Body Image & The Media – August Writing Challenge #9

Today’s Blogger Challenge topic is: Body Image and The Media.

Being a high school Health and Physical Education teacher, and having a daughter, I think this topic is of HUGE importance.

As I was poking around Pinterest I came across this:

I find this really upsetting. 5 year olds concerned about their weight…almost half of the 9-11 year olds surveyed are sometimes or very often dieting…seriously…we are setting these girls up for a lifetime of poor self esteem, distorted eating and negative body image.

Who’s to blame?

Well, in my opinion, I think a lot of it has to do with the media. They continue to portray an unrealistic body type as the norm and as a result, society is unwilling to accept that anything else is beautiful. Many women, teens and now young girls are feeling the pressure to be thin.

Did you know that (according onto the most recent stats I could find) the average Canadian woman is 5’3.4″s and weighs 153 pounds. The average American woman is 5’3.8″ and weights 163 pounds. Source. Now let’s compare that to the average model…

The average model is 5’11” and weights only 117 lbs. Thats less than 98% of Canadian and American women! Source.

Now let’s consider how many times per day young girls, teens and women are exposed to print and television ads displaying this unrealistic body image…are we getting the wrong idea about what’s healthy and normal…absolutely!

So, what should we do about it? What can I do so that my daughter is not one of those 5 year olds wanting to lose weight?

Well, for starters, we need to be good role models. We need to model a lifestyle of healthy eating and physical activity. We need to exemplify a healthy body image and self esteem.

We need to talk to our kids about the dangers of being too thin. We need to explain to them that photos of models and celebrities are altered or airbrushed and that they are not real, nor are they realistic!

We need to seek help when our own issues or those of our kids become more than we can handle. It’s better to be proactive then reactive. Be aware of what’s going on in our kids lives. Ask questions and don’t settle to shady answers. Suspicious? Ask more questions!

What’s your opinion on Body Image and the Media?

How do you suggest we deal with it?

Three Things Thursday!

1. Yesterday hubby had a rare day off during the week, so we took the kids to Canada’s Wonderland with our friends Jeff and Courtney and their two kids. It was Ryan’s first time (and Tanners too, of course) and she LOVED it! She was able to go on pretty much all the rides in the kids zone, and Tanner was actually able to go on quite a few too! We had a awesome day full of fun rides and water slides.

Fun at Splash Works! A great way to cool off on a super hot day!

Ryan’s favourite Ride. Lucy’s Tugboat!

Dads and kids at the end of a busy day!

Two tuckered out kids. Both asleep before we were out of the parking lot!

2. I got my boot cast off today! Woohoo! I’m soooo glad. I still have a ways to go before I’m back to running and doing BodyAttack, but at least I can walk and get back to building strength and improving my endurance! Not only do I have a bit of a bad tan line…

…but it’s crazy the amount of muscle loss that can happen in such a short time…my right calf is a little over an inch and a half skinnier than my right! Wow!

3. Big Brother started last week, and I’m loving it! I don’t watch a lot of tv – actually, besides treehouse, I don’t really watch any. Big Brother is my guilty pleasure… I think I have watched every one of the 13 seasons to date…sad, I know, but I love it! And, since it’s already 9:30, I’m going to cut this post off here and fire up the PVR so I can get started on tonight’s episode. Gotta see who gets evicted…I kinda hope it’s Frank…only cause I’m not a huge fan of Boogie…man is he cockie!

Anyone else a BB junkie?

See Ya Later Soother – Part 1

My daughter Ryan is almost two and a half, and is ridiculously attached to her soother. Although she only uses one at nap time while at daycare, at home it is a whole different story. From the time she wakes up in the morning, until she goes to bed at night, that soother is with her, or very close by. At home, in the car, when out for a walk…it’s everywhere she is!

At least, that was until this weekend.

After returning home from visiting my sister this week, I decided it was time to get rid of the soother. I also decided that this would happen in two parts….Part 1 – soother only at nap time and bedtime…Part 2 – getting rid of the soother all together.

After prepping Ryan friday afternoon and evening that she was going to have to leave her soother in her room starting tomorrow, we stared Part 1 first thing Saturday morning. When Ryan woke up in the morning, we asked her to leave her soother in her room. We let her choose where she wanted to leave it so she would know where it was and that it would be in a safe spot. She agreed to leave it on her mini kitchen in her room, and then we headed down stairs for breakfast.

