Sharon Johnson had the perfect response for her daughter when she told her that she didn't want to be fat like her.
Children learn about body positivity more from their parents than anybody else. A mom shared on Instagram how she responded to her daughter when she told her that she didn't want to be fat like her. Sharon Johnson, a mom of six, who often makes videos about parenting and mental health, started the video by saying, "Today my small daughter told me that she didn't wanna be fat like me." Instead of feeling bad about it or saying they don't use the word "fat," Johnson saw it as a teachable moment.
The woman recalled, "I just simply looked at her and asked her, 'Why is that sweetheart?'" The young girl replied, "Because I wanna run fast and you can't run fast, mom." Johnson smiled at her daughter and told her, "The reason why I can't run fast isn't because I'm fat." The child was stunned by her mother's reply and said, "Really?" The mom explained, "I said the reason why I can't run fast is because I haven't practiced running fast. I should be running more often so I can practice."
The girl encouraged her mom to start running. Then the woman told the child that just because someone has a thinner body doesn't mean they can run fast. The girl understood this and responded, "You know, I have a friend who's thin and she can't run very fast." Johnson then gave the child some more insight. "That's because you can't tell what someone can do just based on what they look like," the mom emphasized.
The child agreed with her mother and asked her, "Do you think you can start running fast?" and she responded that she could. "And I put on my gym clothes and I went outside and ran four blocks," the woman shared. She concluded by saying, "Stop making excuses because you're fat. It's not the reason you're not doing things. The reason why you're not doing things is because you think you can't do them because you're fat when really you can just go do things fat."
The video garnered about 4.4 million views on the social media platform and was captioned, "Do it fat. Hike fat. Swim fat. Run fat. Be gorgeous fat. Wear the two-piece fat. Do all the things fat and stop telling yourself that you can’t." @kylies10717 commented, "Absolutely handled that like a pro. Exactly what the little girls need." @stephiefsff wrote, "Oh, the strength it takes to respond this way. You noticed it was a teachable moment, even though she likely caught you off guard. You’re awesome!"
@davinaelesin expressed, "'You can’t tell what someone can do just based on what they look like.' I’m a teenager and I have no kids but I’m grateful that you said this and I’ll carry it with me this week. Thank you." @joyful.parents shared, "I love this message! And I love how you redirected your daughter to view physical appearance from a different perspective." @angelagriffeth said, "You are simply amazing. Every day you make my life better just by being so reasonable, helpful, funny, honest and encouraging."
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You can follow Sharon (@sharon.a.life) on Instagram for more content on parenting and mental health
This article originally appeared 3 months ago.