Growing up every female I knew was obsessed with her weight. At social gatherings, the men would be discussing sports and food, and I would hear a lady lean over to my mom and say “I have been good all week; I am going to be BAD and eat this chocolate cookie” before starting to talk about the gossip of the week. As a child, I saw things as either good or bad, healthy or not healthy, and if we as women were overweight, we were obviously BAD. I grew up for years thinking that in order to be a “successful” woman you must be under 130lbs, never gain weight as you age, maintain the status of the spouse that keeps the house clean, and look perfect, all while raising kids that never misbehave in public.
Still to this day, every other person on social media is selling some sort of product guaranteed to give you a new “life style and positive community” aka surrounded by skinny people who have “discipline.”
As I raise my daughter, I want to STOP this. I want her to know there is so much more to being a woman that how we physically appear and there are plenty of other things I want her to learn as she becomes a woman.
The LAST thing I want my 11-year-old worried about is her diet. There are SO MANY things that I want her to learn as she becomes a woman that are WAY MORE important than the number on the scale or the size of the pants she has on.
Things I want my daughter to learn as she becomes a woman:
- Fashion is FUN. Fashion is a way we can all express ourselves with colors, patterns and trends. We can have ALL THE FUN wearing things our grandmothers wore and smiling big while expressing ourselves.
- When you are stressed out, dance and shake your booty! Maybe this is just me but I feel 100 times better when I just dance around even if I look completely ridiculous and end up laughing AT myself, too.
- Everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about. I used to think all of “those moms” had it all together … you know the ones where all the school crafts are always done for all the holidays, they all look SO CUTE in their matching outfits AND she looks like she has showered recently! Well guess what? Those ladies ALSO live on the struggle bus with something and ALSO doubt their abilities as a woman.
Yes, I know there are many other important lessons to teach our daughters as they become teenagers and adults, but I think these are three important lessons on how we as WHOLE women are better off. I want my daughter to become a woman filled with peace, love, and a little hope for the future. I do not want her to be so concentrated on her weight and size that she misses the opportunity to dance around the living room or make a new friend on a night out. In our house, we teach that you are loved for EXACTLY who you are. This applies to how we treat others, too; therefore, we are all loved for EXACTLY who we are and whatever size we are, too! We should all be able to agree on one thing, this world would better off with more love and acceptance for our fellow humans (and ourselves).
