Welcome to this week’s edition of Mother’s of Intention! Today, my lovely guest poster is Tracee from The Girl’s Revolution! I love Tracee’s blog because we share something in common — “tween” daughters who are facing the dreaded body image issues and we agree that sometimes (OK, more than sometimes) the media crosses a line when it comes to how girls and women are portrayed (yes, I’m talking about your Burger King & Nickelodeon)! Tracee’s series on how to help our girl’s stay fit is just another example of what mothers take on in a political way. She graciously agreed to let me post one from the series, “Whose Body Is It Anyway?”
I ate the rest of the popcorn, my seven-year-old daughter Ainsley reported with her “am I in trouble?” face.
Was that healthy for your body? I asked her.
Uh, no, she said.
You know, you’re responsible for your own body, I informed her. You shouldn’t eat or not eat because we’ll get mad – you should eat or not eat according to what will be the healthiest choice for your body. You’re the one who has to live in your body so you want to keep it as healthy as possible.
Okay.
You know what’s good for you, I reminded her. Even if Mommy or Daddy aren’t with you, you still have to make the healthiest choice for your body. So, just because someone offers you another piece of cake and we’re not there to say NO, doesn’t mean you should eat the cake.
Okay let’s practice, she said. Ask me if I want two cupcakes.
Okay, I’ll be Grandma, I joked. I have Blue Bell Vanilla Ice Cream, I made seven kinds of delicious pie, here’s two jars of candy. Don’t you want another piece of cake?
Thank you, I’d love a small piece of that cake please. And that’s plenty, Ainsley said.
Having cheated on my own self – with food, smoking, not exercising, various substances – for years I know only too well how stupid and futile it is to pretend that someone else has more of a vested interest in the health of my body than I do.
I also know, from my last three years of trying to recover from baby and lazy that it’s a hell of a lot easier to stay fit than get fit.
Fit Girl Series: Accept Your Body
Fit Girl Series: Friends, Strangers With Candy
Fit Girl Series: Comparing Children
Fit Girl Series: Exercise Poll
Fit Girl Series: Eat This, Not That!
Fit Girl Series: BIG FAT LIARS!
Fit Girl Series: Obese Teens on Oprah
Fit Girl Series: Weight = Moral Failure
Have you seen a post that you think would make a great addition to my Mothers of Intention series? Please e-mail me so I can find more moms who are taking the bull by the horns when it comes to all sorts of “political” issues!
May 15th, 2009 at 3:05 pm
So, if the parent pops the popcorn (which is not unhealthy if you skip the melted butter and extra salt), offers it to the kid, and the kid eats it, then the kid has to worry that she’ll be in trouble because she ate the last bite? Seriously? Healthy eating and lifestyle habits can be taught without a guilt trip.