I am warning you, this is can be a controversial issue and I am certainly not one to push my beliefs/feelings on other people but this is a topic that I feel passionate about and well... I want to talk about it. These are MY feelings, and not meant to start a fire of opinions/facts/right/wrong.
I had a weight issue for most of my adult life, and have first hand seen/felt how different people treat you when you are obese. People can be cruel, judgemental, and it feels like the world is against you. As an adult, I could have controlled my actions, been active and prevented myself from gaining weight. I didn't, therefore, I was obese. Children don't always have the tools to make those choices, who's job is it to guide them and help provide a healthy environment? The parents? School? Who? At what point does a parent step in and take matters into their own hands?
I recently had a very emotional conversation with a co-worker who shared with me that her 12 year old daughter has a serious weight problem and has now reached over 250lbs. My heart absolutely broke. The feelings that she must be feeling as an overweight child must be overwhelming. But most importantly, how did she get to that point at 12 years old? What went wrong? Why didn't her parents step in and help her when they noticed she was heavier than the "average" child her age? Are there other reasons that a child can be obese? Hereditary? Metabolism?
As a mother to two young children, it is my job to teach them these tools their entire life. It is my job to keep them healthy, and surround them with a safe environment. It is my job to protect them. As of right now, this is not an issue in my house. But I will be damned if I sit back and watch my children's life fade away day by day without intervening. This topic boggles my mind, it saddens me and I wish there was something I could do to help this little girl gain her life & self confidence back. There is a whole world out there waiting for her, and as an obese woman in today's society unfortunately she will not be treated the same as a woman of "normal" weight.
What resources are available out there for children w/ weight issues?
What resources are available for parents with children w/ weight issues?
I know for myself, there have been a lot of emotional pain that contributed. A lot of teasing at school, a lot of pressures to perform, a lot of things spoken over me that were not right and falling to food to help make me "feel better" just came naturally. But this is a very controversial issue because it is a parent's job to help teach their children to eat right but then there's also the possibility of the children thinking that their "fatness" is all their parents see in them. It's a delicate balance.
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