The WEIGHT of comments by kids....good and bad!

rcpayton

Funny how comments made by kids about your weight or weight loss can have more of an impact on you than those made by adults....

I am a step-mom of 3 kids, ages 4, 7 and 9. Over the last year, they have seen me doing my Jillian Michael's workouts and have even joined me for fun! They have noticed me eating differently and counting calories. I never really came out and said that I was trying to lose weight to them. About 6 months ago, I remember bending over to pick something off the floor and the middle child said "What's that?" pointing to my middle section/sides. I recall feeling horrified.....I had been working out and losing weight at that point but she was commenting on my fat stomach. Yikes!! Another time, the oldest told me I had big arms. OK, at the time they were not toned at all but I never saw them as big but I sure did after that! Those comments stung in a surprisingly strong way!

And now, Im coming up on a year of tracking calories and working out daily and have lost 36 lbs with 20 or so to go. They still know Im doing things differently than before but yesterday, when their mom dropped them off, the oldest said "wow, you have gotten skinnier" out of the blue! I had seen them just 2 weeks ago. Somehow, that comment or compliment made me feel better than anything my co-workers or some others have said. It felt great to be recognized by a child because it was a genuine, unsolicited comment. I tried not to overreact because I dont want them to be fixated on weight or eating, especially the girls. But, I couldnt help but feel elated!

As the saying goes...."out of the mouth of babes".......so true! Have you ever been affected in a positive way by comments made by children?

pauljsolie

LOL, I heard a kid, about 10 or 11 years old refer to me as the guy with the moobs. I had no idea what he was talking about until I looked it up online. LOL, good thing, I probably would have punched him....naw, like you said out of the mouths of babes. It did motivate me though.

TheresaRichardson

When my 19 yo son told me I was getting skinnier, I positively glowed! :happy:

DeviantDarkwolf2

I have two daughters 8 and 12, and like you I was doing Jillian Michael's workouts, my girls both tried joining me. They asked why are you doing that? To which I replied I am trying to get fit. The best thing though was when one day, my oldest one came for a cuddle and said "Man Mum you are way smaller, I can get my arms around you now" I loved that. I have always tried to tell my kids to eat healthy exercise and everything in moderation, and now I am being that role model for them and that is a really big part to why I am doing this.

VenturaGurl

Truly...this one I had to copy and paste here from my friend on Facebook. I had her son in my class last year and he is truly one of the funniest, most outspoken kids I've had! Talk about motivation!

"R rode his bike with me today while I ran. He blurted out what may be the best motivational phrase ever: (R) "Mom, you need to get the Genie Bra because you have back fat." (Me)"Thanks, R." (R) "No... Mom! Your back is FAT!" We went an extra mile...."

kittybitz79

On of my husband posted this on fb and your comment reminded me of it... "My daughter was in the shower with me today and said "Wow Mom, that's a whole lot of flesh!""

RamblingRo

It's because kids are honest. Adults will tell you what they think you want to hear, but when a kid says it, you know genuine.

kelldoll

This is so absolutely true. My daughter has never known me to be thin. She is 7 now. I started my journey about 18 months ago, so she has witnessed my change. She sees me exercise. She sees me weigh in. She asks me about my progress. Not too long ago, when I was really tired, she said that I needed to get up and work out because I had a bit of fat on my body still. She felt terrible saying as she didn't want to hurt my feelings. However, I explained to her that she can be 100% honest with me, that no one but myself made me "fat", and that no one can make me thin and healthy. It is all my responsibility.

Ultimately, she is my accountability partner. She knows what I should and should not be eating. When she sees my triumphs, she cheers me on. When she sees me fumble, she steps in the gap.

Kids definitely have the power to motivate. Good post!

budd_girl

my 4 year old like to let me know that i have a big belly, getting dress is says" mom you have a big belly is a baby coming out " I almost cried .

leomom72

not so much positive ( currently ) as before i started working out..we got a wii for christmas, and when we started doing the body test daily, they saw my mii character was different from theirs, and they called me fat mom..never had they before, until they SAW the difference with a visual..they haven't recently called me that, but i don't think they really know whats happening ( even tho my oldest tends to read calories on EVERYTHING he eats, and they do workouts with me on occasion ) kids are completely honest, tho, and i think that's why it hurts us more than adults

B_L_A_Z_I_A_N

It's because kids are honest. Adults will tell you what they think you want to hear, but when a kid says it, you know genuine.

adults don't want to hear what other adults say. When a kid says it they are being blunt but honest. When an adult says it, they are butting into your business, being obnoxious, forcing their opinions on you, etc.

MichelleLydia

It was a comment my just-turned-2 year old said to me that made me get back on the diet. I was sitting watching tv one day and out of the blue he came up to me and said, "mommy's chubby!" and then for about a week proceeded to tell everyone we ran into that mommy was chubby. Yep, I just about cried, and decided I needed to make a change and quickly!!

roballesteros

I have a 12 year old boy who is very active in sports and extremely athletic, he swims year around for 2 hours 5 days a week. When I completed my first 10K he was the first one to say he was proud of me!!! I nearly cried becuase coming from a kid who has known what it takes to train and train to reach your goals it was the most honest thing I had ever heard.

JenBrown0210

I do Insanity workouts while my kids eat breakfast. They are two and three. We were sitting together on the couch reading a book and my three year old told me that I need to stop working out because I am getting less squishy. I'll take that!

Katie3784

I have a 5 year old daughter, and though this was not a comment directed at me, it deeply upset me when she said it. We were sitting in the car outside 7-11 waiting for my husband, and a family of very heavy people walked in. She said to me "I don't like them because they are fat." It made me so sad, and also made me wonder what I am doing wrong. She is a very sweet girl, and I would not have been bothered by her simply pointing out that they were fat, but I hated that she said she did not like them. I try very hard to emphasize the importance of healthy eating to my little girl, and there have been times that I have said something like "we want to eat healthy so we don't get fat", but I have never told her I don't like fat people.

stephyy4632

I have two girls age 6 and 4 and they are very streight forward and genuine when they talk so I always take what they say good or bad as kids do not sugar coat anything lol and I love that about them

megz4987

This whole post is another reason why I'm trying to get this weight off before my daughter can speak and say some of those things to me. That would tear me apart.

My step-brother, about 8 or 9 years ago got mad at me because I moved his stuff to another seat in the car before we left for vacation that year. I said I wanted the backseat so my friends and I could it together. He said, "Oh yea, because you need more room since you're FAT" He was like, 5 or 6.

mandeiko

It's because kids are honest. Adults will tell you what they think you want to hear, but when a kid says it, you know genuine.

True! Congrats!!!