I WAS horrified to learn children as young as 10 are being treated for eating disorders in Sussex.

Figures obtained by The Argus revealed the Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust treated 139 under-18s between April 2014 and the end of March.

This included two 10-year-olds from Brighton and Hove and 69 young people aged between 11 and 16 across the county.

There could be even more children out there – as the figures only mentioned those whose conditions were serious enough to require specialist treatment.

Experts say anorexia and bulimia are now more common than ever and more children are probably out there desperately in need of help.

In December the government invested £150million to transform the way eating disorders are treated.

This is great news, but surely we should first look at how children so young come to hate themselves.

Where were the parents during their suffering?

Thin celebrity role models, airbrushed pictures and peer pressure are all blamed for youngsters developing dangerous eating habits.

But Tim Rank, a consultant psychiatrist at the Priory Hospital in Brighton and Hove, said a family’s attitude towards food was one of a number of factors, and I agree.

I also think dismissive parenting, dysfunctional relationships between parents and their children, youngsters abandoned by a parent at a young age and a lack of regular family meals around the table may contribute.

Ultimately, unhappiness and feelings like loneliness and anxiety lead to eating disorders.

People resort to anorexia and bulimia to maintain some control of their lives when other areas are falling apart, experts say.

I wonder how many children mentioned in these figures were pushed to one side by a parent and rarely encouraged to eat with their family.

I cannot count the number of times I have seen a child plied with crisps or have a dummy is shoved in their mouth to keep them quiet.

There are plenty of families who live and eat in front of their television sets. More alarming is the number of families who hardly speak a single word to each other, preferring isolation with technology instead.

Once I saw a girl of six or seven tug endlessly at her father’s sleeve to show him something she had made, only to be told to ‘shut up and play with her tablet.’ She slumped back, plugged in and started chomping on sweets.

Selfish, lazy parenting is tantamount to neglect and who knows what damage it is doing.

Luckily for the girl who spoke out in The Argus report, her mother noticed how skinny she was and tried to help – and I’m sure many parents do their utmost to care for their children and would be devastated if they developed an eating disorder.

I’m not a parent but I come from a large family surrounded by children.

I was lucky enough to grow up in a tightly-knit and loving home, and I am now a proud godmother keeping a watchful eye on the parenting practices of today.

I have observed enough to tell the difference between good and bad parenting and, when it is the latter, the disastrous affect this could have.

I have always eaten well but I’ve been known to lay into an unhealthy treat and I’ve had days in a dressing room when I balk at my figure in the mirror, perplexed by the model looking inexplicably marvellous in the same clothing that, on me, looks horrendous.

I am lucky as that is as far my self-scrutiny of my body goes and I do not face a daily struggle with my image like so many others.

From first-hand experience of someone I care about deeply, I know tackling a demon of this kind is likely to affect someone for most of their lives, and one can only hope they get all the professional help and support from loved ones they need to acknowledge the problem and overcome it.

I first found out about bulimia watching BBC children’s programme Byker Grove.

A teenage boy, who was ignored by his mother, crept into a shed in the grounds of the youth club.

Safe from the all-seeing eyes of care worker Geoff, he ate stash after stash of chocolate bars before making himself sick.

The actor’s portrayal of self-loathing was authentic and moving.

I just hope, if children are given a television for company rather than a loving parent, there are shows like this still out there which may act as a lifeline.