I've been writing a letter to a friend's niece...well, I was writing a letter to a friend's niece, who is bullied because of her weight.
I started writing a her letter. Then it got long.
And if you know anything about me, you might have expected that a little letter would be a bit understated for me. Shucks, I'm an over-achiever.
Since the little gal likes crafty things, and since I'm pretty good with Microsoft Publisher, I decided to take my too-long text and make it into a newsletter. I have compiled her some links and am making a page or two of fantastic fat female role models.
This has been like writing a letter to my pre-teen self. It's also compelled me to reflect a bit more, not only about my own experiences, but about my relationships to other fat women growing up. I hope to write more about that soon.
But finding size-acceptance resources for kids was harder than I thought. There was a lot of stuff ABOUT kids, but very little actually written for them, on their level. What are we doing for kids? What CAN we do for kids?
You're absolutely right. We need to do something for kids. We need something parents can give to kids.
ReplyDeleteI'm an ex-child care worker & nanny, and now I'm a librarian. If anyone wants to collaborate on something, I'd be happy to pitch in.
An aside, I have several friends with young daughters. It's become REALLY important that these girls see me being fat AND happy. In some cases I know they're getting negative body messages at home, so I hope that by seeing me, and being around me, they'll get SOME positive body messages.
YES! I wish there was something in the school system to support positive body image, like from Kindergarten! I'm wondering how FA could support this? I will mull this over, see what I come up with. Thanks for this. And for being a fabulous Auntie Fats, too!
ReplyDelete