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Stopping an overweight child from eating to much is no easy feat. It involves a complete restructure of the child's life. Habits need to be broken and then reestablished in a healthier direction.

The following steps may be taken to assist in the process.

Firstly examine the child's lifestyle, pastimes and hobbies. Look at why the child may be eating too much. Is it because of boredom and loneliness? Or frustration and anxiety? Or maybe a combination of these or something entirely different. What ever the reason, without treating the underlying problem it will be very difficult to fix the problem.

Fortunately in a lot of cases, boredom plays a big role. Bored minds tend to be inclined to look for food. Find activities, other than television and similar for your child to do. As with everything in life balance is important. Don't just find physical activities for the child, provide creative and thought provoking challenges as well as sport.

After becoming familiar with the child's lifestyle now examine your own. What sort of example are you as a parent setting? What kind of environment are you creating for your children? Is it one where you are make healthy choices? Or are your habits similar to the child's?

Children learn by example. If you set the example of eating correctly and leading a healthy lifestyle then the child is more likely to follow suit. An active parent generally has active children and an active brain is less likely to think about eating.

By including the children in a healthy active life, parents also enhance the bonding process and forge a strong relationship together. Going down to the soccer park on the weekend to watch each other play creates life long memories.

In most case after examining habits such as exercise and watching television, most people admit that exercise needs to be increased and TV time decreased. Without the being to stereotypical this is often the way in the case of over eaters.

The dreaded box and associated electronic devices play to bigger role in today's society. Too many children devote excessive amounts of time to these devices. Sure technology has it's place but usage should be strictly limited monitored. We all know how easy it is to devour a bag of chips while watching our favorite show.

Rather than encourage a couch potato, create an environment where you child can go out and kick a ball with you or friend. Perhaps try a walk, bike ride or swim together. Anything that increases the activity levels of the brain.

Lastly, educate the child with new healthy habits. Due to the increase in activity the child will probably have an increased appetite. While this is the opposite to what we are after it still plays an important part.

The hungrier the children are, the less likely they are to be fussy about what they eat. This is the perfect opportunity to introduce a range of healthy eating options. The child also needs to be educated about self discipline and control, only eating what is necessary and most importantly, knowing how to say no to food.

Depending on the age of the child all of this may be easier said than done. Ideally a healthy attitude towards food should be introduced from an early age. For various reasons though this does not always occur. Should, despite your efforts, your child continue to over eat, it is strongly recommended that you seek medical assistance. Over eating can be a medical disorder than will only be fixed with professional help.

Learn more about this author, Rhianna Suttie-Gunson.
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