I think we can all agree that raising a child is hard work, made even harder in our current culture. Mothers are bombarded with mixed messages through advertising and the media. We are told what choosy moms should choose (“Jif!”) and that mothers would learn a lot about how to parent differently if only they would swap families with another mother for a while. Mothers these days face quite a challenge! Mothers with a history of struggling with food and body-image issues may face unique challenges in raising their young children. These mothers may have some worries about how to raise their child without passing on the struggles that they have experienced. Is there a way to help these mothers gain new knowledge and confidence in their parenting skills? We hope to find out!

This month we will be launching our first of many online parenting groups. These groups are part of a pilot study called NURTURE, which seeks develop intervention materials for use with mothers with a history of struggles with food and body-image issues who have a child under 3 years of age. The groups run for four months. Topics include behavior management, managing a child’s feeding and eating, genetics of eating disorders, and cultivating a positive body image in a child.

Interested in joining our study? We are still recruiting for future groups! Click here to learn more!

–Frances