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Alright I’m frustrated. My little girl is frustrated and saying she is F-A-T.
Yup, she screamed it. Rage of scream and tears – the whole 9 yards!
I felt my heart break in half and crumble to floor into a million little pieces.
Why would she say something like this you might wonder? It’s simple really, she felt fat and she felt this way because she could not fit into the clothing made for the little girls her age. Little girls built slim and straight.
My girl, she has curves. She is not fat!
All girls have different body shapes, even a six year old girl. Some are short others are tall. Some have little booties and belies and others do not. And yes, their body shapes change and will continue to change.
Putting on one pair of jeans after another that either do not fit her left foot let alone her leg or that do not button or fit her round little rump, well it was frustrating and so she screamed exactly how she felt.
Where did she hear the word fat to say it you might wonder?
Well, she doesn’t live in a box and she does watch television and hears other little girls and adults talk. She knows what the word means and obviously her at-that-moment little self felt like she was fat. (Poor kid, it breaks my heart to even write this and relive it in my mind.)
Right or wrong, she felt it and said it.
So now what? I’m in damage control mode trying to build her up and let her know she is amazing, kind, smart and beautiful inside and out. I’m saying all of the right things but what about the clothing and the situation we face right now?
I want to scream it is so frustrating because clothing made for the masses, the ones at the big box stores…they won’t work for her. They aren’t working for her – especially denim. She wants to dress like this girl or that girl but she can’t and maybe never will. Taking her into a store she sees what she wants to wear but in the dressing room we experience nothing but defeat and sadness.
This means, I don’t take her shopping if I can avoid it because it’s no fun and only knocks her little self esteem down a notch and that is not okay with me! After all, I don’t want her to struggle with her self-image and weight like I have. I try to be a good role model and help other women lose weight and conquer their self image issues to live a healthier and happier life. I don’t want my daughter to walk in my shoes and struggle.
So now, I’m online shopping and trying to find a solution to help my little girl and help her feel good about what she is wearing, be comfortable and most of all look in the mirror at her reflection and realize how wonderful she is, regardless of the clothing on her body.
What would you do? Where would you shop? Other than starting my own clothing line (Oh so tempting!) I am up a crick without a paddle!
Of course I went to Google for advice and I did find these great articles on what to say when your child says they are fat (Maybe they’ll help you too?):
My oldest went through that when she was in kindergarten. Out of the blue, decided she was fat. She’s not now and wasn’t then, for what little that matters. We talked to her about how so long as you eat mostly healthy and keep active, you’re probably healthy enough. Weight shouldn’t mater that much to young children, but they pick up so early that it’s somehow important.