Today, I was kidsitting for a girl who lives in my neighborhood. As we finished up our lunch, I noticed that she hadn't finished all her mac-'n'-cheese. When I asked her why, she responded, "because it has calories!"
Two parts of this made me hurt internally. The first being that a six year old is concerned about calories. The culture of dieting and becoming thin is impacting the growth of children who need food to thrive.
The second idea is much more complicated.
This girl was misinformed about calories and the misunderstanding led her to believe that calories were "bad."
She heard an incomplete idea that is now influencing her consumption of nutrients.
When children are misled, left out of entire conversations, or told single sides of stories, they are left to form their own resolutions. And don't get me wrong, I'm all for children ideating and working on conflict resolution. But when they hear small parts of complex topics, they are forced to come to understandings that can influence their lives in negative ways.
Children need to be included in conversations in which they can strive for understanding. Children need to be taught that calories are energy. Children need to be allowed to enjoy food without unreasonable fear.
We MUST give young people the chance to have healthy relationships with food, or we risk having a whole new generation of people with body dysmorphia and eating disorders.
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