In case you haven't heard, Maggie Goes on a Diet is an upcoming children's book encouraging young girls to become diet and body image-obsessed before they've even reached puberty. Here's a description of the book from our pal Laura Donovan over at the Daily Caller:
"The children's book, aimed at the four to six year old crowd, is about a 14-year-old girl named Maggie. She goes on a diet and joins a soccer team after being called 'fatty' at school. According to Amazon.com, the teen is 'transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.'"
And here's the (poorly drawn) cover:
Yeah. I'm going to file this book under "things that are making kids grow up too fast." (And why does her mirror image look like some unholy cross between Pippi Longstocking and Sailor Moon?) Kids shouldn't have to worry about dieting and fitting into their clothes. Why? Because they have the rest of their freaking lives to worry about that. (Is there an age that we stop worrying about our weight? 80? 90?) Girls today feel enough pressure to fit in and conform to society's bogus standards of physical beauty at an increasingly younger age. They don't need a crummy children's book to make them feel insecure and remind them of the horror that awaits in high school. This is just as bad, if not worse, than the padded bikini that Abercrombie and Fitch marketed to 7-year-olds. (And yet they draw the line at having The Situation shill for them. Stay classy, Abercrombie.) Let's allow kids to be kids and hold off on the heavy-handed body image messages until they're at least out of middle school.
Of course I think that parents should teach their kids the importance of diet and exercise. Childhood obesity is a problem. No one is arguing that. But it's a problem that can only be solved with parents taking an active role in their kids' lives. By all means, teach them good eating habits and get them off the couch and out exercising. Don't read them a book that reinforces gender stereotypes (where's the male version with a pudgy, friendless teenage boy playing video games instead of getting some fresh air?) and causes them to worry about being skinny enough to wear frilly pink dresses. Also, why didn't Maggie's mom buy her a dress that fits? Maybe Paul M. Kramer's follow-up book should be called "Mommy Turned Me Into An Anorexic Basket Case."
If I had a daughter, I would never read this book to her. When it comes time to teach my future children about the dangers of junk food and the importance of exercise, I'll stick with The Berenstain Bears. That loveable family of Jewish bears can teach kids anything. (Like, for instance, the dangers of handguns. Though they never explained why Mama Berenstain wears her pajamas during the day.)
"The children's book, aimed at the four to six year old crowd, is about a 14-year-old girl named Maggie. She goes on a diet and joins a soccer team after being called 'fatty' at school. According to Amazon.com, the teen is 'transformed from being extremely overweight and insecure to a normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star. Through time, exercise and hard work, Maggie becomes more and more confident and develops a positive self image.'"
And here's the (poorly drawn) cover:
Yeah. I'm going to file this book under "things that are making kids grow up too fast." (And why does her mirror image look like some unholy cross between Pippi Longstocking and Sailor Moon?) Kids shouldn't have to worry about dieting and fitting into their clothes. Why? Because they have the rest of their freaking lives to worry about that. (Is there an age that we stop worrying about our weight? 80? 90?) Girls today feel enough pressure to fit in and conform to society's bogus standards of physical beauty at an increasingly younger age. They don't need a crummy children's book to make them feel insecure and remind them of the horror that awaits in high school. This is just as bad, if not worse, than the padded bikini that Abercrombie and Fitch marketed to 7-year-olds. (And yet they draw the line at having The Situation shill for them. Stay classy, Abercrombie.) Let's allow kids to be kids and hold off on the heavy-handed body image messages until they're at least out of middle school. Of course I think that parents should teach their kids the importance of diet and exercise. Childhood obesity is a problem. No one is arguing that. But it's a problem that can only be solved with parents taking an active role in their kids' lives. By all means, teach them good eating habits and get them off the couch and out exercising. Don't read them a book that reinforces gender stereotypes (where's the male version with a pudgy, friendless teenage boy playing video games instead of getting some fresh air?) and causes them to worry about being skinny enough to wear frilly pink dresses. Also, why didn't Maggie's mom buy her a dress that fits? Maybe Paul M. Kramer's follow-up book should be called "Mommy Turned Me Into An Anorexic Basket Case."
If I had a daughter, I would never read this book to her. When it comes time to teach my future children about the dangers of junk food and the importance of exercise, I'll stick with The Berenstain Bears. That loveable family of Jewish bears can teach kids anything. (Like, for instance, the dangers of handguns. Though they never explained why Mama Berenstain wears her pajamas during the day.)
One of my second-graders this year in Summer School kept declining the free lunch we provide for the students before they leave for the day. When I inquired about this, she said, "I'm on a diet. I can't eat this stuff." I tried to talk with her, but she was very shy and adamant that she needed to diet. I tried my best to find "healthier" alternatives to the already pretty healthy lunch options (subs with lots of veggies, salads, etc.), but I felt terribly... she was a bigger girl, but her obsession with weight loss so young was breaking my heart.
God, that is very heartbreaking. I had something similar happen when I volunteered with Big Brothers & Big Sisters. My Little Sister was 7 when I first met her, and she was this adorable, tiny little girl. On our first day together, I wanted to take her out for ice cream, and she said "I'm on a strict diet." I asked her why, and she said "If I don't diet, I'll get fat, and my mom says the boys won't like me then." I was horrified her mother would ever say such a thing, and I spent several years trying to tell her that eating junk food is ok, so long as you run and play in the park too.
This story makes me desperately sad!! Just when I think America is trying to help young girls with their self images (they changed Barbie to be more proportionate and realistic!!!) crap like this book comes out. I wouldn't EVER read this to my child!
It also reminds me of the psychotic parents of pagent toddlers- have you seen the Single Ladies dance from Toddlers and Tiaras??? Those girls are going to have some serious issues in the future. I mean, girls can dance, but they should be nowhere NEAR that promiscuous at seven!
Ohh America...sometimes, I'm ashamed that the people who come up with these things live here.
It's this kind of thinking that leads to mother injecting their 7 year olds with Botox. Being healthy is one thing, but this? It's not enough that being a size 6 is considered to be curvy by today's tween, teen and some older models, but this is what we also teach kids now? For shame!
'Going on a diet' is bad at any age. I used to be a real lard ass - we're talking 240+lbs BMI 35 - and went plenty of diets. Stayed a fat slob for years.
I wasn't until I realized that unless I did some basic and permanent lifestyle changes that I lost a huge amount of weight. In terms of fitness and weight, I seek a lifestyle that is a balance of eating healthy, meaning low calorie-dense nutrient rich foods, being very active, and occasionally indulging myself in the delightful choices of junk food we have available.
Was it really necessary to make the derogatory "lard ass" comment?
Children should never have to worry about this sort of thing. If children are fat, that is 100% their parents responsibility, and they need to be more active and take an active role in their childs diet and exercise. That is all.
I loved that Bearenstien bears book, I still have it around my house somewhere.
I do have a young daughter, shes only 2, we do have weight issues in the family so where as i do worry about their health I would NEVER let my children see this book! horrible message. as if the media doesn't do enough to make women/girls feel like crap about their weight