Before I got divorced I rarely worried about my weight, I was younger and I was married. My weight had never been a problem. Then I got divorced and started dating.
Sometimes dating feels like swimming with sharks, everyone is trying to look their best, be their best, make the best first impression. Suddenly I worried about things I never worried about before, like my weight.
It’s perfectly normal to want to look and feel our best, however we do need to be careful with the messages we are sending our daughters.
Young girls are so impressionable and we are their first role models. If we hate our belly or our thighs, our daughters hear us. If we stand in front of the mirror complaining about how fat we look, our daughters see us. If we skip meals to lose weight, our daughters will mimic us.
I’ve been lucky, my weight has never really been a problem so Hailey has never seen me obsess about it, but I’ve seen the results of that obsession in her friends.
Teenagers have so little control over the world around them so they will sometimes go to extremes with the things they can control and develop eating disorders.
Getting caught up in dating again can be exciting, most of us haven’t dated in years, but we need to remember our children see and hear everything. Especially when we think they aren’t paying attention.
Try to never talk negatively about your body, if you must say something, say you wish you were healthier. After all, that’s what we want for our kids, to be healthy. Also we need to show our daughters that we are more than a number on a scale. Compassion, kindness and a joy for life do not come in a certain package. Be happy with who you are so that in turn, your daughter can love who she is and learn from your example.