THE FOOD DEMANDER and THE TROUBLE TRANSITIONER

Anyone out there have a kid who now is demanding food, or sweets a lot of the time?  Worrying...

I think we could safely say that when any woman steps into a dressing room to try on clothing, her inner dialogue is not exactly complimentary.  Am I just speaking for myself, or do we tend to get fairly self-critical, and focus on the negative, vs. the positive, when left...

Anyone catch that outrageous story yesterday of the little girl who was denied health care coverage because she was too skinny?!  Her parents were on The Today Show stating that she was on “her growth curve," is a picky eater, had a bit of a gag reflex problem that was...

Am I supposed to be happy about this?  For the first time as a parent, I find myself almost getting into fights about food.

I know it pushes my buttons, because it seems dogmatic and obsessive.  I hate thinking about food too much; I love to eat but I have...

Nothing like having kids to reinforce the nature part of the nurture debate when it comes to personality traits.  Forget things like hair and eye color; any parent with more than one kid knows how different and unique their personalities and temperaments are, from Day One.

I broaden this...

What parent doesn’t want their kid to feel good about themselves?  If I see that commercial one more time, with the little kid batting the ball saying:  “I am the best hitter in the world!”  or , “I am the best pitcher in the world!”,   with the ‘happy soundtrack’ in...

Boy did I love having infants, and boy do I love that my kids are now more independent and can get around on their own! With two teenagers and one 10 year old who is beginning to ask to walk to school on her own this year, I am really...

This weekend the New York Times Magazine's cover story is by Frank Bruni, the Times' restaurant critic, and is titled: "This Boy's Appetite". Given my work in the field of eating disorders and prevention with kids and eating problems, I read it with relish.

I thought of the parents who...

Today's quotation of the day in the New York Times has to resonate with every single analyst across the land: "Life experiences have to influence you. We're not robots who listen to evidence and don't have feelings. We have to recognize those feelings, and put them aside."
JUDGE SONIA...

I am walking away from my 15 and 10 y/o daughters this morning laughing to myself, thinking how in so many 'things parenting'; what ends up happening is rarely what you plan.

Off I went this morning musing on the blog I was going to write today: "Raising kids...

Do you get to buy a SUBWAY sandwich, where the owner of the shop is one of the most acerbic, sarcastic, 'salt of the earth' and hilarious women on the planet! You might think in fact that you have landed at Caroline's Comedy Club rather than your local sandwich shop!...

This past weekend I attended the Body Design by Gilda reunion in NYC. In the former basement studio (now turned club), where we used to lead hundreds of women to push themselves one more rep, one more jump we convened; but no, not in spandex.

In 1982 I moved to...

A few years ago during his trial for child molestation, I was asked by several national radio stations to comment on Michael Jackson's psychiatric status due to my work in the area of body image distortion, eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorders. Right after several interviews were set up however,...

It is one day from D-Day for parents who still don't know where their kids are going to kindergarten in the fall. This is the last week of public school! This from one parent and child: "It just sucks. School year's over and my son keeps asking...

In the last two days I have been thinking about what things are particular to living in New York City. Coming home on the subway yesterday, there were the usual 'hawkers'; people selling anything from newspapers, candy, and of course the mariachi musicians. (I am sorry, I don't even want...

I have a confession that for some reason comes a surprise to the audiences I speak to, (not my friends and family who know this well!). I am a massive 'foodie'. I love, love, love to eat, and to eat well. I can get ridiculously excited about the prospect of...

As I have pondered this request for a piece on tweens and body image for several weeks now, I realize that I need to present you with the brutal truth: Most adolescent girls' body image 'sucks.' According to the hundreds of tweens I have worked with over 20 years and...

I had to write this in honor of Mother's Day.

I lift a glass and salute all of you mothers out there who can be real and down with your intense negative feelings towards your kids at times.

With all of the love love love, think positive self-help mantras out...

The other day I was counseling a couple who came to me over their own fighting over their kids' food. He: "I think Karen defers to the kids too much. They should eat what is on their plate, and finish it all!" She: "I refuse to make my kid eat...

I was just asked to do this piece for Just Ask Marlene; the website that Wilhemina Models' head of the Junior Division has for girls and young women. It is not focused on girls who are or want to be models, but rather focused on healthy eating for...