Control and management does not foster healthy relationships. HARD FREAKING STOP. This is what we are missing in our struggles with weight, eating habits, and yes, disordered eating of all varieties. Have you noticed the way that disordered eating increases the more that there is focus on controlling eating? And,…
You want your kids to develop a healthy relationship with their food, and their body, but our current approach is actually causing the food fights and friction and meltdowns that we have every single day. Controlling what our kids eat, even though it's from the very best of intentions, is…
How to help your child who struggles with weight, eating habits and mental health- without shame or harm. I've learned so much about what DOESN'T work for our families' health in my 20+ years as a pediatrician in the military: shame, restriction, searching for quick fixes and magic bullets (they…
A love note to parents, from a pediatrician. Stress relief Comes with creating little spaces of quiet, of connection, of healing. You have nothing to prove by being busy all the damn time. They can wait. Your nervous system, your health and your family's health all need you to slooooooow…
How do you raise healthy kids right now without all the stress? I owe this spot-on response to the brilliant comedian, @jimmy carr. Prioritize Later. Hey, it is f'ing hard to prioritize later when you are simply trying to survive this moment. Go figure that's why we turn to food,…
Here are two underutilized lifestyle changes for better health - for your whole family. From a double board certified pediatrician and lifestyle physician, Dr Wendy Schofer, MD, founder of Family in Focus. Let's talk about consuming less (stressful content like social media, headlines, doom and gloom news) and resting more.…
Patients need to know who they are working with - so we can build trust, credibility and relationships. No more transactional healthcare. Put it all on the table when you're getting care, not just the symptoms and tests and treatments, but what is the experience this person brings to the…
The missing piece to helping address the mental health crisis in our youth: Adults. Adultier adults. Calm, safe, emotionally regulated adults who have the tools to navigate and relieve their own stress amidst all of the chaos, uncertainty and political BS that the world throws our way. The news cycles…
Weight management is about controlling, restricting, managing (it's in the word!). It does nothing to understand WHY our kids are turning to food in the first place. Stress, anxiety, fear, overwhelm, coping with uncertainty - which we adults know a whole lot about too! How does it just make sense…
Children and adolescents are hungry for connection. So are adults. In particular, parents are often left to attend for their children, without the support of others. Parental burnout is real and impacts the health of families and communities. We can borrow what works from other cultures, creating the village, support,…
If you were gonna be marooned on a desert island for the rest of your life, and could pack just three foods that you would eat, what would they be? What foods would your children Choose? would you focus on what's healthy, what's complete, with nutritious, or what full comfort…
Is your child snacking when stressed, bored, or upset? Do you feel stuck in the cycle of emotional eating at home? In this webinar, pediatrician and parenting coach Dr. Wendy Schofer shares a compassionate, practical guide for parents who want to understand emotional eating—and help their children without shame, diets,…
What happens when kids eat sugar? Why do they get “sugar highs” and then crash? And how do you start talking to them about the importance of eating a variety of foods? Pediatrician Dr. Wendy Schofer explains—in kid-friendly language—what happens in the body when we eat simple carbs like candy,…
Getting your teen to eat healthier does not start with restricting food. No diets. No food fights. Start with understanding why they eat how the do now: 1) Environment. Food access and availability. Social norms. Generational patterns. 2) Hormones. 3) Stress, emotions and emotional eating. You don't have to do…
Why do toddlers eat so little of what we want them to eat? How do we get them to eat more vegetables? I'm modeling it but they still aren't eating veggies. Toddlers are special, truly. Learning about the world through play, practice and experimentation. And we have to do the…
There's a big fear-based strategy being employed right now in the name of health and it is BACKFIRING. Othering. Identifying people as problems, witch hunting. It creates tremendous profits for some and increases diseases (and financial waste btw) for all. Check out how this is playing out and what we…
There's a big fear-based strategy being employed right now in the name of health and it is BACKFIRING. Othering. Identifying people as problems, witch hunting. It creates tremendous profits for some and increases diseases (and financial waste btw) for all. Check out how this is playing out and what we…
There's a big fear-based strategy being employed right now in the name of health and it is BACKFIRING. Othering. Identifying people as problems, witch hunting. It creates tremendous profits for some and increases diseases (and financial waste btw) for all. Check out how this is playing out and what we…
There's a big fear-based strategy being employed right now in the name of health and it is BACKFIRING. Othering. Identifying people as problems, witch hunting. It creates tremendous profits for some and increases diseases (and financial waste btw) for all. Check out how this is playing out and what we…
3 reasons why your child is craving sweets all the time. Is it: Processed foods impacting insulin and blood sugar? Context/environment/linked habits? Emotional eating? Slow down to start getting curious and gathering clues, so you will be able to help without harm (and without coming in like a controlling wrecking…
Thanks to EVMS Teen Health 360 for the opportunity to answer the question about "What makes a supportive relationship between a teen and an adult?" Well, it goes BOTH ways. Here is the answer talking to teens about how they can create and benefit from supportive relationships with adults. Teen…
