Mother Finds “Diet List” In Her 7-Year-Old Daughter’s Bedroom
“I know this will not be the last time I talk about food and weight and bodies with my daughter; I am just ultra pissed that it had to start when she was seven.” (via Mamamia.com.au)
1. Australian mother of three Amy Cheney was cleaning her daughter’s room when she found this note “innocently sitting on the floor” amidst “Polly Pockets, friendship bracelets and a variety of other crap 7-year-olds love to hoard.”
2. Amy writes that she began to feel “physically ill” as she made sense of the “diyet” list.
Diyet. Jesus.
Where did she learn the word diet? How does she even know what a freaking diet is?
Whose fault is this? Is it mine because I let her play with Barbies? Because sometimes she’s allowed to watch Total Drama Action? Is it because when I draw with her I can only draw stick figures?
Seventeen Poosh-ups two times a day.
I felt sick. Physically ill. Like someone had knocked the air from my chest.
I could feel myself getting increasingly anxious the more words I was able to interpret from her seven-year-old spelling.
Three Appals, One Per, Two Keewee Froots.
How did this happen?
“Weight has never been an issue in our home — it is, for the most part, irrelevant,” Amy explains. “I am smart about this stuff.”
The 30-year-old mother notes that she has a degree in early childhood studies, writing that her family “focuses on and promotes healthy eating and healthy bodies,” and adds that she never asks her husband if she “looks fat” in something.
“And then I got angry,” Amy writes. “Really, really angry.”
F*ck you society. F*ck you and your and stupid obsession with women and the way they look.
How dare you sneak into my home with your ridiculous standards and embed them in my little girls head, polluting her innocence with your pathetic ideals.
Jog/run up and down the driv way three times.
Your unrealistic expectations will not win in my house.
I am tired of the beauty and body obsessed arena we live in. I am tired of women being portrayed as objects to be saluted and admired or shunned and shamed depending on whether they measure up to societies idealistic standards. I am tired of the conformist attitudes. And then, because I was so tired (and sad, so sad) that I cried.
When her daughter got home from school, Amy found out that “Miss Seven” learned about “diyets” from a friend (also 7 years old), who was on one herself.
“We chatted about diets and beautiful healthy bodies and the gift that they are,” she writes.
5. “I am not naive. I know this will not be the last time I talk about food and weight and bodies with my daughter. I am just ultra pissed that it had to start when she was seven.”
The Cheney family, via Amy Cheney’s Facebook page “Themodernherd.”
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aanosnm 3 weeks agoBefore you say something, I am not judging the girl but for someone who has dyspraxia (issues writing and drawing) I would love to have support from my mother and family…
Her mother should be talking to her about this kind of stuff, and giving support as best as she can (not just going to a doctor, those things can’t be 100% gone, you will always have some kind of difficulty no matter what, but more like helping her spell common and useful words).
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Lolhelper 3 months agoOMG. That “diyet” broke my heart. She doesn’t even know how to write yet, but she has worries about her image already. Poor little girl, hopefully her mom will guide her to stay healthy. Speaking of that, I need to go on a “diyet” myself but it won’t be as hard as this one!! Hehehe
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shawnk5 3 months agoSo the word on the street here is that a hand writing analyst is saying that the list is fake. You can find the article here: http://www.examiner.com/article/is-diyet-mommy-blogger-a-fraud?cid=db_articles If so, I think what is more concerning here is the fact that a mom that has a degree in early childhood studies would exploit their child like this. If you take a look at the list supposedly written by her 7 year old.. it is clearly a fake. So far, when confronted about this the mom has removed posts, blocked users and even deleted her own article. So the question then becomes… is it F*ck society, or F*ck crazy dramatic moms?
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jenniferd29 3 weeks agoI wondered why the kid seemed to be unable to spell the simplest words.
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Jessica Misener 3 months agoI’m actually suspicious that this list is a hoax. Note the handwriting — it looks like an adult struggling to write in a child’s rudimentary alphabet. Especially the Y’s and the 2’s, and the 3’s that are sometimes backwards and sometimes not.
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Jessica Misener 3 months ago
Also, the perfectly formed check marks and the almost painfully phonetic spelling errors. (Kee wee froots?)
