The closer I come to being a mother, the more I worry about how careful I’ll have to be if I have daughters. I’ve no doubt there are some negative sentences ideas just programmed into me — things I say without even realizing (given my history and recovery with EDs).

I’d caution any mother...even the LITTLE things can be a BIG deal.

I think many women don’t realize when they are making deep, lasting impressions on their daughters. This isn’t about my Mom, though I did experience some of the things on the list.

After years of reading, studying and dealing with EDs (an the grand experience of being a little girl!), I’ve learned about some of the things women do that can really harm their daughters thinking regarding body image and food. (This list is from what I’ve learned, not all of it from my personal history.) Moms, future moms, take note:

*** (I see parents — Moms and Dads — doing this way too often for boys and girls.) 

That’s by no means a comprehensive list but I think many people just don’t think about how their words and ideas can have a major impact later in life. I can think of specific moments, that happened in a split second, that have stuck with me to this day.

I don’t know when the seed of my eating disorder began but it took several years to actually grow into something. It starts very young and you’ve got to be hyper-careful with little girls.

Today, I’m recovered. A few issues remain but it took over 10 years to get through it and find recovery. That’s way too much time out of my life to be dealing with something and I never want my daughter to go through what I did.