I love that. My mom was/is a good example of health for us; she always encouraged us to embrace who we were and taught us early how to make good food and physical activity choices. I think it is so important to remember that children take things that adults say quite literally; as adults we can read between the lines and not necessarily take things at face value, but kids can't. And kids rememeber every.single.thing. you ever say. Thanks bubba!
Lord knows I have a terrible, terrible self image... My mother is always, and has always been on some kind of crazy yo-yo diet... Always seeking some unattainable dress size...But never putting in the time or real effort to make those changes that she wanted to see... You can only completely ignore carbs for so long and then it's back to square 1. I certainly don't blame her completely for my views of my own body and how I equate them with worth but I can't help but wonder if things would be different if she had read an article like this and taken it to heart? Or if she realized that comments she's made to me, about me, at different points in my life will echo in my head forever?
We certainly do things differently in our home than the way they were done in mine...For so many reasons, but this being the biggest. And if you ask me. That might be at least half the battle.
I really hope that as Eleanor gets older and becomes more and more the beautiful person I gave up martinis and coffee for for 38.5 weeks... That I remember articles like this one, and how things my mother said made me feel... And that I can shut my GD mouth unless it's to tell her how beautiful women are and how incredibly perfect she is.
This is so important to remember! I have a horrible body image and I don't want that for my girls. We focus on being healthy, and keeping our bodies healthy (not on weight!) My grandma commented on my mom's weight all the time, then moved onto me, and I have a horrible body image because of it. My mom never made comments about my body, but her very open hatred of her own body was enough. I promised myself that I wouldn't do that to my girls, and so far, I've been successful.
Thank you for sharing this! I really appreciate it. I too have a family that has always focused on weight and been on some crazy fad diet. Then when they are done, they eat like crap and then go on another one...
I really hope that I can show Emma how to live a healthy happy life without focusing on the negative.
My sister has already said shiit about Emma's weight (her leg rolls, her chubby cheeks) and I about cut a biitch. No joke. I've not been so upset about a comment, ever. I don't need her projecting her bad body images on Emma too. I have them bad enough that I need to watch how I act and talk when I don't think she's listening, that I don't need her undoing all of my work! I hope it can change my attitude about myself too!
Re: I'm just going to leave this here for everyone...
Lord knows I have a terrible, terrible self image... My mother is always, and has always been on some kind of crazy yo-yo diet... Always seeking some unattainable dress size...But never putting in the time or real effort to make those changes that she wanted to see... You can only completely ignore carbs for so long and then it's back to square 1. I certainly don't blame her completely for my views of my own body and how I equate them with worth but I can't help but wonder if things would be different if she had read an article like this and taken it to heart? Or if she realized that comments she's made to me, about me, at different points in my life will echo in my head forever?
We certainly do things differently in our home than the way they were done in mine...For so many reasons, but this being the biggest. And if you ask me. That might be at least half the battle.
I really hope that as Eleanor gets older and becomes more and more the beautiful person I gave up martinis and coffee for for 38.5 weeks... That I remember articles like this one, and how things my mother said made me feel... And that I can shut my GD mouth unless it's to tell her how beautiful women are and how incredibly perfect she is.
I shall descend now, from atop my soapbox.
Good day.
This is so important to remember! I have a horrible body image and I don't want that for my girls. We focus on being healthy, and keeping our bodies healthy (not on weight!) My grandma commented on my mom's weight all the time, then moved onto me, and I have a horrible body image because of it. My mom never made comments about my body, but her very open hatred of her own body was enough. I promised myself that I wouldn't do that to my girls, and so far, I've been successful.
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing this! I really appreciate it. I too have a family that has always focused on weight and been on some crazy fad diet. Then when they are done, they eat like crap and then go on another one...
I really hope that I can show Emma how to live a healthy happy life without focusing on the negative.
My sister has already said shiit about Emma's weight (her leg rolls, her chubby cheeks) and I about cut a biitch. No joke. I've not been so upset about a comment, ever. I don't need her projecting her bad body images on Emma too. I have them bad enough that I need to watch how I act and talk when I don't think she's listening, that I don't need her undoing all of my work! I hope it can change my attitude about myself too!
Thank you again!!