Kids Thrive at Every Size: How to Nourish Your Big, Small, or In-Between Child for a Lifetime of Health and Happiness

This solid manual from pediatric dietitian Castle (The Smart Mom’s Guide to Healthy Snacking) provides guidance on how to give children ages three through 12 a healthy relationship with food and their body. She explains that fat levels are determined by genetics and that restrictive dieting can be harmful for kids who naturally have more body fat. Rather than focusing on weight, Castle encourages parents to focus on their child’s overall well-being by addressing how diet, “family culture,” movement, screen time, “self-love,” and sleep affect their life. Cautioning that forcing children to finish their vegetables can generate lasting negative associations with such foods, Castle instead recommends letting children decide how much they want to eat. Exercise should aspire to improve “cardiorespiratory fitness,” she argues, suggesting that parents might let their kids have more outdoor play time, or else make indoor activities more active (watching TV while “sitting on a stability ball instead of a chair,” for instance). Castle makes a strong case for decoupling the association between health and size, and the advice on bolstering children’s self-esteem with words of affirmation demonstrates a shrewd awareness of both the psychological and the physical effects of sizeism. It’s a helpful guide for raising healthy, body-positive children. Agent: Joelle Delbourgo, Joelle Delbourgo Assoc.