Awesome Lives. My Kid is Proof.
My son came up to me and told me that he was fat.
For real.
My son.
And when I asked him where he got that idea he said that his "friends" told him that he had fat on his legs and that his muscles weren't hard. For real. He's 10.
AND he has mitochondrial disease. AND he was born with all over hypotonia. AND he had a tethered spinal cord.
For real. His body has overcome all of this......And all he wants is to be skinny.
When he was a baby the doctors told me that he might never walk. They didn't know if his muscles could handle carrying the weight of his body. There were days we weren't sure how long he'd even be with us.
He starts soccer practice this week. This boy who may have never walked, or even lived. So I want to scream at these kids, "HIS LEGS ARE FREAKING MIRACLES! AND HE WILL NEVER HAVE HARD MUSCLES, BUT THE FACT THAT HE'S PLAYING SOCCER IS AMAZING! THE FACT THAT HE'S ALIVE AND THRIVING IS AMAZING! THE FACT THAT HE'S HAPPY AND HEALTHY IS THE BIGGEST WIN HERE!" But of course I can't. So I'm here.
I have had this thought before, and I've written it before, but I feel compelled to say it again. So here goes.
If we as parents don't teach our children that body type doesn't mean a thing when it comes to being a good person, we are failing. We teach them that they can't judge people based on color, or handicap, or religion. We teach our children that sexual orientation is nothing more than who you fall in love with and isn't a reason to judge people. We teach our children that kindness is IMPORTANT, and that being a good and gracious human being is one of the best gifts you can give the world.
But we still treat weight like a dirty little secret. Fat is bad. Unrealistic skinny is good.
We have to change this. Health is important. Body type is not. Period.
So let's teach kids to see the awesome INSIDE people instead of the exterior that houses it. Just a thought.
For real.
My son.
And when I asked him where he got that idea he said that his "friends" told him that he had fat on his legs and that his muscles weren't hard. For real. He's 10.
AND he has mitochondrial disease. AND he was born with all over hypotonia. AND he had a tethered spinal cord.
For real. His body has overcome all of this......And all he wants is to be skinny.
When he was a baby the doctors told me that he might never walk. They didn't know if his muscles could handle carrying the weight of his body. There were days we weren't sure how long he'd even be with us.
He starts soccer practice this week. This boy who may have never walked, or even lived. So I want to scream at these kids, "HIS LEGS ARE FREAKING MIRACLES! AND HE WILL NEVER HAVE HARD MUSCLES, BUT THE FACT THAT HE'S PLAYING SOCCER IS AMAZING! THE FACT THAT HE'S ALIVE AND THRIVING IS AMAZING! THE FACT THAT HE'S HAPPY AND HEALTHY IS THE BIGGEST WIN HERE!" But of course I can't. So I'm here.
I have had this thought before, and I've written it before, but I feel compelled to say it again. So here goes.
If we as parents don't teach our children that body type doesn't mean a thing when it comes to being a good person, we are failing. We teach them that they can't judge people based on color, or handicap, or religion. We teach our children that sexual orientation is nothing more than who you fall in love with and isn't a reason to judge people. We teach our children that kindness is IMPORTANT, and that being a good and gracious human being is one of the best gifts you can give the world.
But we still treat weight like a dirty little secret. Fat is bad. Unrealistic skinny is good.
We have to change this. Health is important. Body type is not. Period.
So let's teach kids to see the awesome INSIDE people instead of the exterior that houses it. Just a thought.
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