Eating Disorders: Tips to Help Your Teenage Daughter

Eating disorders can take a devastating toll on teenagers — especially females. To help your teenage daughter, learn the possible causes of eating disorders and know how to talk to her about healthy eating habits.

The exact cause of eating disorders (e.g., anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge-eating disorder) is unknown. However, various factors might put adolescent girls at risk of developing eating disorders. For example:

• Favorite activities. Participation in activities that value leanness (e.g., wrestling, running, ballet) can increase the risk of teenage eating disorders.
• Low self-esteem. Teenagers that have low self-esteem might use their eating habits or weight loss to achieve a sense of stability or control.
• Personal factors. Genetics or biological factors might make some teenage girls more likely to develop eating disorders. Personality traits such as perfectionism, anxiety or rigidity might also play a role.
• Societal pressure. Modern Western culture tends to place a premium on being physically attractive and having a slim body. Even with a normal body weight, teenagers can easily develop the perception that they're fat. This can trigger an obsession with losing weight, dieting and being thin — especially for females.

At first, teenage eating disorders can cause signs and symptoms such as:

• Constipation
• Difficulty concentrating
• Dizziness 
• Fatigue 
• Menstrual irregularities
• Irritability
• Trouble sleeping
• Weakness

Eventually, teenage eating disorders can cause more-serious or even life-threatening health problems, including:

• Anemia
• Bone loss
• Delayed growth and development
• Depression
• Digestive problems
• Heart problems
• Muscle wasting
• Seizures 
• Suicidal thoughts or behavior 
• Thinning hair 
• Tooth decay

To help prevent teenage eating disorders, talk to your daughter about eating habits and body image. It might not be easy, but it's important. To get started, try these parenting tips:

1. Use food for nourishment — not as a reward or consequence. Resist the temptation to offer food as a bribe. Similarly, don't take away food as a punishment.

2. Share the dangers of dieting and emotional eating. Explain that dieting can compromise your daughter’s nutrition, growth and health, as well as lead to the development of binge-eating over time. Remind her that eating or controlling her diet isn't a healthy way to cope with emotions. Instead, encourage her to talk to loved ones, friends or a counselor about problems she might be facing.

3. Schedule a medical checkup for your teenager. The doctor can assess your teen's risk of an eating disorder, as well as order urine tests, blood tests or other tests to detect complications. Your daughter's doctor can reinforce the messages you're giving her at home, as well as help identify early signs of an eating disorder. For example, the doctor can look for unusual changes in your daughter’s body mass index or weight percentiles during routine medical appointments. The doctor can talk to her about her eating habits, exercise routine, and body image. If necessary, the doctor can refer your child to a mental health provider.

4. Remember the importance of setting a good example yourself. If you're constantly dieting, using food to cope with your emotions or talking about losing weight, you might have a hard time encouraging your teenage daughter to eat a healthy diet or feel satisfied with her appearance. Instead, make conscious choices about your lifestyle and take pride in your body.

5. Promote a healthy body image. Talk to your child about her self-image and offer reassurance that healthy body shapes vary. Don't allow hurtful nicknames or jokes based on a person's physical characteristics. Avoid making comments about another person based on weight or body shape.

6. If your teenager is diagnosed with an eating disorder, treatment will likely involve a type of family therapy that helps you work with daughter to improve her eating habits, reach a healthy weight, and manage other symptoms. Sometimes medication is prescribed to treat accompanying mental health conditions (e.g., depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, etc.). In severe cases, hospitalization might be needed.

7. If you suspect that your teenage daughter has an eating disorder (e.g., you've noticed baggy clothes to hide weight loss, or perhaps excessive exercise, or reluctance to eat meals with the family), then start the conversation about body image. Encourage your adolescent to open up about her problems and concerns.

8. Foster self-esteem. Respect your daughter’s accomplishments, and support her goals. Listen when she speaks. Look for positive qualities (e.g., curiosity, generosity, sense of humor, etc.). Remind your adolescent that your love and acceptance is unconditional — not based on her weight or appearance.

9. Encourage reasonable eating habits. Talk to your teenage daughter about how diet can affect her health, appearance and energy level. Encourage her to eat when she is hungry. Make a habit of eating together as a family.

10. Discuss media messages. Television programs, movies, websites and other media might send your teenager the message that only a certain body type is acceptable. Encourage your child to talk about and question what she has seen or heard — especially from websites or other sources that promote anorexia as a lifestyle choice, rather than an eating disorder.