She asked about her soother once or twice that morning, but we reminded her that it was on her kitchen in her room and that she could have it at nap time, and that was pretty much it. She was awesome. Come nap time, Ryan was super eager to go up to bed because she knew her soother was up in her room. She napped like a champ, and when she woke up, she put her soother back on her kitchen and headed downstairs to play.

Today Ryan put her soother on her kitchen without even being asked and didn’t ask about it at all. Same thing after her nap. And she actually asked to go to bed tonight because her soother was up there. Wow, is this kid for real?

I was surprised at how easy to accomplish Part 1 of getting rid of Ryan’s soother. Im thinking that in a few weeks, when Ryan turns two and a half, we will attempt Part 2 – getting rid of it entirely. I’ve heard of people using the soother fairy idea and that sounds like a pretty good strategy. Anyone have any other methods? I’d love to hear what worked for you!

Three Things Thursday

1. I’m super excited for this weekend! Dylan’s friend Mike and his fiancé Lily are getting married Saturday afternoon at The Granite Brewery in Toronto. I’ve never been to this venue, but checked it out online and it looks perfect for a beautiful outdoor wedding. The forecast is calling for thundershowers, so pray to the sun gods that they hold off until after the ceremony! Isn’t it suppose to be good luck if I rains on your wedding day? At least I think that’s what Alanis Morissette told me!

We decided to get a hotel for the night so that we can both have a great time and not worry about getting home after…so, I’m super pumped to get my drink on!!! Oh yeah!

But…A night away means leaving the kids with a sitter for the night. We’ve left Ryan overnight before but its only ever been with family, so, I’m a little nervous, but totally trust our sitter and know the kids will be in good hands.

Any bets on how any times I will call home to check in?

2. We went home to North Bay last weekend to visit with family. Thinking we would avoid the long weekend cottage country traffic, we decided to go Saturday morning. Well, what is usually a 3 hour drive took us about 5.5 hours. It was brutal! Ryan did not nap AT ALL, and Tanner cried and fussed for the last hour and a half. Talk about a crappy start to the weekend!

The rest of the weekend was pretty awesome!

We went down to the waterfront and enjoyed a couple of carousel rides…

Went for a ride on the mini train…

Played at the park…

Toured a fire truck…

Took time to smell the pretty flowers…

Wandered around looking super cute…

Went swimming…

Visited Great Grandma Gray (aka Triple G…or if your 2…Purple G)!

And even enjoyed the ride home on Monday! Ryan was all about making funny faces…too cute!

3. I am doing the July Ab Challenge hosted by Amanda over at Run To The Finish. The program is run by Strong Like Susan – you can find out more about her here. I’m only 5 days (4 workouts) in and I’m feeling it! Wow! These exercises are crazy intense! If you are interested in checking it out, here is the link to her youTube channel where you can find 30 days of crazy ab workouts.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Three Things Thursday: Remember When…

I love being a mom, it’s freaking awesome! My kids truly are amazing and I wouldn’t want my life to be any other way.

But sometimes I get to thinking about what life was like pre-kids…remember when….

1. You could have a 5 minute, uninterrupted shower…

I don’t know about you, but most times I have at least one kid in the bathroom while I shower, but usually it’s two…one in the bouncy chair and the other sitting on the bath mat having a snack and looking at books, or playing with some toys…Or how about the time where she thought it might be fun to play with the giant can of brown paint that was under the sink…well, that was until it spilled all over the floor and her blanket…yep, that’s when all hell broke loose!

What I would do for 5 minutes of absolute peace an quiet!!

2. You could sleep in…

Not that I ever get the chance to, but even on the RARE occasion where my kids sleep in until 8am (that’s a sleep in now) I’m wide awake at 7, 7:30 if I’m lucky.

3.You could wear a shirt or pair of pants more than once before having to wash them…

Un-uh, not any more…they’ve either got spit-up, random bits of food, or some other unidentifiable substance on them. Seriously…how do they do that….get food or spit up all over me without me even noticing? That takes skill!

Maybe in another 10 years….

What do you miss most about pre-kid days?