1 Mother 2 Another

This article’s been going around the
internet, and I’m sure most of you have read it, so I almost
didn’t post it here thinking it’s overkill.


But it’s also incredibly important, so I’m posting it
anyway.


The article is href="http://www.rolereboot.org/life/details/2013-06-when-your-mother-says-shes-fat#.Uc3E_ln-tHk.facebook"
target="_blank">When Your Mother Says She’s Fat
and you can imagine the content. The truth is that the disparaging
remarks we make about ourselves every day absolutely shape how our
daughters see us – and themselves.


I haven’t always had the best self-image (shocking for a
ballet dancer, I know), and this is one of the things I can
honestly say I’m doing right with my daughters –at
least most of the time. I want them to live better than me –
to be happier in their own skins than I was. And that’s why
when my daughters hear the word “diet” they think it
means simply “whatever foods you eat”. As in “She
eats a healthy diet,” or “Her diet includes lots of
vegetables and lean protein”.


My daughters have never heard me speak disparagingly about the way
I look – I don’t slam my freckles, or my (lack of)
height, or the roll around my stomach that shows up when my shorts
just come out of the dryer. If they see me working out and wonder
why, I tell them, “To keep my body healthy and strong so it
can keep up with you! Mommies don’t get gym class like you
do, you know!” Whatever angst I might have about my physical
appearance I save for my girlfriends, and let them help me through
that. It’s not my daughters’ job to reassure me, and
it’s not their right to learn how to dislike their looks from
me.


Just read the article – and then see if it changes how you
talk about yourself around your daughter.


And maybe even think about yourself.