Hello,
1. Is it a good idea to keep food on the counter if there is a 5-year old child in the house that struggles with emotional eating and often asks for that food? The fear is that if we start hiding the food, the child might see it as “forbidden fruit” and learn to want it even more. Maybe she won’t, but that’s what we think might happen and we are not sure what to do.

2. Another dilemma is that her 11-year-old sibling could care less about food and is almost never hungry, but when he does eat, he wants to eat what he chooses, which is often crackers (flour and salt). When his 5-year old sister who has emotional eating issues sees what he eats, she wants it, too. It seems unfair to take his favorite food away only because she cannot manage her urges. What can we do?

Thank you.