Your Child Is Not Their Weight: A Book Talk with Brenner FIT

Join Bookmarks for a conversation with the authors of Your Child Is Not Their Weight: Parenting in a Size-Obsessed World on Monday, April 20 at 9:00 am. Joey Skelton, MD, MS, FAAP; Dara Garner-Edwards, MSW, LCSW; and Melissa Moses, MS, RDN, LDN will share information about the book and discuss their work at Brenner FIT.

Register for this free event to let us know you're coming. You'll have the opportunity to pre-purchase the book with your registration; copies will also be for sale at the event.

Check out this article in to read more about how this book came about in an interview with author Joey Skelton, MD, MS, FAAP.

Have any questions? Check out our page and email [email protected] for further inquiries.

If you’ve been told your child needs to lose weight, you know how hard it can be. You love your child just as they are and want them to feel good about themselves and their body. But, you may also have very legitimate concerns about weight-related bullying, anti-fat bias, and possible long-term health issues. While there are no easy answers, Your Child Is Not Their Weight offers compassionate and realistic parenting advice to help improve your child’s overall health without compromising their happiness or self-esteem. Leading pediatric obesity medicine specialists, Joey Skelton, MD, MS, MD, and his team, Dara Garner-Edwards, MSW, LCSW, and Melissa Moses, MS, RDN, LDN, have in-depth medical expertise as well as decades of practical, hands-on experience working with families like yours in their clinic. Their family-focused approach acknowledges that body weight is a complex issue, that diets almost always fail, and that eating disorders are a real risk—even, and maybe especially, for children in bigger bodies. But, they also share exactly how you can make a big difference for your child by focusing on healthy habits, outdoor play, and your own unconditional love for your child. You will be empowered to address weight concerns while making sure your child never doubts that they are loved and wonderful, regardless of the unrealistic body images and weight bias that the world so often perpetuates. Your Child Is Not Their Weight will help you discover a better way forward, together.

Joey Skelton, MD, MS, FAAP, is a professor of pediatrics, and of epidemiology and prevention, at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. He is the founder and director of Brenner FIT® (Families In Training), an interdisciplinary pediatric obesity treatment, prevention, research, and educational program. He is also the director of the Center for Prevention Science in Child and Family Health, vice chair of research for the department of pediatrics, and serves as editor in chief of the journal Childhood Obesity. He is board certified in pediatrics and obesity medicine. He is the father of two young adults and lives with his wife in North Carolina.

Dara Garner-Edwards, MSW, LCSW, is a founding team member, family counselor, and associate director of the Brenner FIT (Families in Training) program. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, completing her Master of Social Work there as well. Her early career was as a social worker for children with HIV and as a supervisor for social workers in pediatric and outpatient hospital settings. She has honed her skills for supporting families with weight concerns through the Brenner FIT program for the past 18 years, including training in motivational interviewing, mindfulness-based eat­ing awareness, and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Dara wants to spread the news that all families can get rid of dieting behaviors and eating-related guilt as they find ease with family mealtimes.

Having spent most of her life avoiding pets because of allergies, she is finally able to live with 2 spoiled gray tabbies that aren’t causing sneezing fits! Dara and her husband, Chris, have an expanding family of 2 adult children, their partners, and a son in high school, all of whom put a sparkle in Dara’s eyes. To add balance to her work and family time, Pilates is what helps Dara with her own wellness.

Melissa Moses, MS, RD, LDN, is a dedicated registered dietitian with more than 14 years of experience helping families navigate nutrition and behavior change through the Brenner FIT (Families in Training) program. She has played a key role in shaping the program’s educational efforts and supporting families in clinical settings. As the manager of the Brenner FIT Teaching Kitchen, she leads community outreach and education for students, children, parents, and professionals. Melissa earned her bachelor’s degree from Appalachian State University. She completed her master’s degree and dietetic internship at North Carolina Central University.

When she’s not searching for quick and easy recipes for busy week­nights, Melissa enjoys honing her pottery skills under the guidance of a local artist. A married mother of two, she loves spending time outdoors and believes that the smell and taste of familiar foods can bring back the best memories. Above all, Melissa wants families to know that she’s a dietitian, not the food police—and favorite foods are always welcome at the table.

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