Kids on a diet!

My 10-year old did not touch her favorite chilly chicken. When I asked her, the reply was “I am dieting”. My jaws dropped. My husband was equally stunned. For us she is still a little kid, and she is not over weight, her weight is perfect for us, she just looks healthy. However, she thinks she has a tummy to get rid of. I tried my best to take her out of this. I said, “Look, if you diet, you’ll not grow well”, a little dose of fear isn’t that bad either. I said, “See, you’ll not grow up to be a tall girl, your growth will be stunted and your skin will become so bad, your hair will not be silky, you’ll no longer be a pretty girl if you start dieting.

She agreed to eat “next time”. She happily said her brother had told her that she had actually looked thinner after recovering from fever. Her 13 year old brother thinks at a different level. He flexed his muscles and said, “Look I don’t have fat, my muscles are looking good”. He examines his muscles to see if he is going to look like some Hollywood or Bollywood hero with rippling muscles. He wants to get rid of even the smallest amount of fat on his tummy. He showed me the video of a small kid with muscles and said, “Even small kids can develop muscles”. I don’t agree, I said, “This is not the right time to build muscles. Teenagers just need to be healthy and grow well, if you try to lose fat, you’ll not attain your maximum height.” He sure wants to be tall. So he might think about eating well.

I and their father are the only people who seem to want to eat. We are not growing anymore except sideways, but we still eat. I eat each meal as though it is my last meal. Well, kids have a say in that too. My son said to me, “Actually, I think if you lose some more weight, you’ll look younger”. I look at the chilly chicken on my plate and at my husband. My husband assured me, “I don’t care if you are fat, eat well”. How sweet, I thought, but not for long! After a pause he said, “He’s right, you’ll look really younger if you lose some weight!” I will start dieting from tomorrow :-). I am not ready to join the gang yet!