#436: How to Raise Healthy, Confident Eaters Without Food Guilt with Jennifer Anderson, MSPH, RDN

If you've ever bribed your kid with dessert or cooked a second dinner just to avoid a standoff, this conversation on raising kids with a healthy relationship with food is for you.

Steph sits down with Jennifer Anderson, registered dietitian, founder of Kids Eat in Color, and author of Feed Them Well: A Guide to Raising Healthy, Confident Eaters for Life. Jennifer shares why most child feeding research never considered your child's temperament, what she calls embodied independence, and why intuitive eating doesn't translate neatly to kids surrounded by hyper-palatable foods. You'll hear how to set limits on sweets without adding guilt, fear, or shame, how to answer "is this food bad?" without labeling foods good or bad, and why skipping body and weight talk at home matters for your child's relationship with food. If picky eating, diet culture, or Halloween candy has you second-guessing yourself, this episode gives you real scripts and a lot more breathing room.

Topics Covered In This Episode:

• What hundreds of child feeding studies really showed

• Why feeding research ignores your child's temperament

• Intuitive eating for kids and embodied independence

• Teaching kids hunger and fullness cues at home

• Setting limits on sweets without guilt, fear, or shame

• How to talk to kids about food without good vs. bad

• Does restricting junk food make kids crave it more?

• Body talk, weight, and your child's relationship with food

Show Notes:

• Click here to learn more about Jennifer

• Read Feed Them Well

• Watch KidsEatinColor on Youtube

• Follow @kids.eat.in.color/ on Instagram

• Click here to learn more about Dr. Elana Roumell's Doctor Mom Membership, a membership designed for moms who want to be their child's number one health advocate!

• Click here to explore Steph Greunke, RD's Mindset and Metabolism Substack, nuanced discussions on fat loss and behavior change for women.

• Watch this episode on our Youtube channel @medschoolformoms

• Listen to today's episode on our website

Jennifer Anderson is the founder of Kids Eat in Color, a trusted comprehensive resource for parents supporting their child's nutrition and relationship with food., with a social media audience of over 2 million. She is the CEO of