Little girls and the importance of being skinny

[makaylee]

I just read something that kind of bothered me. I was looking at a book my daughter brought home from the first grade, it was one of those all about me books where the kids answer questions about themselves. Well when one of the girls answered the question "What is special about me?" She said , "I'm skinny and I have a pretty smile" Are kids already concerend about being skinny in the first grade? This really worries me. My daughter just happens to be skinny, but she has never mentioned the fact, I don't think she's really thinks about it either way. Another thing that bothered me was the mom added other things at the bottom such as her sence of humor, and good grades, if the mom read this why didn't she have her change the part about being skinny? Whould you have? 6 years old is just to young to be concerend about being thin and placing such importance on it, at least to me it is.

 

[luv2nascar]

My friends 51/2 yr old said she was fat because she could not fit into a pair of shorts my friend bought her

I was really shocked by this. My dd is in 3rd grade almost 9 and it really does come up. One skinny girl in her class says I'm so skinny I need two belts to hold my pants up. Skinny girl's mother got her highlights in her hair at the hairdresser. HUH.

I don't get kids or their parents. They are kids for heavens sake.

 

[Dan Murphy]

The media is smothering to young lives.

 

[Beauty]

There is a little girl in J.C.'s class that is GORGEOUS!! Okay I'll admit she is my favorite. She is NOT fat, by no means is she fat. She has a athletic body, she plays soccer, softball, basketball. Anyway her mother is a bigger person like me and her mother is dieting right now and so am I.

Anyway Alli is like another daughter to me and she came up to me and said "I've been dieting too, I've lost 3 pounds!" I hugged her and told her that she was the most beautiful little girl ever and she knows shes my favorite.

It just breakes my heart what kids will do or try to be to fit in. I can remember all to clearly. I was a chubby child and I literally starved myself to be a skinny teenager and I was until I got married and then the weight came right back on. Now I'm starving myself again to get it off.

 

[grinningghost]

I don't know about very young girls, but weight is a big issue with high school girls. My DD is pretty much normal weight, a bit chunky through the middle - but definitely not fat. But to hear her talk lately, she's the fattest girl in the world. She's made some positive changes to her diet, but I'm really watching her to make sure she doesn't take things too far and stop eating properly. Eating disorders can start almost without anyone noticing. You can't be too careful.

 

[TalkisCheap]

I'm in 7th grade and I'm thin. I don't eat much(not like I try not to eat much...I just don't eat a lot in general) and I run at least 2 miles 5 days a week as well as everything involved with softball(right now) and during other seasons I run more(cross country) or 2 miles on top of other sports like basketball and in the summer - track, basketball, tennis camps/lessons/leagues.

I never really care much about how much I weigh. I'm happy with myself, and I don't think I need to be skinny to be me. I would be just as happy with myself if I wasn't thin. I know a pair of twins on my track team a year younger than me(11-12) and they're both extremely skinny and both very pretty. They are constantly talking of the diets they're on(they have so far tried the Atkins and are on the South Beach) and apparently they have their younger sister doing the same thing who is 8...I think it's terrible. To every track meet I bring a bag of goldfish. I was offering some to my friend and they were standing there and they both said, no, they couldn't because it was "too high in calories!" I can't believe how obsessed everyone is with being skinny. It's nice not to have extra weight, but you shouldn't be obsessed with losing it, especially at such a young age, and when you don't need to! You're only kids once...live your life!

 

[caitycaity]

this isn't a new phenomenon. i remember feeling fat in kindergarden, way back in 1982.

 

[grinningghost]

Originally posted by caitycaity
this isn't a new phenomenon. i remember feeling fat in kindergarden, way back in 1982.

Oh boy - you're making me feel old!

 

[DSNY FN]

I was always very athletic and outgoing as a id and even until I met my now wife I was always very thin and cut. I am 5'11" and was 170 to 180 I am now out of work due to a knee injury and can't excercize like I used to and am up to 208. I need to get back into a workout routine and lose my gut and get my tone back again.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Hey, I did kindergarten in '49.

 

[faithinkarma]

Hey, I did kindergarten in '49.

Somebody is older than I am??? Cool !

as to the original topic.....once when I was working with pre k kids, there was a Christmas party. I passed a plate of cookies to a little 4 year old girl who looked up at me sadly and said " no thank you, I am not allowed fattening foods ". Obviously Mom's rule. It broke my heart to hear that sweet child worrying about calories at her age.

 

[LvsTnk]

Scary!

