OT: looking for some parental advise...
Hi there!! I know there is a forum for "teen and childhood obesity" but it doesnt seem like it gets to much action... so, I've come to you.
My name is Lisa & I am a mother of a beautiful 8 year old daughter, Lucy. An issue has come up and I am in need of some advise. I picked up Lucy from school yesterday & thru our normal conversation about her day I found out that none of the girls in her class will play with her. Apparently, she's been told she's too big, fat & obese. I know my ego was more bruised than her's. Lucy is in the 93rd percentile for both weight and height; there is no fluffing around that... but she's healthy & knows that. I asked her what she wanted me to do & her response was nothing... she will figure it out herself & then she will let me know. I reassured her that everyone is made differently, girls/women are notorious for this, etc... I don't know what to do & things have definitely changed since I was a kid. My husband doesn't really see an issue but I chalk it up to the fact he's a guy & never dealt with this. I was hoping that I could get some names of books or authors. A direction to go... Lucy is truly an awesome kid & I don't want her carrying this around like it has for so many women/peers...now or rest of her life... I know it's a hard world out there; how can I let her soar and be confident...
Looking forward to your response,
Lisa
p/s I'll probably be posting on other forums as well...
A really terrible thing I've done is whenever she tells me that someone made a crack about her weight, I say, "Well, did you tell them 'I can lose weight but ugly is PERMANENT!'?" I know that's not the mature response, but it always made us giggle.
My heart goes out to both of you, because I know how painful the situation is. My daughter has been approved for weight loss surgery and will have it sometime before the end of the year. Sometimes I wish we had looked into it earlier but you know what, Lisa? I think seeing how horrid some other kids can be has helped mold her into the loving, caring person that she is today, and losing weight will never turn her into one of those shallow little "bow-heads". For that, I am thankful!
