Making Adjustments at Home During Your Child’s Recovery.

Supporting a child through recovery from an eating disorder often means making small but important changes at home. These adjustments can help reduce triggers, lower anxiety, and keep the focus on recovery. Here are some practical steps you might find helpful:

- Remove or cover mirrors

Body checking is a common and often obsessive behaviour in anorexia.

Removing full-length mirrors can reduce the urge to focus on body shape or size.

Consider replacing mirrors with uplifting artwork or prints that reflect your child’s personal goals and values.

- Hide tape measures

Measuring thighs, stomach, or other body parts can become a compulsive routine.

Keeping tape measures out of sight helps prevent repetitive behaviours that increase anxiety.

- Remove access to scales

Weight gain during recovery can be very distressing.

Blind weighing (where only the healthcare team knows the number) may ease some of this stress.

If necessary, hide or remove bathroom scales altogether.

- Manage mealtime environments

Eating already feels overwhelming.

Keep pets out of the dining space to avoid food being secretly passed to them as a form of avoidance.

Create a calm, structured setting to make meals feel more manageable.

Keep distractions such as colouring or card games nearby.

Please email me to book a free introduction call to talk about how coaching can support you as a parent of a young person with anorexia or bulimia.

jane@janeholbrook.co.uk