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Trying to be a fit and healthy mother are of course difficult endeavors. While the childless 20-something may have endless time to blow at the gym, you have a short window in which to get in your physical activity and those veggies. Healthful foods don’t just cook on their own, there isn’t always the time to go for that jog, and you may snatch a few french fries off of your kids’ plates from time to time.
But while you’re watching that waistline and keeping your calorie consumption in check, be mindful of the children who are watching. Because when it comes to instilling positive body image and self-confidence in your kids, you definitely want to lead by example. So avoid these easy traps for sending mixed messages to your little ones about health, diet, and size.
(photo: Shutterstock)
77 days ago
[...] few pounds or sticking to some regimented eating can, depending on how it’s being vocalized, discourage healthy body image in your little girl. While healthful eating and smart activity choices should be instilled in girls [...]
Why is there this ‘mom’ attitude that we can feed our children different meals than what we eat?
Why would I serve my child french fries if I’m not going to eat some myself?
Kids learn by example and if you serve healthy food and a little dessert and eat some, you teach your child that eating food is healthy and normal!
My mom was trim for years when I was little and she fed me what she ate. She never made me a ‘kids’ meal.
The only problem here is that you’re missing the other side. My mother also did a poor job of encouraging healthy body image. However, she did it by praising us the more we ate. By the time we were seven, my sister boasted about eating a large pizza by herself. By the time we were eight and ten respectively, my sister and brother were ordering three extra cheeseburgers each to go with their happy meals. Fast food was a special treat we got when we had money.
She also taught us that larger sizes were natural and nothing that could be avoided. I was an adult size twelve when I was a freshman in high school, and my mother said that was the way I was supposed to be. My sister was a size sixteen and heard the same thing.
There are plenty of mothers out there who teach their daughters poor body image because they praise their children for eating, always treat them with sugars and other bad foods, and reiterate that size cannot be helped. I’m 29 years old, a mom, and I’m a healthy size 8. I did not have to be so large when I was younger, but people were so busy making sure teenage girls didn’t get too thin that we didn’t hear enough about the opposite side of the scale (pun intended).
Also, whatever you do NEVER try on your daughter’s clothes to see how it’ll fit in front of her and then boast about how they’re too big for you. Seriously, NEVER do this
What kind of idiot would even do such a thing? O.o
I was babysitting a friend’s 6 year old daughter a few weeks ago and was struck by something she told me when I noticed my friend’s food journal on the kitchen counter.
The 6 year old saw me looking and said, “When my mom was pregnant she ate a lot of junk food, and then didn’t stop after I was born. She’s trying to stop and exercise more so she can be healthy again.”
I asked her if she was doing it too. She looked at me like I was crazy and said, “I already eat healthy food and exercise. But I don’t need to lose weight. Mommmy and Daddy said I’m the perfect size. But I’m a kid, so I can have desserts mommy can’t have!”
Good piece. Although I had weight issues as a child (by no means obese but still one of the bigger ones in class), I will always respect my mother for the fact that although she was overweight and I know she did Rosemary Conley for a couple of years, never in my life can I remember her saying that she thought herself fat or that she didn’t like this bit of her body or that bit. Honestly, she’s never said it, not a word.
And over all, that’s helped me grow up with a realistic attitude to my body – I know I need to take care of myself, but I also know that starving myself and beating myself up isn’t the way to go.