It can be difficult to feed your family even on the best day, but for those families with divorced parents, this can add an extra layer of conflict and confusion around food. Separated parents have to recognize that their former partner may not feed the kids in the same way, and children of divorce have to learn to navigate two kitchens, two sets of food rules, and different foods.
In this week’s episode, I’m joined by Dr. Nancy Buck, a developmental psychologist, educator, and mother of twin boys to talk about how separated parents can support their kids’ nutritional needs without worrying about too many things outside of their control. It may be tempting to want to control what your former partner feeds the kids, but in the long run, it’s better not to speak of your ex-partner detrimentally to your children and to focus on having good conversations about food choices and rules in your own kitchen.
“You don't have to feed your kids the exact same thing. There has to be a sense of trust and goodwill with your former partner, or anyone who's feeding your kids.” - Dr. Nancy Buck Click To Tweet
Nancy shares tons of expertise about how separated parents can support each others’ parenting to the benefit of their kids. We talk about common issues that arise for former partners around food, the struggles children of divorce regularly face, and how to deal with the issue of your kids’ food sensitivities if you and your former partner aren’t on the same page about them. This episode is chock-full of great advice for separated parents, but there are lessons for everyone here. Listen below!

What You’ll Learn from this Episode:

• The five psychological needs that we are all born with and how food and feeding relate to these needs.
• Why it’s parents’ job to help kids meet their needs responsibly and respectfully.
• How your own experience of being parented affects your parenting, including how you feed your children.
• What separated parents must remember in order to successfully parent their children and support each other while doing so.
• If your child spends a week or weekend with their other parent and doesn’t eat perfectly, it will not affect them nutritionally in the long run.
• Some of the most common struggles children of divorce experience.
• Whether separated parents should try to have identical food and feeding habits and schedules.
• Advice for health professionals that might be dealing with separated families in conflict over food.

Listen to the Full Episode:

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