Support for Parents of Teens with Difficult Eating
When you are worried about your teenager’s eating, it can feel frightening, confusing and isolating.
You may be unsure whether what you are seeing is a phase, a stress response or something that needs professional support - and equally unsure how to respond at home without making things worse.
This one-to-one session is designed to help parents make sense of what’s happening, reduce unhelpful patterns around food, and feel clearer about next steps, without panic or blame.
About Sarah Grant
I am a BANT Registered Nutritional Therapy Practitioner with a specialism in disordered eating and the psychology of eating behaviour.
With over 12 years’ experience in private practice, my work supports people to restore nourishing eating patterns and reduce distress around food, especially where food has become a source of stress, control, or emotional coping.
I do not work directly with teens, or provide nutritional support, therapy or eating disorder treatment for adolescents.
I do offer a calm, confidential, supportive and non-judgemental space in which to provide parents with education, perspective and guidance, and to help families move towards appropriate care when needed.
WHO THIS SUPPORT IS FOR
This session is for parents or carers of teenagers who are experiencing:
Restrictive or chaotic eating
Heightened anxiety around food or mealtimes
Rigid food rules or fear foods
Bingeing or secretive eating
Changes in weight, appetite, or eating behaviour
Increasing conflict, withdrawal or distress linked to food
You do not need a diagnosis to book. This support is suitable whether concerns feel early, emerging or already significant.
What to expect
This is parent-focused support offered as a private 2-hour online session, designed to help you make sense of your teenager’s eating difficulties and respond more helpfully at home.
The consultation offers education and guidance to support parents navigating uncertainty around disordered eating.
Together, we focus on understanding what you are seeing, reducing unhelpful dynamics around food, and clarifying what needs your attention now.
A short pre-session questionnaire helps focus the time. Some sessions use the full two hours; others conclude earlier once things feel contained and clear. Each session is tailored, but will often include:
Building understanding of what’s happening
The difference between disordered eating and eating disorders
Common patterns and red flags in teenagers
Why food behaviours are rarely “just about food”
Supporting your teenager at home
Understanding how your responses can help shape the eating environment at home
How pressure, monitoring or even reassurance can backfire
Language and approaches that reduce conflict and fear
The role of structure, routine and consistency in creating safety around food
Making sense of next steps
Exploring where you can have an influence, and what sits outside your control
Understanding when additional support may be needed - and clarifying the roles of different services and where parents usually start
This session does not replace medical assessment, psychological or psychiatric care or eating disorder treatment for your child. If concerns suggest a need for urgent or specialist support, this will be discussed openly and calmly.
By the end of the session, most parents feel:
Less panicked and more grounded
Clearer about what needs attention, and what can safely wait
More confident in how they respond at home
Better equipped to take appropriate next steps
Reassured that they are not “failing” their child
Ongoing support
Some parents find a single session is enough to regain clarity and sense of steadiness they are seeking at this time. Others choose a follow-up parent session to review progress. Or, depending on the next steps for their child, they may seek ongoing parent-only support alongside their child’s treatment elsewhere. These options can be discussed if helpful, however, there is no expectation to continue.
Booking and next steps
If you are unsure whether this session is right for you, you are welcome to get in touch to ask questions before booking.
If you are ready to book a 2-hour session, you are welcome to book a time to speak with me by phone or via video using the button below:
If you are concerned about immediate risk to your child, please contact your GP, NHS 111 or emergency services.
““Sarah is the calmest, most empathetic person I have ever had the pleasure to meet; she creates a very safe & comfortable environment to work in and shows such a deep level of patience & understanding.””