Having an anorexic child can cause you a lot of stress every day.
The daily routine of facing her at the table during meal times and encouraging her to eat can be very painful for you, her and the family.
Unfortunately the only remedy for anorexia is food.
Eating one meal at a time could save your daughter's life.
Some may say that you are a bad parent by making her eat when she does not want to; but the only other option is letting her starve.
We both know that is not an option.
Your temptation may be to get ahead of yourself and think about tomorrow's breakfast, lunch or supper.
The problem with that is your fear or stress about whether or not she will eat tomorrow; will impact how you feel today.
This can make you less effective overall.
This is no different from how we are all encouraged to live our lives; one moment or day at a time.
If we think too far into the future we may feel overwhelmed or hopeless.
It increases the chance that we will feel like nothing will change.
So you have to take one moment, one bite, one meal at a time.
You fill your child's plate with what you believe is going to help you're starving daughter get well.
Then one step at a time you encourage her to eat as much as she can.
No you don't force feed her.
You encourage her by saying, "This is your medicine.
What we are doing is what is going to help you get well.
It is not an option to not eat.
" You are her parent.
You know what your child needs.
You carried her in your womb for 9 months, you fed her when she was an infant and up to the point when she developed the eating disorder.
You will feed her again; one bite, one meal, one day at a time.