Kartini Clinic for Children and Families

Pediatric Eating Disorder Treatment Program

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971-319-6800
  • Eating Disorder Treatment
    • Anorexia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Anorexia
      • Causes and Triggers: Anorexia
      • Treatment: Anorexia
    • Bulimia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Bulimia
      • Causes and Triggers: Bulimia
      • Treatment: Bulimia
    • Food Phobia
      • Signs & Symptoms: Food Phobia
      • Causes and Triggers: Food Phobia
      • Treatment: Food Phobia
    • ARFID
    • Treatment Overview
      • Inpatient
      • Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
      • Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
      • Virtual Intensive Outpatient (VIOP)
      • Outpatient
      • Cost of Treatment
  • Eating Disorder Resources
    • For Referring Providers
      • Hospitalization Criteria
      • Direct Referrals
    • Kartini School
    • For Parents & Guardians
      • Top Tips for Parents
      • Understanding Your Insurance
      • Talking to Your Employer
      • Insurance FAQ
      • Mental Health Parity Law
      • Family Housing Information
      • School During Treatment
      • Give Food a Chance
    • Research & Resources
    • Eating Disorder Treatment Videos
    • Glossary of Eating Disorder Terms
  • About Kartini Clinic
    • Why Kartini is Different
    • Will Treatment Work?
    • Our Staff
      • Julie O’Toole MD MPH
      • Naghmeh Moshtael MD
      • Shanna Greene
      • Morgan O’Toole
      • Megan Maples
      • Sherrill Gandsey RN
      • Leslie Weisner LMFT
      • Steve Nemirow
      • Amy Stauffer
      • Alex Garcia MA
      • Lisa Peacock LMFT
    • Contact Us
    • Careers at Kartini
  • Blog
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

Top Tips for Parents

Our “top tips” when talking to your doctor about eating disorders:

  • Call your doctor’s office prior to your appointment and let them know your concerns; it will save precious time with the doctor during your appointment.
  • Understand that basic vitals are far more important than most “labs”. For example, standing and resting heart rate, as well as blood pressure, should always be taken.
  • Always ask your doctor to review your child’s growth chart. Again, this will often be more informative than most labs. And remember: children need to gain weight as they grow. Weight loss or even lack of weight gain should be a cause for concern!
  • We recommend that any weighing at your doctor’s office be done “blind”, that is, not shared with your child. This comes from years of experiencing at watching an exam be taken over because a child acts out in anxiety over their weight. Some parents worry that not sharing weight data will cause the same reaction. But in our experience it’s usually better not to share weight data. Chances are your child will have already weighed themselves anyway and so the only ones who don’t know are the doctor and the parents! And bear in mind that, ultimately, weight is merely a comparative marker against another point in the past; it doesn’t tell you much about your child’s actual health at any given time. So while weight by itself is not very informative, a declining trend in weight should be very concerning, especially in children who should still be gaining weight as they continue to grow (yes, even if they are judged to be at or above “normal” weight for their age).
  • Plan follow-up visits to your physician on a weekly basis for at least one month in order to obtain multiple sets of vital signs. Do not accept “return in one, two or three months!”
  • Ask your doctor about a referral to a pediatric specialist in the medical treatment of eating disorders. After all, if you thought your child had diabetes or cancer would you settle for a referral to a psychologist or nutritionist? Of course not. Eating disorders are medical illnesses of the brain, and require specialized, multidisciplinary treatment at a program specifically designed for the particular developmental needs of children.

Recent Blog Posts

Are social media platforms making eating disorders in children worse?

January 10, 2023 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

School During Eating Disorder Treatment? Not To Worry

October 13, 2022 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

Online Reviews

September 23, 2021 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

New to Treatment? Don’t Panic!

February 10, 2022 By Julie O'Toole

Kartini School: A Success Story

February 9, 2022 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

Tips for Motivating Kids in School

January 19, 2021 By Morgan O'Toole-Smith

  • Eating Disorder Treatment
    • Anorexia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Anorexia
      • Causes and Triggers: Anorexia
      • Treatment: Anorexia
    • Bulimia Nervosa
      • Signs & Symptoms: Bulimia
      • Causes and Triggers: Bulimia
      • Treatment: Bulimia
    • Food Phobia
      • Signs & Symptoms: Food Phobia
      • Causes and Triggers: Food Phobia
      • Treatment: Food Phobia
    • ARFID
    • Treatment Overview
      • Inpatient
      • Partial Hospitalization (PHP)
      • Virtual Intensive Outpatient (VIOP)
      • Intensive Outpatient (IOP)
      • Outpatient
      • Cost of Treatment
  • Eating Disorder Resources
    • For Referring Providers
      • Hospitalization Criteria
      • Direct Referrals
    • For Parents & Guardians
      • Top Tips for Parents
      • Understanding Your Insurance
      • Talking to Your Employer
      • Insurance FAQ
      • Mental Health Parity Law
      • Family Housing Information
      • School During Treatment
      • Give Food a Chance
    • Kartini School
    • Research & Resources
    • Treatment Videos
    • Glossary of Eating Disorder Terms
  • About Kartini Clinic
    • Why Kartini is Different
    • Will Treatment Work?
    • Our Staff
    • Contact Us
    • Careers at Kartini

TEST SEARCH

How to Recognize Eating Disorders in Boys

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVgVmDIXqHc

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From Our Blog

Are social media platforms making eating disorders in children worse?

January 10, 2023

At least one school district in Seattle thinks so. Seattle Public Schools (SPS) has filed a suit in US DIstrict Court alleging that “defendants [social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat] affirmatively recommend and promote harmful content to youth, such as … Read Post...

School During Eating Disorder Treatment? Not To Worry

October 13, 2022

During the school year, families are sometimes hesitant to have their child enter treatment in the Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP) because they are worried about time away from school. The teachers at Kartini School understand your concern.  Often, our patients are super-conscientious … Read Post...

Online Reviews

September 23, 2021

This post is from Kartini Clinic CEO Morgan O'Toole.  Online reviews have become part of our everyday lives. Who hasn’t glanced at the star ratings when Googling a new hair salon or looking for a restaurant to try out? Most of the time, online reviews are just another useful data point when … Read Post...

New to Treatment? Don’t Panic!

February 10, 2022

Your child has been diagnosed with an eating disorder by one of the doctors at Kartini Clinic. Whether this is a restricting disorder with fear of fat, a bingeing and purging disorder or what we call ARFID (avoidant restrictive food intake disorder), it matters little.  What matters is that the … Read Post...

The Kartini Clinic Difference

At Kartini Clinic we practice only evidence-based, family-centered eating disorder treatment. Our program is a multi-disciplinary medical and psychiatric treatment model rather than an exclusively psychiatric approach to eating disorder treatment.  read more »

Eating Disorder Quick Links

Anorexia Nervosa
Bulimia Nervosa
Eating Disorder Treatment

Resource Quick Links

Referring Providers
Parent Resources
Understanding Insurance

Contact Us

Tel: (971) 319-6800
Fax: (503) 282-3409

help@kartiniclinic.com

3530 N Vancouver, Suite 400
Portland, OR 97227

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Mon – Fri 9:00am – 5:00pm

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