school lunches and other rituals...

under74

I was just watching a thing about school lunches and how it might be partly responsible for the obesity in kids here in the US. I think this is true from what my niece and nephews tell me about what they get from school lunches....but it got me to thinking about when I was in elementary school and weight problems or the problems that start them.
1) by the 5th grade I thought I was fat because I was weighed by the school nurse in front of the rest of my class...even though I was the tallest in my class and now knw I wasn't over weight. Although I got over it...if this kind of thing still goes on I can't see things getting better.
2) We were poor and so I was able most of the time to get free lunch BUT sometimes I had to pay. It was $1 back in the early to mid 80s and it was crap that was being bought. Then the school district would complain they didn't have enough money...There's no way the crap kids bought for lunch amounted to a dollar. $1 for a crappy sloppy joe? What about now?
I'm not overweight but as a kid I thought I was I can't say that being weighed in front of classmates was the cause for that (I had a mom constantly on a diet and pointing out overweight people even if she was one of them) but I know it didn't help.
Just a couple thoughts...insomnia is draining me and making me think about things long past...

mrsjones5

My mother sent me to a gymnastics camp when I was 13. I was tall and chubby, not a good combo for that kind of camp. The one memory that stands out to this day is when me and my campmates were in a class that required us to jump of a "horse" with the help of a spotter. When it came time for my turn, I ran towards the horse and instead of the spotter coming up to help me, he stepped back with this look of disgust on his face.

Needless to say on the last day of camp, I refused to participate in any of the skits to show our parents what we had learned.

What was my mother thinking?

Josie

under74

Geez...see, I know things are bound to happen but there are things that can be avoided.

mrsjones5

Mother didnt like that fact that I was chubby. She thought berating and belittling me about it was helping me. She also didnt like the fact that I am taller than her. When I shot past her in high school she had a big problem with that. Oh and another big problem she had with me was my big feet. I hit size 11 when I was in 7th grade. I always got the feeling that mother would have rather that I had been a slim petite girl of 5'4" with tiny feet but instead she got a big foot amazon. The looks of disgust from her were amazing.

Josie

under74

You know my mom always told me I wouldn't be any taller than her before I was 12 and grew taller than her. She never said things about my height but she would about my weight. Even at 12 though I knew she was screwed up.

But what you write brings up something about my niece. She's 7 and the same height as her 9 year old brother. She's not petite but she's a cute girl. My older brother (who has caused more than a bit of trouble with others) I'm afraid had made comments to our niece about her eating habits and how she's not---pretty much what she was when she was 3 (tiny). We had a big blow out at Thanksgiving because he also expects her to act a certain way--silent. I'm getting a little tired of expectations of little girls and what I think it'll eventually do to them later.

Why Georgia

Josie,

I am so sorry for the way your mother treated you.

Mommies are supposed to give hugs, kisses for boo boo's and unconditional love. This is what I am giving my boys.

My mother was always on a diet and that meant I was on a diet too...even though I wasn't fat as a child. She was also a hypocrite because she hid candy bars in her room and binged. No wonder she needed to diet.

I did have a weight problem after high school and got up to over 350 lbs. Then she was really disgusted with me and offered every bit of diet advice in the world. I lost the weight after having gastric bypass 3 years ago and now my mother has gained quite a bit of the weight I lost....so I guess what goes around comes around.

WG

mrsjones5

Mother once told me that she was sorry, that she just couldnt love me the way I wanted her to. That always struck me as strange.

When I was in my early twenties I had lost the weight and had a cute figure. Want to know what my mother called me? A slut. There's no winning with this woman.

I have a daughter. She is slim and tall. If she gains a lot of weight I will be concerned about it but I will love her no less. My daughter may turn out to be taller than me (over 6') I wont care, I will love her no less (can you say basketball college scholarship? ). My daughter will mostlikely have big feet like her mom, I will love her no less.

I love my daughter the way I wanted to be loved by my mother.

Josie

Why Georgia

Josie,

You sound like a great Mom and a great person...I'm pleased to have met you here. Your daughter is so lucky to have you!

WG

PS. I have big feet too - they help for butt kickings and running away...and on occasion sticking my foot in my mouth...LOL!

mrsjones5

lol

school lunches and other rituals...

Share this