Mom Makes Her Whole Family Stick To A Diet Plan So Her Overweight 12-Year-Old Doesn't Feel Singled Out
By trying to keep her youngest child from feeling targeted, is she hurting the rest of her family?
Marina Litvinova / Shutterstock It’s hard to be the odd one out in any situation, especially if you already feel a little bit insecure.
One mom tried to prevent her 12-year-old daughter from feeling this way but alienated the rest of her family in the process.
A mom made her entire family stick to a diet plan, so her youngest daughter wouldn’t be going it alone.
A mom took to Reddit to ask for advice after she received varying responses to her new meal plan for her family.
She offered some background information and said she had three children: James, 16, Liana, 15, and Sarah, 12.
“James is 5’9 and about 160 pounds, which is perfectly healthy,” she shared. “Liana is 5’5 and at 149 pounds, which seems pretty normal, and I’m not concerned because she and James are both very active. However, Sarah is only 5’2 and weighs about 155, and she refuses to participate in sports and such because it makes her feel self-conscious.”
“To try and counter this, I’ve taken to making much healthier, lighter meals, taking away soda and unhealthy snacks (like potato chips and snack cakes), and taking family walks after dinner.”
Despite this mom’s best efforts, some “incidents” have occurred. For example, “this week, Liana had six and a half hours of dance practice a day (it’s a special prep camp) and became upset because I packed her a lunch instead of allowing her to go out to eat during her lunch break,” she said.
“I gave her enough food to have energy during practice, but she became mad because the dance team at her school has a habit of all going out to eat in small groups/sometimes as one big group and basically carb loading and eating all the junk food they want during intensive weeks/days like these because ‘all the calories will burn off anyways,’” she continued.
The mom’s husband had a very different view of the situation. “My husband says it’s unfair to be so strict on James and Liana, who are much more active than Sarah is,” she explained.
“He told me that I shouldn’t be expecting my more active children to eat the same diet as Sarah and that I was setting unfair expectations among my eldest two children. In addition, he told me that I shouldn’t be completely banning sweet treats from the house because James and Liana knew how to eat them in moderation.”
Her husband’s prediction was startling. “My husband told me that I was going to make James and Liana resent me for this, and I rebutted by saying that it was unfair for us to expect our obese child to diet by herself, and this argument continued on,” she said.
While this mom’s intentions are good, she may be going about this the wrong way.
No one can deny that this mom’s actions stem from a love for her children and a desire for them to be healthy. Unfortunately, she probably did not take the best measures to achieve the results she wanted.
According to the National Institutes of Health, dieting is not healthy or recommended for teenagers.
“If you want to get to and stay at a healthy weight, going on a diet is not a good solution. It rarely works,” they said. “Over time, you may be more likely to gain weight if you try to diet. This is probably because going without the foods you enjoy makes you feel deprived and sad, which may lead to overeating.”
Furthermore, James and Liana are not being treated fairly. They are living healthy, active lives and shouldn’t be forced to give up all the foods they love.
That being said, incorporating more fruits and veggies into mealtimes and continuing with family walks as part of a lifestyle change are great ideas for the whole family. Not only will they teach the kids healthy habits for the future, but Sarah will benefit without feeling singled out.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.