There is, however, one thing that I feel very strongly about and it wasn’t until I had a daughter that this particular belief took hold. What is this belief, you ask? Simply put, it’s instilling confidence and self-esteem in your children, especially young girls. I am disgusted when I see how many elementary school girls are obsessed with their weight.
I heard about a new book called “Maggie Goes on a Diet” which is set to be published in October (actually, on my daughter’s birthday). This book is aimed at children ages 6+ and is about the main character Maggie, going on a diet and losing weight.
Hearing about this book frustrated me beyond belief. Six-year-olds shouldn’t even know the word ‘diet,’ in my opinion. Upon reading the summary of the book, I learned that it’s about Maggie who uses diet and exercise to lose excess weight. Maybe this book would be accepted more openly if it had been marketed a different way. I won’t argue that it’s important for children to learn about healthy eating and physical activity but I don’t think it should be shoved down their throats with an illustrated book aimed at Grade 1 girls! Just take a look at the cover of the book:
Does this image remind anyone of eating disorder images that pop up all over the internet:
*shudders* I would never in a million years purchase a book like this for my daughter. She is going to learn about healthy eating through my cooking and will be physically active because I will be physically active with her and will encourage her to be physically active.
Another thing that frustrates me about the state of the younger generation’s self-esteem issue is that their negative self-image can be prevented through proper parenting techniques by simply paying attention to the things you do/say around your children. Going on a fad diet (i.e., cabbage soup diet) isn’t setting a good example for your children. You might think they’re too young to notice your eating habits but they aren’t. If you aren’t following a healthy lifestyle (that is, eating healthy foods and getting proper exercise), you aren’t setting the right example for your kids. How can you expect your children not to have self-esteem issues when you’re constantly trying different diets and bad-talking yourself and your weight?
Since my daughter has started talking, I’ve tried to eliminate a lot of the self-hate talk that I do oh-so-often! She might only be three but you can bet she understands what I’m saying if I make fun of my weight or say negative things like “I’m fat!” If she grows up in a household hearing things like that or watching me obsess over food, you can bet she will be doing the same thing when she’s old enough to understand what “fat” means. I don’t say these words around her and get really annoyed when people poke her belly and call her ‘chubby.’ Not a good thing to be saying to a child.
Here’s a scary statistic I pulled off the internet:
"Nine - age at which at least half of all girls report having been on a diet.
Eighty percent of eighth grade girls say they are on diets."
You can bet when I was in Grade 8, I was worried about my weight. And at 9, I was leaving notes for myself in candy dishes saying “Chantelle, don’t eat this!” In fact, I can remember back to one of the first times I was really concerned about my weight. It was Grade 3 and during an indoor recess someone called me a “cow.” I still haven’t forgotten that. I remember obsessively weighing myself throughout elementary school and even kindergarten. I was 55 lbs in Kindergarten (if I’m remembering correctly) and 88 lbs in Grade 4 or 5. Funny how these sorta things stick with someone.
I don’t want Melina to grow up with the terrible self-esteem I have. I am doing everything in my power to instil healthy habits in my daughter. She watches me eat and exercise and she already is emulating my healthy (and sometimes unhealthy) habits. They’re like sponges.
You can bet when I was in Grade 8, I was worried about my weight. In fact, I can remember back to one of the first times I was really concerned about my weight. It was Grade 3 and during an indoor recess someone called me a “cow.” I still haven’t forgotten that. I remember obsessively weighing myself throughout elementary school and even kindergarten. I was 55 lbs in Kindergarten (if I’m remembering correctly) and 88 lbs in Grade 4 or 5. Funny how these sorta things stick with someone.
I don’t want Melina to grow up with the terrible self-esteem I have. I am doing everything in my power to instill healthy habits in my daughter. She watches me exercise and eats healthy because I cook healthy. How can you expect your children to have a healthy lifestyle if all you cook them is chicken fingers and French fries? Melina’s favourite food is chicken breast (cooked any and all ways) because we cook chicken so often. I read a fact in a magazine today that by age 3 children have started to make up their minds about what foods they like and dislike! Scary, hey? I remember being a kid and eating tons of macaroni and cheese and hot dogs (foods I hate now, by the way). But we are trying to incorporate healthy, balanced meals in Melina’s life so that is how she will be accustomed to eating by the time she’s old enough to start remembering her childhood. We aren’t perfect. There are days we go out for ice cream and hit up a drive-thru, but like I said in a previous entry, we eat healthy 80% of the time and ‘naughty’ 20% of the time.
What’s something you feel strongly about?
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