A friend recently posted her feelings on comments she gets about her beautiful baby girl, and I related to her very much. Luna was an almost 10 pound baby and according to the charts she continues to be big for her age. Since she was a baby I would get comments "wow she's a healthy girl" or "wow she's a big girl." Even some family members make comments every time they pick her up they say "wow she's so heavy..."
Why are these comments acceptable? We do not go around making comments or comparisons at adults about their size, weight or development. So why do adults think it is acceptable to make these comments about children?
I realize babies do not understand yet, but their moms do and we do not appreciate it. We do not say anything because unlike you, we do not want to be rude.
Now that my daughter is a toddler and absorbing so much, I am especially cautious of people's rude or outspoken comments. Some people may not be making these comments out of malice, but it is not okay.
You all may be thinking I am being an oversensitive, overprotective helicopter parent, but as an adult woman who still struggles with mind and body issues, I do not take it lightly. I recall the comments said to me or about me by adults, and quite possibly if these comments would not have been said, I may have had a better chance at building a good self-esteem and now I am playing catch-up on building myself back up.
Instead of making comments about a child's size, weight or development, how about saying something constructive or positive.
Our responsibility as adults is to rise up children in order to help them become confident good people. Our job is not to take them down at the beginning of the race!For all you adults who cannot think of a nice thing to say, I can think of several words to say to you, but in an effort to be polite, here's a thought:
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