Signs your child might have an eating disorder

For most parents, one of the biggest fears, especially as children reach those tenuous preteen and teen years, is that your kid will cut you out of his or her life.

It's a natural fear, because, at this stage in life, it's pretty normal for kids to develop private lives, and to start keeping real secrets, not just, "I accidentally painted my whole body, it's fine, Mommy" secrets.

The secrets aren't a problem in and of themselves; after all, kids eventually need to become grown-ups, and the process of individualizing takes time.

The fear for most parents is that their child will somehow find themselves in danger, through bullying or romantic choices or self-harm, and that they, the parent, will be clueless until it's too late to prevent something terrible from happening.

That's why it's so important, as the new school year begins and peer pressure mounts, that all parents be aware of one of the biggest challenges facing many school-age girls and boys, and one of the hardest to detect: disordered eating.

Disordered Eating 101

Tayra Lucero for LittleThings

What is disorder eating anyhow? WebMD defines them as "a group of conditions marked by an unhealthy relationship with food."

The most famous examples are anorexia, bulimia, and binge-eating disorder, but EDNOS is perhaps the most common category, "eating disorder not otherwise specified," which can incorporate elements of different forms of disordered eating.

Often linked to weight, body image, and obsessive compulsive disorder, these conditions are common in teenage girls, but may also affect boys, and adults and children of any age.

One classic hallmark of these conditions is body dysmorphia, where the sufferer sees him or herself very differently than they actually appear; for instance, being quite slim, but believing oneself to be overweight.

Scroll through to learn about signs of disordered eating:

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