Ellyn Satter's Child of Mine - by Ellyn Marie Satter (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Raise a healthy child who is a joy to feed

Dietitian and family therapist Ellyn Satter says feeding well isn't just about raising a confident and joyful eater. It is about raising a confident and joyful person. In order to parent well with feeding, parents need to be freed from the maddening and impossible expectation of getting their child to eat certain foods and grow in certain ways. In her many years of practice, Satter has found that trying for those outcomes makes parents and children miserable and turns children into picky eaters who eat too much or too little and behave so poorly that they spoil family meals. This great gift to parents and professionals guides parents in making the world a loving and accepting place for children by following the Satter Division of Responsibility in Feeding (sDOR). Parents do the what, when and where of feeding and trust their child to do the how much and whether of eating the food that they, the parents, provide. Children whose parents follow sDOR do better nutritionally; enjoy food, eating, and family meals; learn to eat new food; and grow in the way that is right for them.

Review Quotes

Empowers parents! As a registered dietitian, educator, and certified lactation counselor, I deeply appreciate Ellyn Satter's empowering approach to feeding. Her new book beautifully emphasizes the importance of allowing children and parents to enjoy food, trust the body's natural hunger and fullness cues, and find peace in their decision. Satter's wisdom encourages us to support parents in making informed decisions based on their unique circumstances and feed children well to be not only be joyful eaters, but joyful people. Alena M. Clark, PhD, MPH, RDN, CLC.

The book to purchase for every expecting parent! This is hands down the most essential parenting book out there! The topic is feeding children, but the trust message woven throughout applies to all areas of parenting. It's all about tuning into your inner wisdom to discover what you and your child need. The trust model of sDOR is a MUST; control paradigms driven by diet culture must go! The many family stories make this book both engaging and convincing. Satter clearly explains the extensive scientific evidence that suports her work in a way that entertains and captivates. Dawn Clifford, RD, PhD, parent and Arizona University nutrition professor.

Feeding is truly parenting! As a psychologist, professor, and researcher in global nutrition, I focus on children's early development and the role that families, communities, and societies play in nurturing children. Ellyn Satter's Child of Mine: Nurturing a Joyful and Confident Eater teaches what I care about. By focusing on trust, rather than on the amount of food consumed, Satter lays the groundwork for children to approach eating as a joyful experience. That contributes not only to their ability to regulate how much they eat, but also to their emotional and social development through their sense of security and self-respect. Maureen Black, PhD University of Maryland School of Medicine.

Stop feeding anxious and upset about eating! Satter says eating is too important to make it a hassle, that guilt is a terrible guide for eating and feeding, and that parents can trust their child from infancy on to eat and grow well. She lays it on the line: Ignore weight dictates, ignore good-food-bad-food thinking, trust what is right for you and your child. Satter's loving bluntness and honesty have been a godsend for me, my family, and my clients who struggle with eating disorders. You will have light bulb moments, and you are guaranteed to relate-either as the parent you are or the child you were-to at least one of her real-life family feeding stories. Amy Ozier, RD, PhD, parent and eating disorders therapist.

Friendly and authoritative. I love the content of Ellyn Satter's Child of Mine - so detailed, specific, authoritative, genuine and friendly. I wish I had this book to read and re-read when I was starting out! Cristen Harris, PhD, UW Seattle nutrition professor, certified eating disorder specialist, and parent of neurodiverse children.

Essential for parents and professionals. Once again, Ellyn Satter provides an essential book for both families and nutrition professionals. Helping to both boost confidence and reduce nutrition risk, Satter dares us to trust ourselves and our bodies to feed ourselves and our families with good sense. Meghan Mueller, RD, IBCLC public health nutritionist.

Free parents from guilt. Ellyn Satter's book shows how the shift from control to trust in feeding frees parents and carers from pressure and guilt and allows feeding to be successful. We make Satter's messages front and center in our successful New South Wales, Australia, population health program. Rachel Gerathy, Dietitian.

A consummate story-teller. Ellyn Satter's stories about the adventures and challenges of real parents and real children teach what positive feeding looks like, how it appears when it isn't working, and how to fix it. As a parent and nutrition researcher, I find Ellyn Satter's Child of Mine: Nurturing a Joyful and Confident Eater to be an entertaining and trustworthy companion to raising my son with eating. Michaela Trautman, PhD, UW Madison.