How to Help Your Child With an Eating Disorder Cope During the Holidays & School Breaks
The holiday season can be a time of warmth, connection, and celebration. But for children and teens navigating an eating disorder, this time of year can also bring increased stress, disrupted routines, and heightened anxiety around food and gatherings. As caregivers, you play a powerful role in helping your child feel supported, safe, and grounded during these transitions. With thoughtful planning and compassionate communication, the holidays can still hold moments of joy and rest.
Below are practical strategies to help you and your child navigate the holiday season and school breaks with greater ease.
Prioritize Structure—Even During Breaks
School breaks shift your child’s regular rhythm, which can increase vulnerability for eating disorder behaviors. As much as possible, maintain predictable:
Meal and snack times
Wake and sleep routines
Daily activities, such as movement, chores, or downtime
This consistency of routine provides predictability which creates emotional safety and regulation and reduces opportunities for symptoms to intensify.
Tip: Collaborate with your child and treatment team to create a gentle holiday schedule that balances rest with routine.
Prepare for Food-Centered Events
Many holiday gatherings revolve around food—something that may feel overwhelming for a child with an eating disorder. Preparing ahead can make a meaningful difference.
Review the menu, serving style, and event plan ahead of time. This helps your child know what to expect, reducing anxiety and freezing up in the face of many choices.
Create a coping plan with your child: where they can take breaks, what support they may need, what coping skills they may need to utilize, and how long they’d like to stay.
Use neutral language around food. Avoid moral labels like good, bad, healthy, or junk.
Gently redirect diet talk from others. You can practice simple scripts, such as:
“We’re focusing on enjoying time together—let’s steer away from food and body comments.”Work with the treatment team to review adaptations to the structured meal plan. Holiday meals are often held at times outside of the normal schedule and include food that are not a part of the everyday meal plan. Plan with your treatment team to discuss adaptations to the meal plan for special days.
Set Boundaries Around Body and Food Comments
Family gatherings can bring well-meaning relatives who unintentionally make comments that feel triggering. You can act as an ally and role model for your child in setting boundaries around harmful body and food related comments.
Consider communicating expectations ahead of time:
Ask relatives to avoid comments about weight, shape, appearance, or how much someone is eating or what types of food they choose to eat.
Share that you are following the guidance of a treatment team and appreciate support in creating a calm, non-judgmental environment.
You can send a brief, kind message in advance:
“We’re working hard to support ___’s recovery. We’d appreciate avoiding comments around bodies, diets, or eating habits during the holiday.”
Build Coping Tools Into the Day
Holidays often bring sensory and emotional overwhelm. Encourage your child to use coping strategies throughout the day—not just in moments of crisis. Help them identify high risk situations. Examples could include comments from family members about food, weight, body, eating at odd meal times, being around the holiday types or amounts of food, style of dinner (potluck, large family sit down), or feeling more full than usual. Build a coping skills plan around these high risk situations.
These coping skills may include:
Deep breathing or grounding exercises
Using a sensory tool (fidget item, weighted blanket, calming playlist)
Taking brief “reset” breaks
Journaling thoughts or worries
Identifying one trusted adult they can seek out for support
Help your child practice these skills ahead of the event.
Be Mindful of Increased Emotional Vulnerability
School breaks often mean more unstructured time—and more opportunities for isolation, comparison, or rumination. Keep an eye out for:
Significant mood shifts
Withdrawal from family or peers
Increased body checking
Skipping meals or snacks
Heightened anxiety around events or gatherings
If you notice these red flags, reach out to your child’s treatment provider early. It’s far easier to adjust support proactively than to repair deeper setbacks.
Plan for Rest, Not Perfection
Your child may feel pressure to “be okay” because it’s the holidays. Remind them that recovery is still the priority. Build in:
Days with no events
Opportunities for quiet activities they enjoy
Realistic expectations for socializing or participating
Time together that doesn’t revolve around food
Your presence, attunement, and willingness to meet them where they are matter more than picture-perfect holidays.
Maintain Connection With the Treatment Team
If possible, keep regular therapy, dietitian, and medical appointments during school breaks. Consistency helps anchor recovery. If your providers are unavailable, ask for:
A holiday coping plan
Guidance around meals
Safety recommendations
Signs that would indicate higher-level care might be needed
Many clinicians also offer brief check-ins or email support to help families feel less alone during this sensitive time.
Model Compassion—Toward Your Child and Yourself
Supporting a child with an eating disorder during the holidays is emotionally taxing. Extend gentleness to yourself, too.
Allow imperfection
Notice when you’re overwhelmed and take breaks
Seek your own support system
Celebrate small wins, even if they seem minor
Your steadiness helps your child feel safe. But you don’t have to do it perfectly—you just have to show up with care and openness.
Final Thoughts
The holiday season doesn’t have to be a source of fear or conflict for families navigating an eating disorder. With preparation, boundaries, and a focus on connection over perfection, you can create a supportive environment where your child feels understood and cared for. Recovery isn’t paused just because school is—and neither is your child’s capacity for joy, rest, and healing.
If your family needs additional support navigating the holiday season or school breaks, our team of specialized eating-disorder clinicians is here to help. Reach out to us today to schedule an appointment.