Out of the mouth of babes: "Ms. Jessica, don't eat too many cookies or you'll have a fat butt!"
I am so disturbed that in my world, as a preschool director, I have to talk to little kids about weight issues. Body image should be one of the farthest things from their little minds. Yet, there are still children using "fat" as an insult and little girls having anxiety about "being fat." And where is it coming from? It's got to be the adults and media in their lives.
As a person who has had her own issues in the past with body image, and continues in the present with balancing "normal" versus "societal desired" images, I try to be SUPER careful with my out-loud thoughts if there are children around. I grew up in a family where all of the women were constantly on some crazy diet, where you could only eat a cracker with a side of air, and obsessing about their size 2 clothes. Not to dump blame on them, because I'm old enough to deal with my own issues now, but it certainly had an impact on what I thought women should look like as I was growing up.
It just makes me sad to have to have peace meetings with three and four year old girls because one was calling the other "fat." I want to cry when a preschooler doesn't want to eat all of her lunch because she doesn't want to be "fat." Learning good healthy habits is one thing, but obsessing over how you look in a dress before you turn five years old is insanity.
So sad! No matter how I feel about how I look I NEVER say anything negative about it around Sophie.
ReplyDeletereally awful that children this young are so body conscious... agreed.
ReplyDeleteJess, this breaks my heart! I can't believe you have to deal with this : (
ReplyDeleteI used to babysit for a family and the mom would constantly tell her 5 year old daughter that if she kept eating like that she would get fat and no body would date her and she wouldn't have any fun in life! It broke my heart!! Keep telling those kids that they're beautiful and wonderful, no matter what they eat!