DD who is a freshman, plays sports, and is very skinny. She dates a sophomore who is a well liked guy but gets teased for his big ankles and weight. She says it breaks her heart and she doesn't know what to do about it. What is with these kids you like someone so you torment them by telling their girlfiend "hey he has huge lovehandles and we might as well tell you he has huge ankles too, your gunna find out sooner or later this summer" right in front of him.

 

[BabyLove99]

Whenever I see my NINE year old cousin, she always says to me, "Marissa, you're SO skinny! Oh my gosh! I wanna be like that!" This disturbs me for so many reasons. My cousin is a tiny, thin little girl. She's skinnier than I am! And yes, I'm thin, but not thin enough to make a big deal over. I'm not some skeleton where you can't help but notice and make comments. I remember when I was nine, I never gave any thought at all to my size, or anyone else's size for that matter. If she continues to be this way, I'm worried about what's going to happen as she gets older

 

[Pop Daddy]

the truth is its real hard for a kid now and even then, to be over weight in school. Kids are so mean.

 

[janette]

It can be a sensitive issue, my girls are opposites. My 12yo DD is pencil thin and always has been. She weighs the same or less right now than my 9yo DD and is almost a foot taller. Although my 9yo DD is not fat she is a little heavier and it's becoming a problem finding clothes that fit. I don't want to put her on a diet but I do think I need to help her eat better foods. My DH's family has a history of heart disease and diabetes so there are additional reasons to try to make sure she doesn't get to heavy. How to do this without using the word "diet" can be tricky. I've been on a low carb diet but she loves fries and other foods so I know she would hate it. She does eat my whole grain breads etc and some of the other things so I guess thats good.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Maybe there are alot of overweight kids and she sees them getting teased?
Let's face it, GQ people "looking to the nines" are treated differently in this world and kids pick up on that early.

 

[damo]

Originally posted by Pop Daddy
the truth is its real hard for a kid now and even then, to be over weight in school. Kids are so mean.

It is just as hard to be skinny. I was called scrawny and toothpick way back when I was in grade school. I hurt just as much as those kids who were called fatso.

Kids always find a way to pick on other kids.

 

[LScot]

CaityCaity, I graduated from high school in '83!

Weight is such an issue for all ages but it is esp. hard to hear little children talking about it. I always heard my oldest sister talking about her weight issues (which were non-existent) while I was growing up. I think she made me quite aware of my weight just because of her own obsession. I see her doing it to her 3 girls now. I mean, believe it or not, her 15 yo dd is developing! and has some hips to match. Ugh!

My dd is very average sized. She's 10 and wears a 10. Yet there are moms who have come up to me and said things about her weight. I'm pretty quiet but I speak up when this happens. I sure as heck am not gonna let somebody say that kind of baloney and not let them know what I think about untrue, hurtful things like that. How dare someone.

Little girls have weight issues very often because their mothers obsess about weight issues. And they aren't blind to the media and what they see all the time.

 

[slo]

Originally posted by damo
Kids always find a way to pick on other kids.

I couldn't agree more w/ this. My DD is 5 1/2yrs old and for the last year children her age have been teasing her because she is the smallest in the class. They call her "baby" and are always asking her "why are you so tiny?". I have had to talk to her teachers at the day care about this because when my DD talks about it, it makes her cry. She wants to know why she is so tiny. I just tell her that God makes everyone different and that is her special size and if everybody were the same we would live in a very boring world.

I also try to build up her size by telling her that because she is smaller, there are things that she will be very good at like gymnastics, swimming and cheerleading someday. So...I try to make her size - in her mind - a wonderful thing to ease the pain. The mother you are speaking about in your thread may have done the same thing if the child if really really skinny and other kids are making fun of her for that. Her mother may have done the same as me to help build her childs self esteem to be proud of who she is.

I don't know if this is the case - I'm just playing devils advocate. All I am saying....is sometimes there may be more to the story.

 

[janette]

Originally posted by makaylee
Another thing that bothered me was the mom added other things at the bottom such as her sence of humor, and good grades, if the mom read this why didn't she have her change the part about being skinny? Whould you have? 6 years old is just to young to be concerend about being thin and placing such importance on it, at least to me it is.

I would never have changed what my child wrote in this situation. Sounds like the mom made sure those other things were included without saying to her DD that what she considered special might not be the most important thing. Sometimes kids that age think more about the differences they have that make them special and that maybe something the other kids have mentioned to her.