It's pretty clear that these days, kids are growing up much faster than they used to. What concerned me at 13 years old now concerns children of elementary-school age–and quite honestly, sometimes it can be scary.
Mom Amy Cheney learned this the hard way when she recently found a diet list on her daughter's bedroom floor. The problem? Her daughter is only 7 years old!
As can be seen in the photo above, her daughter's "diyet" plan (which is full of chicken-scratch handwriting and adorable misspellings) includes a list of exercises to do and foods to eat during the day, like 17 "poosh-ups" two times a day and "3 appals" and "2 keewee froots."
After making the discovery, Cheney took to her blog in horror, asking questions many parents in her situation would be left with. "Where did she learn the word diet? How does she even know what a freaking diet is?" she writes. And, of course, the big one: "Whose fault is this?"
But while Cheney, who says she has made it a point to never question her body in front of her kids, stews angrily over how the beauty obsession that rules so much of society could've possibly found its way into the mind of her 7-year-old, some seem to think the list is actually a good thing–a sign that the little girl will be healthy later on in life. So is her reaction actually warranted?
Read more ¿Qué más?: Should we really be teaching toddlers that looks are all that matters?
Personally, I think yes. I am all for kids starting a healthy lifestyle early on in life but if I had found myself in Cheney's position, I have no doubt that I would have been equally as freaked out as she was.
It's not the list itself that I find troublesome. There's nothing on there that mentions anything about skipping meals or feeling fat. In fact, almost all the things her daughter writes down are actually healthy. But I can't help but feel sad that this seems to be such an issue of concern for a kid her age. At 7 years old, I was thinking about crayons. Yet at the same age, this little girl is planning out what to eat during the day. That is a little worrisome.
Luckily, Cheney seemed to know exactly how to handle it. She sat her child down and asked her about the list, which is when her daughter revealed she had learned about dieting from a friend of the same age. Afterwards, they "chatted about diets and beautiful healthy bodies and the gift that they are," Cheney says … which I think is the best thing any parent could've done in that case.
Instead of completely discouraging her daughter from her diet ideas, she opened up an honest conversation with her about it, something that's incredibly important for parents to do with their kids. Hopefully one day, they'll just look back on this list and laugh … but for now, I'm glad that Cheney's daughter has a mom who is so vigilant and on top of things.
Image via Mamamia.com.au