 

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

Help for Tired Teenagers: Tips for Parents

Adolescents are notorious for staying up late and being hard to awaken in the morning. If your teenage son or daughter is no exception, it's not necessarily because he or she is pushing the limits or fighting the rules. This behavior pattern actually has a physical cause and can be modified to improve your adolescent's sleep schedule.

Most adolescents need about 9 hours of sleep a night to maintain optimal daytime alertness. But few adolescents actually get that much sleep regularly thanks to factors like early-morning classes, extracurricular activities, homework, part-time jobs, social demands, and use of computers and other electronic gadgets. More than 90% of adolescents in a recent study published in the Journal of School Health reported sleeping less than the recommended nine hours a night. In the same study, 10% of adolescents reported sleeping less than six hours a night.

Sleep-deprived teenagers are more likely than their well-rested peers to report the following risky health behaviors:

• Drank alcohol
• Drank full-sugar soda at least once per day
• Had been in at least one physical fight
• Had feelings of sadness or hopelessness
• Participated in 60 minutes of physical activity fewer than twice in the preceding week
• Seriously considered attempting suicide
• Smoked cigarettes
• Spent 3 or more hours each day on the computer
• Used marijuana
• Was sexually active

Although this might seem like no big deal, sleep deprivation can have serious consequences. Tired adolescents can find it difficult to concentrate and learn, or even stay awake in class. Too little sleep also might contribute to mood swings and behavioral problems. Another major concern is drowsy driving, which can lead to serious — or even deadly — accidents.

Everyone has an internal clock that influences body temperature, sleep cycles, appetite and hormonal changes. The biological and psychological processes that follow the cycle of this 24-hour internal clock are called circadian rhythms. Before adolescence, these circadian rhythms direct most kids to naturally fall asleep around 8 or 9 p.m. But puberty changes an adolescent's internal clock, delaying the time he or she starts feeling sleepy — often until 11 p.m. or later. Staying up late to study or socialize can disrupt an adolescent's internal clock even more. The good news is that your adolescent doesn't have to be at the mercy of his or her internal clock.

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

Tips to help your adolescent develop better sleep habits:

1. Adjust the lighting. As bedtime approaches, dim the lights. Then turn off the lights during sleep. In the morning, expose your adolescent to bright light. These simple cues can help signal when it's time to sleep and when it's time to wake up.

2. Curb the caffeine. A jolt of caffeine might help your adolescent stay awake during class, but the effects are fleeting — and too much caffeine can interfere with a good night's sleep.

3. Don’t use meds. Sleeping pills and other medications generally aren't recommended. For many adolescents, lifestyle changes can effectively improve sleep.

4. Keep it calm. Encourage your adolescent to wind down at night with a warm shower, a book or other relaxing activities. Discourage stimulating activities — including vigorous exercise, loud music, video games, television, computer use and text messaging — an hour or two before bedtime.

5. Know when to unplug. Take the TV out of your adolescent's room, or keep it off at night. The same goes for your adolescent's cell phone, computer and other electronic gadgets.

6. Nix long naps. If your adolescent is drowsy during the day, a 30-minute nap after school might be refreshing. Be cautious, though. Too much daytime shut-eye might only make it harder to fall asleep at night.

7. Stick to a schedule. Tough as it may be, encourage your adolescent to go to bed and get up at the same time every day — even on weekends. Prioritize extracurricular activities and curb late-night social time as needed. If your adolescent has a job, limit working hours to no more than 16 to 20 hours a week.

In some cases, excessive daytime sleepiness can be a sign of something more than a problem with your adolescent's internal clock. Other problems can include:

• Depression. Sleeping too much or too little is a common sign of depression.
• Insomnia or biological clock disturbance. If your adolescent has trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, he or she is likely to struggle with daytime sleepiness.
• Medication side effects. Many medications — including over-the-counter cold and allergy medications and prescription medications to treat depression and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder — can disrupt sleep.
• Narcolepsy. Sudden daytime sleep, usually for only short periods of time, can be a sign of narcolepsy. Narcoleptic episodes can occur at any time — even in the middle of a conversation. Sudden attacks of muscle weakness in response to emotions such as laughter, anger or surprise are possible, too. 
• Obstructive sleep apnea. When throat muscles fall slack during sleep, they stop air from moving freely through the nose and windpipe. This can interfere with breathing and disrupt sleep. You might notice loud snoring or intermittent pauses in breathing, often followed by snorting and more snoring. 
• Restless legs syndrome. This condition causes a "creepy" sensation in the legs and an irresistible urge to move the legs, usually shortly after going to bed. The discomfort and movement can interrupt sleep.

