Help, my child is overweight!Help, my child is overweight!
Shrink, the podcast for the mind
Philippe Tahon talks about what parents can do when they worry their child is overweight, without resorting to diets or shame. He suggests a gentler, habit-focused approach that prioritises emotional safety, connection, and a healthier atmosphere around food and movement.
17:50•22 May 2026
Help, My Child Is Overweight: A Kinder Way to Talk About Food and Bodies
Episode Overview
- Weight issues in children are deeply emotional and linked to love, fear, guilt, and a parent’s own history with food and body image.
- Putting children on diets can damage physical development, hunger cues, and self-worth, with effects that may last into adulthood.
- A habit-focused approach, with predictable meals, neutral language about food, and less focus on the scale, supports healthier relationships with eating.
- Parents’ behaviour around their own bodies and food strongly shapes a child’s beliefs, even when nothing is said directly to the child.
- Movement should be linked to joy and confidence, while concern about a child’s weight is best met with curiosity and connection rather than control or shame.
“A child should feel two things. My body is not a problem to solve. And at the same time, my parents care about my well-being.”
What can we learn from those who have battled body shame since childhood? Psychotherapist and coach Philippe Tahon brings years of clinical experience to a question many parents whisper about but rarely say out loud: *"Help, my child is overweight – what do I do?"* Speaking with calm honesty and zero parent-blaming, he unpacks why this subject feels so loaded: love, fear, guilt, shame, health, appearance, identity, and often a parent's own history with food and body image.
He makes it crystal clear that this is **not** an episode about putting children on diets or pretending health doesn't matter, but about finding a more balanced, humane approach. Philippe explains why traditional dieting for children can be so harmful: kids are not "mini adults", and early messages like "I need to shrink my body to be acceptable" can echo for decades.
He shares how many of his adult clients trace bingeing, emotional eating and body hatred back to childhood comments, restriction, or being told they were "too much". Instead, he talks through a middle path: shifting from weight-focused to habit-focused parenting. You'll hear practical ideas such as creating predictable meal routines, avoiding labelling foods as "good" or "bad", and treating emotional eating with curiosity rather than panic.
He highlights how powerful parental modelling is – if adults constantly criticise their own bodies, children absorb that, even when nobody comments directly on the child. One standout message is, *"A child should feel two things. My body is not a problem to solve. And at the same time, my parents care about my well-being."* Philippe shows how movement can be reconnected with joy instead of shame, and why connection often matters more than control.
If you're worrying about a child's weight and swinging between doing nothing and cracking down hard, this gentle, clear conversation might help you ask a kinder question: how can you make home a place where food and bodies feel safe?
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