Hello to everyone out there in blog land. I am thrilled that Arianna invited me to be a part of such a vibrant online community. By way of a quick introduction, I am a psychotherapist working in private practice in NYC, and I specialize in eating issues. As a former professional dancer, I left that world, thrilled to be able to eat more, stop dieting, (whoever heard of firing their shrink for gaining a few pounds!) and I trained and have worked in the field of eating disorders for the last 20 years.
As a fan of the Huffington Post, I know that you all thrive on your diversity. But if there's one thing we all have in common, it's food. I personally think that our culture is way too preoccupied in a negative way with food. Feeling guilty, obsessive, diets coming out telling you the perfect way to eat every few seconds. No matter where you turn, it is hard to avoid the preoccupation and apparent guilt our culture seems to feel is necessary to eat 'healthily'.
Now, I need to be upfront about where I stand on food. I love it. I am a true "Foodie". I love to eat, but I hate to cook. In fact, my least favorite part of parenting, (I have three daughters, ages now 13, 12, and 8) is the non stop job of planning, shopping for, and preparing food. It never ends! Yeah, I know you can take breaks every now and then, take-out, eating out, but there it is, back again! Breakfast, lunch, dinner! Yikes! (Anyone out there on board with me here?!) Uggggh!
I am in total admiration of you people who have this together and enjoy the job of feeding your kids. I personally would prefer it if my kids fed me, rather than the other way around! In fact, when they were babies I always thought of that rule on the airplanes when they say that in case of emergency, you put your oxygen mask on first, then on your kid. I always had to eat first, then they got fed. I am completely dysfunctional when hungry. Cranky, faint, forget it.
So the irony is that I have spent a good deal of my professional life talking about food. Since my book came out a few years ago, (Take the Fight out of Food: How to Prevent and Solve Your Child's Eating Problems), I consult with parents, schools, communities, on all issues related to helping people develop a positive relationship to food and creating effective eating habits for life. We may differ on our political views, but food and wanting our kids to have good eating habits is an issue we can all bond on.
So to that end, I write this blog, I will take on all things related to food and parenting. Your own food, that of your kids. Your partners' food, and how you differ, how you fight. Where grandparents get in the mix, what do you do about your babysitter? How can you give your kids decision making skills about food so they eat well for life? My daughter said to me the other day when I was preparing for a lecture:
"You know Mom, what you do is like that saying: "You can give a man a fish and help him eat for a day but if you teach a man to fish, he eats for life. You give people ways to know how to eat for life. "
Happy eating!
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