Em: "Jac, can I go with you? I really need to go because I need to get rid of my bad fat"
Jac: "Em, you don't have any bad fat on your body and I don't either. Me, Mom and Dad like to exercise to be healthy not to get rid of fat.
Em: "OH.... Well, can I come anyway?"
I was so sad when Jacqueline told me this! I have always tried to be so careful with how I talk about our bodies and why we exercise and eat healthy. It is sad that my little 7 year old who has too little fat on her body, is worried about her "bad fat!"
Last week Matt was talking a lot about good fats and bad fats because he had his cholesterol checked. He is a little high in the bad fats so we were discussing what changes he can make in his diet. (This is actually quite the challenge since he is already such a great eater!) Could this be where Emily got this idea? OR was she just trying to think of an excuse to go running with her big Sis???
Emily rode her scooter to the end of the street and then ran with her about 3 blocks! This was enough "getting rid of bad fat" for her :)
Can I just tell you how grateful I am to have a daughter who wants to be healthy for the RIGHT reasons! She is the perfect example that Emily needs right now. She looks up to her in everything she does. If Jac is exercising and eating good foods to be healthy than that's what she wants to do too!
I am taking this as a reminder to show our kids that we LOVE who we are! We are all different shapes and sizes and we are NOT our bodies. We ARE the amazing person that is inside...let's share this person and embrace this person. Let's not get fooled by the rest of the world who would like us to think that all that matters is the number on the bathroom scale.
We may not be able to control what messages our kids are getting outside of our homes but we definitely can inside! Let's show them what REALLY matters :)
7 comments:
I love this, I laughed.. out of everyone emily said bad fat.. haha shes tiny. It's so true though, the world is so concerned with weight. I love you guys!
What a good reminder! I wish I had the desire to get rid of my "bad fat"! :) LOL! She is too cute!
Cheers for Jaqueline. The influence of an older sibling is so powerful. And cheers for you for having such an open dialogue in your house, making conversations like this possible.
It is so crazy that kids so young are thinking about good fat/ bad fat. Luckily Emily is so blessed to have such an awesome family who loves her and teaches her well. Thank you for sharing and giving me something to think about with my young sweet girls. love you all.
Crazy and sad! The other day Gracie patted her cheeks (on her face,) and asked why hers were so big! She wasn't sure this was a good thing until Mandi assured her having big cheeks is a wonderful thing!
It caught us off guard! We were like "WHAT IS SHE SAYING??" She is 4 years old! She now loves her cheeks and we find her looking in the mirror admiring them. Thank goodness for children and the perspective they give us. I adore Gracie's little round body. I would adore Gracie's skinny little body. It would be so sad for her not to appreciate her body! As it would be if I didn't appreciate mine!:) Yes, a good reminder!
Jac is way beyond her years, Em is so lucky to have such a great sister and role model she couldn't have a better "hero" and her wonderful brother also. How did she ever think she had bad fat we are always trying to get her to eat to gain weight, she takes everything so personal it must of been Matts conversation she listens to everything and analizes it to death and that is why she is so smart, I wish I would of started a book on all the sayings of Miss Emily it would be a best seller!!!!!
Love this! That Jac is a stellar girl! Love that she understands that! What a great thing for a teen to know how to address!
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