here's a photo line up of addy's ballet recital. it was ADORABLE. & of course, addy tried to be the clown, making everyone laugh with her tutu readjustments.
doing a turn (what is that called? i have no clue...)
is this 5th position?
part of the stretching sequence involved 'smell your stinky feet' & as you can see, she totally thought this rocked.
her turn to show off her ballet walk (seriously, i probably should learn the lingo, eh?)
& amelia, who was very patient, was rewarded by adeline voluntarily sharing part of her treats given out by her instructor. *awww*
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negative body image at 4??
already it's happening: adeline told me the other day that she doesn't like her big belly. i think it was more about her too-small shirt not quite covering her lengthening body...but as i asked her questions she seemed more certain that she just simply had a fat belly. she said she doesn't like it. so we chatted about the whole topic for awhile & i think she walked away feeling better about her belly (which, come on! isn't a fat belly at all. at one point she was a chubby cherub but now she just keeps getting longer....)
anyway, it broke my heart that she is learning about this & struggling with this already. at age FOUR. it kills me. after we finished our conversation i have been racking my brain thinking of how this message is given to her, what have i done or not done to protect her from negative body image influences.
my guess is that this is normal for her generation. being aware of the size & shape & color & everything about her body comes with the territory of tv & media & friends & clothes & & &. so i need to be even more vigilant about letting her know that her body shape, type, coloring (i don't know HOW many times i was called casper or ghost or or an airhead or an albino during school years--very annoying. it wasn't until i was a sophomore in high school that someone said something positive to me about my skin & hair tone--i mean, besides my family!). anyway, i want to protect my girls from this but no matter how much i try, i know i can't buffer it all away.
so wes & i have to teach them to be proud of what they have, that looking anorexic isn't glamorous, that being healthy & eating well will build strong minds, muscles, & bones. i just didn't think being hyper-vigilant about body image had to start already. so yea, if you tell my daughter she has a big belly, i'll probably wallop you one, right on the kisser. (that's just me preparing myself...ugh.)
Heid, Interesting that you should bring the whole body image issue up. My niece, who is 8 is really struggling with this right now. I think with the media, etc. it starts earlier and is more intense. As a parent it is so hard, becasue you do want to protect them. I keep thinking that I will be going through this with the girls also and wish there was a magic bullet!
ReplyDeleteAddie looks absolutely adorable in her dance outfit. It looks like she is really enjoying dance!!!
kevin...ugh, really struggling with this stuff at age 8!?! totally heartbreaking. it's so hard to know whether to be more strict (for lack of a better word) & not let them be around entertainment/media...but then they'll just get that from friends. egads, i just don't know. just praying for that healthy body image AND a healthy body for girls.
ReplyDeleteFunny, I was just looking back. This is actually me (Heather) somehow I was signed in as Kevin:)
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