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A guide to parenting fat kids

  • Writer: Dr Linnette M. Johnson
    Dr Linnette M. Johnson
  • Mar 20, 2022
  • 2 min read

This article goes with the shared post from the other day pertaining to children and food--


**** Article Tidbits below and more...


A guide to parenting fat kids


I am not crazy about the title but the overall point of the article is about how"....important to commit to accepting, supporting and loving your child no matter what..."


The article gives 10 possible guidelines to help ... per the article "since no guidebook was available for her, this is my attempt to help parents who are where she was. How do you raise a fat, healthy, happy child? I’m not a doctor or a psychologist. I’m just a fat kid who grew into a fat adult, and this is what would have been helpful to me."


FYI... I was a "thick" ..oversized child, teenager and have struggled with my weight since I was about 10 years old.. I remember being called "thunder thighs" growing up and being taken to Weight Watchers as young as 12 years old... I didn't realize the underlying issues that don't help the weight until 2008 when I was correctly diagnosed with PCOS and Hashimoto's along with taken off medicines I didn't need to be on.. believe me I have done every fad diet out there and even intensive procedures to gain a footing on my weight because I thought these were my only choices until I found my path into the Health & Wellness Coaching/Nutrition journey..


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So here are the 10 guidelines I wish were out there when I was growing up...


1. Teach them about body diversity.

2. Teach them to trust their bodies and their hunger.

3. Let them walk away from activities they don’t enjoy, without guilt or shame.

4. Don’t restrict their diets, and don’t moralize food.

5. Work on your own f*cked-up relationship with food and your body.

6. Don’t try to protect your child from bullying by accidentally assuming the role of the bully.

7. Be a fierce advocate for your child with doctors, teachers and other adults.

8. Teach them about fatphobia, weight bias and why they’re wrong.

9.Expose your child to positive representations of fat people.

10. Love and accept them for who they are.


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