Almost every parent wants the best for their child, but they are frequently too hung up on the indignities of the past to see the real problems in front of them or to separate a child’s needs from their own urges.

Much of what we learn about eating comes from the way our parents feed us.

Like so many of the things parents do out of loving solicitude, putting pressure on girls to lose weight has no good outcomes and a lot of bad ones.

Many parents, especially those who themselves struggle with their weight, believe that a child is incapable of self-control when it comes to eating.

Parents and children resemble each other no more in the foods they like than couples do, suggesting that nurture - who you eat with - is more powerful than nature in determining our food habits. Whatever our innate dispositions, our experience with food can override them.

Anything can start to taste good if you have enough positive memories of being fed it by a parent.