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rachelmariek 3 months agoFrankly, the fact that so many people on this board think that a 7 year old wanting to go on a diet (NOT eat healthy, DIET), is perfectly normal and ok proves the point this mother is trying to make. I’ve had a close family member who went through an eating disorder. It started young and, frankly, it started like this. Putting yourself on a specific diet (without the recomendation of a doctor or nutritionist)this young, being preoccupied with what you eat this young, is certainly NOT normal. I wish more people could see that.
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Katherine Barker 3 months ago
On another matter, I’d be talking to her school about their spelling tuition. My children (& most I know) had basic words like apple, pear, ride etc sorted by 4 or 5. Nothing knocks a childs self-confidence like lack of achievement in the classroom.
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cheryll5 3 months agoI think there should be a discussion about the motives and ideas of the child and their “diet” before you get angry. Healthy diet and exercise are NOT bad things. They are live style changes that more and more adults are and should be making to just be health, NOT to fit to someone’s norm. it reduces serious health issues and early death. Laud her for her efforts if positivity are her motives. if its for “physical beauty” efforts, educate her (as all parents should) that beauty is not pencil thin and will not always make you happy, but a healthy lifestyle will lead to long life and better life. Teach her WHY she should be healthy and HOW being healthy is IS important.
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LlaronaYPayasa 3 months agoMaybe I’m wrong, but how can this mother sit here and say “F*ck society” and an obsession about looks when it is her job as the parent to be a gatekeeper and monitor what her children take in? There is nothing wrong with her daughter wanting to be healthy and taking an active interest. Her mother needs to stop the blame game and teach her child that it is okay to watch what she eats and exercise as it pertains to a better lifestyle. Along with that she needs to be realistic about the dangers of developing an eating disorder.
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Sally P. 3 months ago
When I was about six/seven, I used to draw circles on my legs with pen and be like, this is where I need to cut the fat out. I think for me, it was just a game at the time and I never realised it would have psychological implications, and I don’t think it had any lasting effect I’m secure in my mind/intelligence/worth of myself, and though I don’t love my body all the time, I don’t consider it a factor of my ‘beauty’ really I think more of physical beauty as skin, hair, face etc. Shape is shape and you can’t do much about it.
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MoniqueMoreau 3 months ago
Jeez, good luck kid. Good luck having a Mother who automatically assumes the worst, blames society and then posts about it on the internet.
I really wish the Mother would have written in further detail about her daughter’s side of the story. Sure, we discover that the girl heard about diets because her friend is on one but we don’t really find out if the daughter has an unhealthy body image, is afraid of becoming fat in the future, or just wants to encourage her friend by joining her on that diet.
I’m surprised that a woman who supposedly has a degree in Early Childhood Development (mentioned on the original article) would ignore that young children have depth beyond society’s control and just assume that her daughter must already have the same unhealthy body image that a 14 year old would have. Of course, we wouldn’t know otherwise because it isn’t clear whether this was even addressed with the child. I really hope she discussed nutrition with her daughter, too. This kid should not be allowed to go on thinking that 3 apples, 1 pear and 2 kiwi fruit is a substitute for a healthy, varied, nutritional diet. 3 apples?! That’s way too many apples. -
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allisonl6 3 months agoWhat sexist thing to say! Look, this girl is seven years old and already believes that her looks and body matter more than anything else. She is monitoring her GLASSES OF WATER. That is not healthy eating, that is bordering on an eating disorder. Also, profanity does not make one sound sound more intelligent, but rather quite the opposite.
And you, sir, sound very stupid. -
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SitaSky 3 months agoI agree that the mother is overreacting and I didn’t see if she described in detail her conversation with her daughter but I’d like to know how it went down. The girl may have body issues or maybe just a victim of peer pressure but the fact is that people who eat more fruits and veggies and exercise on a regular basis are not just healthier and in better shape, they are happier and less anxious. Doesn’t she want her daughter to live longer and avoid disorders like diabetes or heart disease? There’s a reason we have gym class in schools, to teach the importance of physical activity. From the looks of the picture Amy looks pretty thin and I bet she’s blessed with a fast metabolism and doesn’t have to eat right or exercise much to keep thin so that’s why weight issues have never come up in her house but please don’t blame “society”. It’s not like she made a list called “Pretty” and wrote: Boob job, hair extensions, and tanning. Let’s just hope as she get’s older she doesn’t feel a need to bleach her hair or post duck face pictures on Facebook with captions about who’s ready to party, now that’s a problem.
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