i was described as
'chubby'...'chunky' (the WORST one!)...'pudgy'...
'cute' little names....
"oh, yes, lisa's getting
a little chunky....we've got her on a diet...."
how did that make
me feel?
humiliated, ashamed,
ugly...
i know they didn't
mean to hurt me, but they didn't realize what these comments did to me.
they tried feeding
me lettuce, melba toast, cottage cheese, and all sorts of other fun and
entertaining foods...
but as soon as they
left the house, i was frantically searching for the bag of cookies they'd
hid from me. and i usually succeeded in finding them.
so...1)
if you tell your kid that s/he CAN'T have something....they'll want it
more. works that way with food, too...
and if they're anything
like me....they'll find a way to get it.
like i said before...they put me into a program at the Children's Hospital for overweight kids. i think the word they used there was 'obese'.
i was supposed to follow
a rigorous exercise program...
and boy oh boy....my
mom and grandmother sure made me stick to it!
every time i sat down
with a book (my favourite thing in the world to do), someone would hand
me a skipping rope.
i hated skipping.
learned to really loathe it.
so...2)
find activities your kid ENJOYS.....and maybe s/he'll do them.
trust me...if they
hate the activity you MAKE them do...they'll begin to hate you too!
3)
don't tell people that your kid is on a diet.
it's just plain humiliating.
i didn't WANT people
to know. i wanted to be treated the same as other kids.
email me and let me know what you would like YOUR parents to see here...