none of which are on the menu. Grandma's already making comments. And you're wondering: do we skip it altogether, or bring safe foods and deal with the judgment?
Here's what you need to know: The food battles at Thanksgiving aren't about pickiness or defiance. They're about nervous systems, sensory processing, and a fundamental misunderstanding of whose job is what when it comes to eating.
In this episode, I sit down with eating disorder specialist Dr. Christy Duffy to talk about how to survive Thanksgiving when food is complicated. You'll discover:
Why extreme food selectivity isn't stubbornness—it's neurology
The Division of Responsibility: what YOU control and what your CHILD controls (and why getting this wrong makes everything harder)
How to protect your child from food pressure without starting a family war
Why "bringing safe foods" isn't reinforcing the problem—it's protecting your child's relationship with food
The long-term damage that happens when kids who struggle with food are shamed at the table
By the end of this episode, you'll know how to make Thanksgiving about connection instead of control—and how to get through the day without the meltdowns, the guilt, or the battles.
Your kid isn't broken. Your parenting isn't broken. Sometimes we're just asking our fish to climb trees. That's what we fix here.
10 episodes