She Has Always Tried To Send Body Positive Messages, But Her 4-Year-Old Is Scared Of Being Fat
Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes, and each one of them is beautiful and unique. But in our society, some of them are more valued than others.
All around us, media, popular culture, and the people in our lives influence the way we view our bodies, working to perpetuate the “ideal” body image.
More than ever, today’s youth have exposure to images depicting a certain standard of beauty. Sadly, poor body image among children is common and is only continuing to increase.
It’s impossible for parents to shield their kids from the cruelty of the world, but what they can do is build a strong foundation at home by teaching their children healthy views about body image/weight and how to manage their emotions surrounding the topic. Every bit of open conversation helps, even if it doesn’t seem so in the moment.
TikToker Sharon (@sharon.a.life) has always tried to send positive messages about body image, but despite her best efforts, her 4-year-old daughter has recently expressed her fear of being fat.
One morning, Sharon was getting her daughter ready for school. She told her daughter that she should layer a short-sleeved shirt over a long-sleeved one to stay warm since it was cold outside.
Her daughter was against the idea, and that’s when she stated that people would think she looked fat if she wore multiple layers.
“Everything in me sank,” said Sharon. Although she was on the verge of tears, she held herself together and reminded her daughter that there was nothing bad or wrong about being fat.
“I’m fat, and I’m super awesome. I’m fat, and I’m pretty. I’m fat, and we have fun, like you can still be awesome and have fun and do things when you’re fat. It doesn’t matter what other people think about us,” she said.
a_kulikovskaya – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual child
She was heartbroken that even after all her positive talk about weight and body image, the negativity had still managed to sneak its way into her brain at such a young age.
Many people sympathized with Sharon’s pain and distress. Some even shared the scenarios that they had witnessed with the kids in their own lives, while others pointed out that her daughter clearly felt safe enough to voice her thoughts in front of her.
“My 7-year-old niece refused to eat chicken nuggets because she said they would make her fat. It starts too young. I’m so sorry,” commented one person.
“So so sorry, this is just awful. I had both my 5-year-old daughter and 7-year-old niece ask me if they looked ‘skinny’ when we were at the beach. Broke my heart,” wrote another.
“She trusts you to tell you about this! That means your opinion about it is very important to her. And you told her all the right things,” added a third.
@sharon.a.life I tried and do all of the right things. I DID do the best i could and yet… we’re here. How do we fight this? How do we fix it? I’m heartbroken. #bodypositivity #bodynuetrality #selflove #fatphobia
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