When you are working on feeding your child at home; for a period of time many things change.
Relationships change, work schedules and kid activities change, how you cook and eat will change.
Bottom line; family priorities change.
Let's focus on how schedules and activities are altered.
In order to help your child eat more you may have to alter your work schedule.
Some parents need to arrange their work life so they can be available for meals at home, at school or in the car transporting to an activity or appointment.
It is fairly common for a parent to meet their child at school and have a lunch waiting for her in the car.
This is an alternative to sitting in the cafeteria where your son or daughter might be embarrassed and overwhelmed to have you there with them.
It is challenging enough for an eating disordered child to eat.
To be surrounded by classmates while getting the food down is often just too much.
One parent may have to arrive late to work in the morning in order to be present at breakfast.
In the early stages of re-feeding, children and teens are not able to eat everything necessary without parent supervision and encouragement.
Often parents take turns being present for different meals and snacks.
It is a bit like tag team parenting so no one parent has to carry the heavy burden of re-feeding all the time.
If you have a single parent home it is very helpful to involve another trusted adult family member or friend to be your partner in this process.
At times siblings may not be able to attend certain activities.
Obviously the more normal you can keep their schedules the better.
There will be times when the meal in front of your ill daughter has to take precedence over getting another child to an event.
Don't hesitate to ask for help from friends and family to help with transporting issues while you focus on re-feeding your ill child.
So what is the bottom line? If you have to go to a meeting late you go late.
If you have to not attend an event in order to help your child get this meal down, you don't attend.
If there are siblings who have activities, one parent stays to support your child in eating; the other transports the siblings.
It means everything else gets put aside, postponed or re-scheduled until she has consumed what you put in front of her.
Remember, when you are using the Maudsley Approach there is nothing more important than the meal in front of your daughter in this moment.
You have to finish what you start because you're daughter's life depends on it.