Nurture - by Heidi Schauster (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Confused about the conflicting recommendations about how to feed children well and prevent eating and body image problems in teens? Reading Nurture is like having a conversation with a compassionate fellow parent who has done decades of fieldwork on the subject. Heidi Schauster writes from her nearly 30 years of experience treating people with disordered eating, her own lived experience as a recovered person, and as a parent of two young adults.

This book is a much-awaited follow-up to Nourish, Heidi's award-winning book on healing relationships with food, body, and self. Nurture contains sane and sound advice that anyone who spends time with children or teens will benefit from reading.

This book is a life-enhancing tool for:

- Parents and caregivers who have had their own food and body issues and don't want to pass them on to the next generation

- Parents and caregivers with kids exhibiting body image concerns

- Parents and caregivers with kids exhibiting disordered eating who want direction

- Parents and caregivers with kids in larger bodies who feel unclear as to how to help them in the fat-phobic culture we live in

- Parents and caregivers with picky eaters who don't want to create dynamics around food that might lead to eating and body issues later in life

- People who spend time with children and teens and want to create an inclusive, health-and-well-being-enhancing culture around them

"Engaging and beautifully written, this book is a tremendous resource for anyone who wants to promote health and resilience in children."-Lisa Pearl, MS, RD, CEDS-S, Founder of CNC360, Educator, and Clinical Consultant

"As a therapist and mom of two young boys, I am deeply moved. Heidi provides a relatable, non-judgmental narrative regarding introducing food choices and laying a healthy foundation for body acceptance." -Sara Hart, MA, LMHC, Psychotherapist and Eating Disorders Expert

"This is the book we have all been waiting to read. It's filled with heartfelt commentary on how to maneuver hard situations with loved ones. It is truly a book for everyone." -Beth Mayer, LICSW, Former Executive Director of The Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA)

Review Quotes

Engaging and beautifully written! This book is a tremendous resource for anyone who wants to promote health and resilience in children. Absolutely on my must-read list for parents, caregivers, clinicians, faculty, and students.

Lisa Pearl, MS, RD, CEDS-S Founder, CNC360 Educator, Clinical Consultant, and Supervisor

As a therapist and, most importantly, a mom of two young boys, I am deeply moved by Heidi's latest work, Nurture. She provides a relatable, non-judgmental narrative to influence our parenting when it comes to introducing food choices and laying a healthy foundation of body acceptance for our littles. I will certainly offer Nurture as a resource to my clients, as many are navigating their own parenting journeys while breaking generational cycles regarding their own bodies and nutrition.

Sara Hart, MA, LMHC Psychotherapist and Eating Disorders Expert

This is the book we have all been waiting to read. Heidi's natural and authentic voice shines through and helps the reader feel safe. You feel like you are sitting in her living room and chatting with an expert on food and body image. It is filled with heartfelt commentary on how to help maneuver hard situations with loved ones. It is truly a book for everyone.

Beth Mayer, LICSW Eating Disorders Expert and Clinical Consultant Former Executive Director of The Multi-Service Eating Disorders Association (MEDA)

In this second installment from Heidi Schauster, we hear the wise and thoughtful voice of a dietitian, a somatic therapist, a writer, and a mother. Heidi speaks clearly from her experience. As a mother and therapist myself, I find her words comforting and validating. Figuring out our roles with growing children, especially if we have faced our own trauma, disordered eating, or other challenges-as we all have-is not easy. Heidi keeps it simple around how we must attend to our own experience so we can best attend to our kids'. She writes, "Embodiment is the experience of being at home

in our bodies." At the end of the day, this is the key to living our fullest lives. I will have multiple copies of Nurture (as well as Nourish) to hand to anxious, loving parents as a balm to soothe their worried minds. Thank you, Heidi, for another 10/10!

Lauren Manasse, LICSW, CEDS-S Certified Eating Disorders Specialist and Supervisor

Nurture is a much-needed resource for childhood-feeding questions and concerns. It offers guidance on how and why it is of utmost importance to raise our next generation in a way that promotes body acceptance and food neutrality. Heidi's voice is both reassuring and directive with evidence-based strategies to support all families in their paths toward health.

Amy Cantor, MPH, RD Dietitian and Eating Disorders Expert

I wholeheartedly endorse Nurture. This book offers an inspirational approach for parents to talk to their kids about food, hunger, and body image. It does not have to be so hard. In the United States, the self-care industry is booming; there is pressure to perfectly take care of ourselves each day by eating well, meditating, exercising. The reality is, even with our best efforts, we have bad days and get off track. The diet industry endorses rigid ways of thinking that no one can ever sustain. Heidi promotes moderation and letting kids discover their own individual hungers. The wonderful news for parents is that feeding their children can be relatively easygoing. It is an important book for our time, and I believe every parent could benefit from reading it. Many of the approaches suggested carry over to other parts of life. Thank you, Heidi, for this timely contribution to the literature of parenting.

Hannah Saxe, LICSW Psychotherapist, Consultant, and Eating Disorders Expert