"This shirt makes me look fat"

Unfortunately, someone we love, who shall remain nameless, has a very bad habit of using a certain f-word. No, not the four letter one that results in poor Ralphie getting soap in his mouth in "A Christmas Story", but  f-a-t, fat.  I never thought much of it.  They are an adult and probably are overweight per their BMI, but that's not what matters to me.

That is, until I heard, "This shirt makes me look fat" this morning.  Those are the words I heard out of my beautiful, healthy 5 year old daughter's mouth this morning.  Honestly, it shocked me.  I wanted to scream that she IS NOT FAT and cry all at the same time.  Body image issues are rampant in our society (which conflicts greatly with the obesity epidemic, but that's a post for another day), but I never expected to hear it from my 5 year old!  Brad and I  do our very best to not use that word.  We believe that being strong and healthy and comfortable in your clothes is much more important than a number on the scale or someone else's view of your physique.  We stress to both kids that we work out and eat right because it makes us feel good and keeps us healthy, it has nothing to do with our weight.  I know Sophia gets it, at least as well as she can, because she has been known to tell us that she needs some fruit to "fuel her muscles" and make her feel better.  We had a good conversation after she said it about how she is healthy and strong and most definitely not fat, even if her shirt makes her feel that way.  I also discussed with her how I don't care for that word.  It has been used too often as a hurtful thing to say about someone and we won't use it in our house.  Being a 5 year old I obviously got the "but ....... says it", but I explained that they are an adult and are allowed to use whatever words they choose, but that we don't.  I also had a talk with said adult about avoiding that word in our house from now on!

Did I overreact?  Possibly, but I would rather overreact to my daughter having even the tiniest little inkling over feeling/looking/thinking she's fat than let it slide by unnoticed.  Weight, being healthy, and body image will always be an open dialogue in our house.  I don't want to be one of those parents who is side swiped by an eating disorder when their child is a teenager.  Its sad, really, how many girls (and guys) I know who suffered silently, and sometimes still do, while their family sat idly by with no clue what was going on.

Please, just say no to the f-word!