The answer really depends on what sort of diet you are on. If you swing chaotically between feast and famine, there is no positive way of explaining your attitude to food to your daughter. If, however, you are trying to adopt long-term healthier eating habits, there is no harm in being honest.

But let's be realistic; wanting to feel “healthier” usually means hoping to look slimmer. A child inevitably picks up on this, as well as your general attitude towards body image and eating.

So look out for the words you use when you talk about yourself. Be aware of those moments when you catch yourself in the mirror and say, “God, I look like a melted candle from the waist down”, while your daughter watches on, soaking up the jaded self-criticism like a sponge. Avoid too the pitfall of branding certain foods as “good” or “bad”. Never say, for instance, “Aren't you lucky you can eat chocolate, while poor old Mummy has to stick to boring salads.”

Andrew Hill, a psychology professor who specialises in nutrition, eating disorders and obesity, says that parents need to be aware that their children are sensitive to how mum and dad feel about how they look, “especially at a time when they're looking forward to being adults”.

Parents also can be unaware of the more subtle ways their food insecurities can play out through their children. Nothing will confuse Flora more than watching you pick at a lettuce leaf while you tell her that she must clear her plate.

Professor Jane Ogden, the author of The Psychology of Eating, says there is evidence that mothers on diets can use their children as dustbins; they gain vicarious pleasure from watching a child eat cake or chips. “One study I was involved in showed that dieters can make less healthy choices for their children, often using them to clear food away so it is less available for the mother.”

If you are on a truly healthy diet, it should be one that Flora can eat, too. As Hill says: “If you want to eat healthily, the best approach is to teach your child that food is part of life and make sure that whatever you eat is part of the family menu.”

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