My 12-year-old daughter was mad and sad about feeling ugly and fat this morning and focusing on her “flabby” tummy. (She's 5'5” at 12 and weighs maybe 120…so fat is not even in this county much less zip code). I chased her up the stairs and around the house saying, “You have to love your tummy!” while she laughed and laughed. I kept thinking I should be doing something to explain the damage the “beauty industry” does to us all, but then realized that laughter does her good, too, and that we adults are often way too serious!
–a mother in Seattle, WA