A focus area of the Academy’s Strategic Plan is to promote eating well at all stages of life, but for parents, the pressure to encourage children’s nutritional variety can be counterproductive. The most common language used to foster better eating habits in kids tends to backfire because it interferes with the development of eating competence and a healthy relationship with food. This interactive lecture co-led by an educator and an RDN delivers novel language-based tools for caregivers to use with kids, so your clients (and your own family!) find the “Aha!” moments that lead to more ease and flexibility around food. While the foundation of lifelong eating behaviors begins in childhood, this session proves it’s never too late to shift the narrative around food. You’ll gain specific guidance to address common challenges when feeding toddlers through teens. You’ll formulate new phrases that do away with labels like “healthy/unhealthy” and revise how you talk to kids about food – choosing effective and compassionate words that improve the eating experience for everyone at the family table. The takeaways from this session are fresh and practical ideas you can implement immediately to shift family dynamics around food.