This made me cry

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  • skuehn48
    skuehn48 Posts: 2,877 Member
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    Bump.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    beyond lovely. thank you. we should all be reminded of this sentiment. love ourselves for who we are; what we can do; what we contribute to family, friends, others; not what we look like. i needed this. <3.

    ^^^ totally this!
  • katy_trail
    katy_trail Posts: 1,992 Member
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    this is exactly why i'm emphasizing to my daughter what we can do with our bodies.
    when you realize what you can do, and how much fun eating kiwi and dancing and all the
    other stuff really is, she doesn't want it any other way.
  • andersonjo0306
    andersonjo0306 Posts: 304 Member
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    OMG so true. I catch myself doing it too in front of my daughters and I know they do it to themselves. Wow, so engrained. I now say thank you when someone compliments me. I know longer look in the mirror and stick out my tongue (yes I actually did that). I compliment my daughters and focus on the positive. I am hoping that with these little changes in my own attitude my granddaughter Lily wont go through what we have up until now.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    this is exactly why i'm emphasizing to my daughter what we can do with our bodies.
    when you realize what you can do, and how much fun eating kiwi and dancing and all the
    other stuff really is, she doesn't want it any other way.

    my girls asked me to teach them how to lift weights, they're 6 and 3.... I'm teaching them form using a broomstick as a barbell lol, my 3 yr old has perfect form on squats with no instruction

    also my 6 yr old flexes her biceps at me - probably because she sees me flexing mine LOL

    I've taught them about how they need protein to grow and carbohydrate for energy and vitamins and minerals to stay healthy.

    I want them to grow up hearing the language of being strong and healthy, not the language of body shaming (of anyone, least of all them or anyone else in the family). They're probably going to hear a lot of negative messages as they're growing up, so I want to be prepared and help them to understand things like how magazine images are photoshopped, and things like that, so they grow up appreciating themselves for who they are, and having the knowledge of how to stay healthy, and that healthy looks good on every body type.

    That's what I'm aiming for....
  • Meloonie
    Meloonie Posts: 144 Member
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    Thank you for posting this. It made me cry, but helped me to put a few things straight in my own mind.
  • nope31
    nope31 Posts: 174
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    That's exactly why I don't put myself down in front of my child.
    My mother used to say all kinds of negative things about herself.
    It left a lasting impression. She did turn out to be all the horrible things she called herself tho.
    Luckily I walked away b4 it was..... I too that adopted that way of thinking and behaving.
    Smart woman learn from dumb womans mistakes. I was the smart one in this story.
  • alglenn2013
    alglenn2013 Posts: 97 Member
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    Powerful article, thank you for posting.

    My son is 5, and about a week ago he was looking at me and then he looked at himself. He patted my belly and said "Mommy, you have a big belly. That's nice! I want a big belly too!" My instinct was terror! Oh No! My little boy thinks it's O.K to be fat because I am! I curbed those feelings and we had a talk about what it means to be healthy and that mommy's big belly wasn't healthy, and about the things I do every day, and the foods I prepare for us to eat, that will help me become more healthy. It was a good talk.

    This story helped me see that conversation from a new perspective. In his innocent, loving way he was saying, "Mommy is beautiful, mommy has a big belly, so big bellies must be beautiful." In short, this story made me cry . . . a lot. :cry:
  • DeeDel32
    DeeDel32 Posts: 542 Member
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    You must be a fellow kiwi deedel32, I read this on stuff too the other day.

    Very true isn't it? I grew up with a mum who didn't like her body much. It is not something I want to pass onto my daughters.

    Nope, Canadian. :smile:
  • Southern_Belle_LA
    Southern_Belle_LA Posts: 931 Member
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    bump