I Think the Pooch is Still Cute

I am one in a long line of women in my family who has battled moderate weight issues. My grandmother, mother and I are all built the same. My mom, before she got sick, always carried about 20-40 extra pounds of unnecessary weight. I have always been 10-15 pounds over the recommended weight. But I work out regularly and eat healthy so I’ve just kind of glossed over that—although always secretly wishing I was 120 pounds.

But the other day, my three and half year old daughter lifted up her shirt while being silly and said, "Look at my belly, mommy. I’m getting so fat." And then smiled her cute smile.

I giggled because her stomach, while definitely poochy, never struck me as being fat. She's three. It's cute. It seems cute to me. So we talked about how she most certainly is NOT fat. She's growing and she needs all that food in her belly to make her big and strong so she can run, play and be smart. But I wondered where she got this from?

My daughter is a big, sturdy girl. She’s always tipped the charts at the 90% for height and/or weight most of her life. She has a voracious appetite for just about any kind of food which I'm pround of. I felt blessed when at 12 months she was open to trying sushi.

She eats well and is extremely active. She doesn’t juice or eat junk food. Our house was stripped of that about two years ago. Often if we’re in for large periods of time, my kids request excess snacks/meals, which I’m convinced is more out of boredom than anything.

But at what point is the pooch something to consider? We teach our children good eating habits (ie what to eat and not eat) and about working out. What can I do beyond that? I feel silly depriving a three-year old of seconds if she really is hungry. (Side note: she’s always been good about stopping when she’s full no matter what she’s eating.) But now I’m second guessing myself on this. Should I continue on as we’ve been going or start limiting her on return trips to the kitchen for foods she likes?

As a side note: I like the pooch and still think it's cute!

This is an original DC Metro Moms post.

Linda, who still doesn't think her daughter is fat, writes about parenting at Baby Bunching and Monkey Business.