AND SO IT BEGINS . . . . .

I am amazed that at such a young age (kindergarten) girls are talking about being "fat". I understand where it comes from . . . the mom. But what do you tell your little kindergartner when she comes home from school and asks you if she can drink diet drinks?! Of course you ask why in the heck???? Because a friend told her that if she drinks diet drinks she will be skinnier. Then Sam tells me that this same little girl told her that she would be her friend if she were skinnier and that 2 other boys don't like her because she is fat. SERIOUSLY, REALLY ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING ME?

This isn't the first time that this little girl has said these things to Sam, but really I just think it is sad. Awesome for me that it is a teaching moment, but it is just sad that she is already talking about that kind of crap. I know that as adults were talk about or rather obsess about our size, what we eat, what others look like, the whole 9 yards. I am totally guilty, hands down. This just makes me so much more aware of the things that I say and the way I treat and act about food and my body around my girls. I have such a huge responsibility to make sure that my girls see that I have a healthy relationship with food and that I love my body no matter what (even 9 months pregnant and 40 lbs heavier than normal). I tried to tell Sam about moderation. How do you explain that to a 5 year old? Well, I told her that we eat our fruits and veggies and healthy foods and if after that we want a snack or treat then we have a little one and we don't over eat. I personally know people, good friends, who have had eating disorders because of bad body image. After watching them go through that I would never want that for my girls.

I just hope that I can teach them, especially through example that we try to be our very best but we don't go overboard or obsess. Easier said than done. I am just at awe that my sweet little girl asks me about being fat. When a mother has to explain to her little girl that she is perfect the way she is, that this is how Heavenly Father created her and try to make it so she will understand what she is saying without saying too much. That is a tricky task. We all come in different shapes and sizes but does that really matter? Are we not going to talk to or be friends with someone who doesn't look exactly the same as us? If that were the case then I might not have any friends. I look like a giant next to most of the girls I hang out with, and my body is made just a little bigger. Not to say I am fat, but my bones are just bigger. So what, who really cares. I just hope that Sam and Luella will grow up with good body images in a world where sometimes it seems the only thing that matters is our body image. How small we are, or what size clothes we wear, where we work out and how long, what diet we are on, what brand of clothes we wear. It is exhausting, and I hope that I can portray the right image for my girls.

This isn't a rant post, but I just couldn't believe it, and had to get it out there and out of my head.