What Role Do Parents Play in Their Teen’s Eating Disorder Recovery?

Written by Cristina Luibil, MS, RD, LDN with support from Sabrina Stadelman.

Eating disorders are complex mental health conditions that require a lot of support. While the support and expertise of a treatment team is essential to a teen’s recovery, parents and caregivers also play an important role. As a parent or caregiver, you are responsible for following recovery meal plans at home, but your role is also to provide emotional support and encouragement. In this role, you can help your teen by creating a safe and supportive environment for recovery. 

How Can Parents Provide Support to Their Teen in Eating Disorder Recovery?

Parents and caregivers provide emotional encouragement and create a supportive home environment. They prepare and serve meals, encourage open communication, and make mealtimes positive. Parents and caregivers will work with their child’s dietitian, physician(s), and therapist. Parents and caregivers will be an important part of their teen's treatment team.

For a teen with an eating disorder, a supportive environment is extremely important. Eating disorders can be very isolating. Recovering teens need consistent support throughout their recovery. Even once a teen has recovered from their eating disorder, families can still help to support long-term recovery and well-being. One way to do this is to ensure the home is free from diets/diet culture, triggering language, and negative food and body comments and opinions. These types of comments can cause a teen in recovery to spiral. 

Parents and caregivers provide this support in many important ways. This includes preparing food and ensuring their teen is eating enough for recovery. Parents and caregivers also play an important role in making mealtimes positive. The home should be a safe space where teens don’t feel pressured to eat a certain way or shamed for what or how much they’re eating. Parent and caregiver involvement is important for the success of treatment.

Why Does Your Support Matter in Eating Disorder Recovery?

Parents and caregivers are often the first to recognize changes in behavior and other signs of an eating disorder. If you suspect your teen may have an eating disorder, it’s important to get help as soon as possible. 

Signs of Disordered Eating / a Potential Eating Disorder 

• Skipping meals or snacks

• Cutting out foods or food groups they used to enjoy

• Making strict rules around eating

• Avoiding social events, especially when they involve food

• Spending a lot of time counting calories or planning meals

• Excessive exercise

• Cutting out calorie-dense foods or entire food groups (such as fat, carbs, etc.)

• Weighing themselves every day or many times per day

• Secretive eating or not wanting to eat in front of others

• Significant or rapid weight loss

• Irritability or intense mood swings

• Sluggishness or tiredness

• Decreased ability to concentrate

• Feeling cold, even in warm surroundings

• Dizziness or fainting

• Becoming sick after eating

• Lack of or disruption in menstrual cycles in teen girls

Parental support and involvement is also essential for a successful recovery. Your teen will need your encouragement and presence during mealtimes. Responsibility for preparing meals and making sure they’re eating will also fall on parents and caregivers during the first stages of recovery. For this reason, it’s important work with your teen’s registered dietitian to understand your teen’s nutritional needs during recovery. With the help of their registered dietitian, you will prepare and provide the food and snacks needed for renourishment and nutrition rehabilitation. 

Your teen will also need emotional support. Recovery isn't only about eating enough. It's also about addressing and reducing eating disorder behaviors.

It will be difficult at first, but you will want to work towards making mealtimes a more positive experience for your teen. This can look like providing emotional support to your teen during mealtimes by sitting with them, encouraging them, and working to make mealtimes a safe, comfortable experience.

Keeping conversations away from food/eating/body size is key, and offering distractions during mealtimes can be a huge help. Distractions can include games, conversation cards, coloring books; anything that takes the focus off of eating. Your teen can decide what distractions would help them the most, and your support and involvement will be important in working with the treatment team. As parents and caregivers, you can create an environment that supports recovery and helps your teen thrive. 

If your teen has recently been diagnosed with an eating disorder, it’s important to understand the important role that you play as a parent or caregiver. Eating disorders are serious and complex. Getting your teen the help that they need is vital, and your support throughout their recovery is essential to help them heal. As their parent or caregiver, you play a huge role in their recovery. The most important thing is letting them know you’ll be there for them every step of the way. 

If you’re looking for support for a teen struggling with an eating disorder, Aterra Nutrition offers virtual nutrition counseling and support for eating disorder recovery with a registered dietitian. We offer one-on-one nutrition counseling for those in DC, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Michigan. Learn more about the eating disorder services Aterra Nutrition offers on our website at aterranutrition.com.

About the Author

Cristina Luibil, MS, RD, LDN specializes in eating disorder recovery and Intuitive Eating for teens and adults. Aterra Nutrition provides virtual nutrition counseling for those in DC, Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, and Michigan. This post was researched and written in conjunction with Sabrina Stadelman, dietetics student and nutrition assistant at Aterra Nutrition. Learn more about the whole team at aterranutrition.com/about.

Disclaimer: The information shared in this blog is for general educational and informational purposes only. It may not be tailored to your specific health needs as it is written here. This content is not intended to replace personalized medical advice, nutrition counseling, or medical nutrition therapy. Any recipes or suggestions provided are meant to inspire and should be used at your discretion. Always consult with your own registered dietitian, physician, or healthcare provider before making changes to your nutrition, lifestyle, or treatment plan. If you choose,

If you have other nutrition and Intuitive Eating goals for you or the entire family, our sister company, Radica Family Nutrition, would love to help.