Sarah Jessica Parker is determined to help her twin daughters cultivate a healthy relationship with food.
During an interview for a recent episode of Ruthie’s Table 4 podcast, the Sex and the City icon opened up about the way she and husband Matthew Broderick demonstrate healthy eating habits for their 14-year-old daughters, Tabitha and Marion.
“I (have) girls. I didn't want them to have a relationship with food that was antagonistic or they felt like this was their enemy and that they were going to have to sort of like stake out a position with food,” the actress explained.
"In our house, we have cookies, we have cake, we have everything," she continued. "And I think as a result, you kind of have a healthier relationship. My daughters will have the figures they have and hopefully they'll be healthy and they’re athletes and they enjoy food."
The Failure to Launch star went on to explain that she did not have what would be considered a "non-restrictive diet" as a child, which certainly impacted how she views food—particularly types of food that have historically been labeled as "bad."
“And of course all we did the minute we moved out was buy Entenmann’s cakes and cookies," she added. "I didn't want that (for my kids)."
One 2013 study published in the International Journal of Eating Disorders found that higher levels of higher pressure-to-eat or food restriction placed on children by their parents can lead to adolescent disordered eating behaviors and practices in the future.
“The most common origin story that I hear from parents for their child’s eating disorder is an attempt to eat ‘healthier,’ often based on messages they’re getting from school and from the larger culture,” Oona Hanson, a family mentor at Equip, an eating disorder treatment program, told The Washington Post in 2023. “Other than an anaphylactic allergy, there’s nothing in a food that can do more harm to a child than fear of food. The intention to have kids be healthy is great, but unfortunately, a lot of what we’re doing is counterproductive.”
Sarah Jessica Parker went on to say that her and her husband take turns cooking for their family.
“On Sunday, Matthew cooks. We both cook every single day, every single day. We probably eat dinner as a family every night," she explained. “We love to cook. And it's boring to keep saying to each other: 'What are we gonna eat? What are we gonna eat? Are you going to go to the grocery store? Am I going to go to the market?' But it's kind of just what we do."
The proud mom—who also has a 21-year-old son, James—says her efforts to help her children create and maintain a healthy relationship with food seems to be working, too.
“We don't think of ourselves highly as like chefs or anything like that," she explained. "Our children always...they always say, like: ‘Wow, we're really lucky. We get to have dinner every night.'"
