Tuesday, 18 August 2015

Help Your Teenager Beat An Eating Disorder by James Lock and Daniel Le Grange (Non-Fiction, 9/10E)

  April 2015, Guilford Press, 310 pages, Paperback, Review copy

Content: facts, suggested methods, further reading

Summary from Guilford Press
Tens of thousands of parents have turned to this compassionate guide for support and practical advice grounded in cutting-edge scientific knowledge. Top experts James Lock and Daniel Le Grange explain what you need to know about eating disorders, which treatments work, and why it is absolutely essential to play an active role in your teen's recovery—even though parents have often been told to take a back seat. Learn how to monitor your teen's eating and exercise, manage mealtimes, end weight-related power struggles, and partner successfully with health care providers. When families work together to get the most out of treatment and prevent relapse, eating disorders can be beat. This book is your essential roadmap. Featuring the latest research, resources, and diagnostic information, the second edition has been expanded to cover binge-eating disorder.

Nayu's thoughts 
I'm not a parent, but after having read children's fiction which include eating disorders I was intrigued when the synopsis for this book popped up in my inbox. It is a highly detailed read, with heaps of facts and handy tips on how to deal & and not deal with a teen who has an eating disorder. It's not light reading, but the chapters are divided into sections making it easier to dip and in out of. You can choose the area you're most interested in – it doesn't have to be read from cover to cover in order, although that's how I did read it. There's a variety of case studies which I thought captured a wide enough range of scenarios that no matter their own teen's issues a parent would gain some help as to what to do.  I foresee parents using sticky notes to mark pages they want to reread, checking out what

The book explains there is a lot of conflicting advice about dealing with food issues for parents, and the book explores why some suggestions aren't beneficial, as well as why some are. Teens may want to be left alone but that's not the best approach because it isn't just about them, it is about their friends and family, and, until they are an adult, they do need parental input to help them view themselves in a healthier light. This book explains many ways of approaching eating disorders. There is an incredible wealth of information in the pages, which feels like an encyclopedia, and I think if you could only buy one book on the topic it would be this one. I'm not just saying that because I'm reviewing it, I do believe it. It missed a full grade simply because this isn't a fiction book which I love, but it's important nonetheless.

Available at bookstores including NRC affiliate Foyles.

Suggested read
A non-fiction read for girls which includes more information about eating disorders is Growing Up For Girls by Felicity Brooks Childr(en's, Non-Fiction, 9 years +, 9/10)


No comments: