241: Raising Kids Who Trust Their Bodies: The Power of Hunger Cues

In this episode, Lisa Smith and guest Jane Pilger dive into the profound connection between peaceful parenting and how we approach food with our kids. Lisa shares her personal journey of healing her own relationship with hunger and how she created a different experience for her son Malcolm. The conversation explores the importance of teaching children to trust their internal hunger and fullness cues, the impact of childhood food messaging, and how parents can break generational cycles of food struggles to foster healthier, more empowered relationships with food for their children.What You'll Learn:The Importance of Hunger Cues – Teaching kids to trust their bodies’ hunger and fullness cues is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give.Breaking the Generational Cycle – Lisa shares how she broke the cycle of unhealthy food patterns passed down from her childhood to create a healthy relationship with food for her son.Modeling Behavior – Kids learn what they see. Parents must model healthy food relationships and autonomy in decision-making.The Role of Internal Wisdom – When parents honor their child's internal wisdom about hunger, they build a foundation for self-regulation and emotional intelligence that goes beyond food.Practical Parenting Tools – Simple practices, like talking about the “voice in the tummy” and honoring the body’s cues, can help kids tune in to their own hunger and fullness cues.Food Freedom Starts Early – Parents can raise kids who feel empowered around food by not imposing restrictive food rules or using food as a control tool.