If you're concerned about your adolescent's daytime sleepiness or sleep habits, contact his or her doctor. If your adolescent is depressed or has a sleep disorder, proper treatment can be the key to a good night's sleep.

 

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

Teens and Texting Issues

Are you concerned about your teenager and all the texting he or she does? For many adolescents, text messaging has become a primary way to communicate with peers. As one mother stated, "It seems that my son is texting people all day and all night long. It's an addiction if there ever was one." A lack of maturity can get your adolescent into big trouble when texting, though. Help him or her to understand and avoid the risks associated with texting by using the following tips:

Cyber-bullying— Cyber-bullying refers to sending harassing texts, emails or instant messages, as well as posting intimidating or threatening content on websites or blogs.  Of course, cyber-bullying can make young people feel unsafe and might lead to school absences or other issues. It has even be a contributing factor to suicide in some cases. Encourage your adolescent to talk to you or another trusted grown-up if he or she receives harassing text messages. You might also suggest rejecting texts from unknown numbers. On the other hand, make sure your adolescent understands that it isn't acceptable to spread rumors or bully someone through texting. Remind him or her that any text message that is sent can be forwarded to anyone else, so it's important to use good judgment with every text.

Enforcing consequences— If your adolescent isn't willing to follow the rules and you've established, or if you're concerned that texting is interfering with his or her schoolwork or other responsibilities — take action! Remove your adolescent's ability to text or send pictures through his or her phone, or simply take the phone away. Remind your adolescent that having a phone is a privilege, not a right. Preventing potentially serious consequences outweighs any anger he or she is likely to exhibit.

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

Monitoring messages— Sit down with your adolescent and look through his or her text messages occasionally, or let your adolescent know that you'll periodically check the phone for content. You might also review phone records to see when and how often your adolescent is sending and receiving texts.  As your adolescent gets older and engages with a larger group of people, it becomes even more important to monitor the messages.

Sexting— Sexting refers to sending a text message with sexually explicit content (e.g., naked pictures, pictures of people engaging in sexual acts, etc.). Even if sexting seems to be the norm among your adolescent's peer group, explain the emotional consequences of sexting to him or her. Sexting can be uncomfortable for the sender as well as the receiver. The possible long-term impact of sexting matters, too. A picture or message meant for one friend can be forwarded to an entire contact list at any time — and once it's in circulation, there's no way to control it. A photo or message could resurface years later under other circumstances, possibly causing great embarrassment – and even problems with work or school. Although laws may vary from state to state, make sure your adolescent understands that the possession of sexually explicit images of a minor is considered a crime. The consequences could be serious (e.g., a police record, suspension from school, legal action, etc.). You might say something like, “If you wouldn't be comfortable sharing the photo or message with the entire world, don't send it.”

Texting instead of sleeping— Texting after going to bed interferes with a good night's sleep, especially if the messages are stressful or emotional. This can lead to serious issues (e.g., lost sleep, difficulty falling asleep, poor sleep quality, daytime sleepiness, poor grades, etc.). Work with your son or daughter to establish reasonable hours for texting (e.g., no texting after 10:30 p.m. on school nights). To enforce the rule, you might keep your adolescent's cell phone out of his or her room at night.

Texting while driving— Research suggests that “texting while driving” is more than 20 times as dangerous as driving alone. Even more disturbing, texting is an even greater threat for young drivers than for older drivers, because teenagers are less likely to stop texting when faced with a difficult driving situation. Talk to your son or daughter about the consequences of texting while driving (e.g., getting a traffic ticket, serious or deadly accidents, losing driver’s license, etc.). Talking isn't enough, though. Set clear rules and consequences about texting and driving. Explain that texting while driving isn't allowed under any circumstances, and that driving and cell phone privileges will be revoked if your adolescent texts while driving. Remind your son or daughter that texting while driving is illegal in many states. To help your adolescent resist temptation while driving, you can suggest storing the cell phone out of easy reach in the car (e.g., in the glove compartment, tucked away in a purse or bag, etc.). Also, consider apps or other safety features that disable texting while driving.

 

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents