t0rnado0fs0uls:

apersnicketylemon:

vinegarfemme:

healthforpositivebodies:

Please do not talk about a child’s weight in front of them, or tell them they need to go on a diet. 

Talking about weight in front of children is associated with mental and physical health risks, and both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Canadian Pediatric Society recommend against all weight talk around children.

Starting an ED in a child doesn’t necessarily look like outright mocking a child’s weight- it can be mild comments like “Have you lost weight?” with an approving tone, telling your child they have to play a sport so they don’t “gain weight and grow up unhealthy”, or always commenting on a young girl’s “dainty” figure when you notice how little she naturally eats. Just cut weight talk out of your vocabulary around kids please.

This includes talking about your OWN weight too. Don’t comment about how you can’t have a brownie because it will ‘go right to your hips’, don’t count your calories in front of kids, don’t do any of it. They will absorb it.

What about “you’re very small, pls eat more” (I can see his ribs) (he doesnt eat a lot + i work with him to find things he actually likes that still have nutrients) plus I talk A Lot about body positivity, about how all bodies are good bodies, I’m fat and I call myself fat but in a positive/neutral way + discuss how fat is an adjective and that other folks are the ones who make it negative. I squish my tummy and talk about how it keeps me warm, and how I’m fun to hug. My concern about his weight is not aesthetic based, but rather legitimate concern over his health (he takes ADHD meds so I Have to be concerned about him losing weight) (I know a lot of fatphobia/body shaming comes under the guise of health concerns, but if he gets sick and cant eat he doesn’t have a lot to keep him from dying and this terrifies me) I guess I’m wondering if this instance of weight discussion with a child is acceptable due to the nuance I provided. If not, pls help me find ways to share my concerns with him.

To me, at least, that sounds enough different that it doesn’t really seem like a problem. That’s coming out of legitimate and probably well-founded concerns about the child’s wellbeing, not appearance and concern trolling.

A focus on staying strong and well-nourished doesn’t sound like a bad thing at all, as long as the message stays positive and not shaming the kid for having trouble getting enough food in with the meds.

That said, I can also understand why it might feel hard to find a good balance there. Especially with how prevalent the other kind of interactions around weight and food can be–and especially if you’ve had too much personal experience of the shaming kind