I find this disgusting…
Yesterday at work, some female coworkers and I were talking about body image, eating disorders, etc. etc. Anyways these two girls are definitely not even close to being considered overweight. Both girls workout (cardio though) and eat pretty normally. Anyways, as I was talking to them, they both revealed the intense pressure from their parents to be thin. One girl said her parents told her if she weight 105 lbs (she’s about 5′3") then she would be a much better daughter. How ridiculous is that? The girl already runs 5 miles a day and has a nice athletic petite body! Apparently they told her this when she was going through her senior year of high school—which, she already had a really rough year… and then you’re going to go ahead and say that to an already depressed child? What kind of parent is that… how is that showing love and affection? That’s sick… those parents should 1) love their children no matter what they weigh and 2) realize what kind of affects those nasty comments can have… especially with a teenage girl. I could understand IF she was extremely overweight/obese to mention "maybe you should consider what you’re doing to your health" or something of the sort instead of "you’d be a much better person" kind of deal. Absolutely ludicrous if you ask me.
The other girl told me her parents promised a $500 shopping spree if she lost 10 pounds. The girl is already thin!! These two stories just make me realize how sick some parents are….the pressure to portray a certain image in our society has led people down detrimental paths. I hope these two girls can ignore their parents as much as possible and consider their happiness above others nasty and snotty remarks….
December 22, 2007 at 9:17 am
Those stories are really horrible and those parents are being terribly hurtful and irresponsible. As we know, thin does not mean healthy or beautiful–I guess it just shows you what these girl’s parents value. Hopefully, you as an objective third party, can provide a voice of reason ane a different perspective. It’s a shame, even once they leave their parent’s ‘care’ they are still going to carry those messages with them.
December 22, 2007 at 10:45 am
That is despicable. That parents can put the adherence to a flawed social body image above their child’s own health is beyond me.
December 23, 2007 at 7:49 pm
That is pretty sick..Parents should love their children for them..not what their body looks like. People have more to offer than their physical appearance.. sick sick sick…