I don't want to eat that, I'm fat

amandalc980

When I started trying to lose weight I would talk about it in front of my children to my husband. I would say things like i am fat, i gained too much weight, I want to be thin again, blah blah blah. My kids were in the back seat doing what children do, listening. I didn't say, I want to get healthy, I want to run a 5k, I want to improve my stamina or anything like that.

Now my baby girl, my 5 year old baby girl, will occasionally tell me she doesn't want to eat something, she is fat. She doesn't really know what she is saying, she just doesn't want to eat whatever it is, but the bottom line is, baby girl said she is fat! My son is worried that he has a belly, but at the same time thinks he is too skinny, he’s 7... Neither of them are serious, they are repeating my bad behavior.

So do I want to fit into a size 6 jeans, yes! Is that my goal (secretly yes) NO! My goal is to be healthy! To create a healthy lifestyle for myself. I will no longer let the words weight, fat or skinny cross my lips. I will silently jump for joy when the scale goes down, however, I will not verbalize it around my family.

I will smile when my daughter sees Jillian Michaels on a commercial and says "That lady make you workout mommy! That lady!"

tamheath

Excellent, excellent point, and a good reminder to us all. Eat, drink, and be HEALTHY!! :drinker:

kimjoan

It is good that you recognize this. I grew up my entire life with the "you'' get fat" suggestions, especially from my father. So, what did I do? I got fat. I couldn't make him proud so I might as well give his words power. Fortuntely, I realized things and didn't repeat it with my son and have sense gone from 333 to 184. People just don't understand how powerful words can be especially from someone you respect.

stenochick

I just had this conversation with my husband that I need to be super careful how I word things around our oldest daughter (who's just 2.5). Those little stinkers pick up EVERYTHING. Once I grabbed my tummy and jiggled it (totally frustrated at all the excess), then she started doing the same with her tummy ALL THE TIME. Since, I try and make it a game. Wanna stretch with mommy before she exercises? She loves being a part of it. It's hard to instill our kids with a healthy attitude torwards their bodies with all the other crap that they see on TV, on magazines, or just witness thru everyday life. But we do our best. That's what counts.
Mel

amandalc980

That’s awesome! I started late with mine, but they enjoy doing Jillian with me, and I enjoy watching them make the attempt. Those two little uncoordinated monkeys are hilarious!!! I think their way of jumping jacks is probably more of a work out than the correct way. Now if I can find a way to trick them into running… I know! I could strap a psp to my bum and I bet I could get my son to run a good four miles for that thing!

PepsiGal

Thanks so much for your refreshing post! You're right, we have to watch what we say around our kids. I've read articles about women with poor body images often had negative, critical, weight-conscious mothers. I sometimes put myself down in front of my family but I'm striving not to do that anymore. I want my 5 year old daughter to grow up confident & have a positive body image.

stenochick

Now if I can find a way to trick them into running… I know! I could strap a psp to my bum and I bet I could get my son to run a good four miles for that thing!

LMFAO.....snort. <Horshack laughs>
~Melanie

hotmooglelove

Yea, kids are really freaking impressionable, it's kinda scary! A very close friend of mine (who uses this site and thus shall not be named) grew up in a family very obsessed with weight. One of her earliest memories was being at tacobell (at about 8 years old or so) and having her older sister poke her in the gut and ask if she's "Sure she should have that second taco".

A handful of years later and it's lack of self esteem city!