“I have been apprehensive to share but think it is important for those of us with daughters. This week I took my 13-year-old daughter to get her physical. As we entered the examination room, I was excited to see how tall Riley would be.
This year she has grown a ton! The coach in me has loved seeing her strength and size finally come along and the mom in me has loved watching this beautiful young girl begin to become a young woman.
Enter first physician’s assistant to take her vitals and measurements of height, weight, and blood pressure. She jots them down and leaves the room. Enter Nurse Practitioner.
She begins by asking many questions. What’s your bedtime? How much exercise do you get? Are you involved in sports? Do you get enough dairy in your diet? She asks her multiple times if there is anything else going on she should know about.
Riley is friendly and answers all honestly and openly. She explains she will play two sports soon – softball in the fall and basketball in the winter. She tells her she goes to bed around 10:30 p.m. and doesn’t have trouble sleeping.
The Nurse Practitioner presses her a little on the sports participation, sort of insinuating she will have trouble balancing that with school, but Riley seems unaffected.
She then asks her, ‘How was school for you this last year?’ Riley again with complete honesty says, ‘It was actually very difficult for me. There was a lot of drama and I struggled.’
The Nurse Practitioner says that is pretty typical for 7th grade and moves on. She asks about getting her period and if it is regular. Riley explains she has gotten it, but it has not been with regularity yet.
The Nurse Practitioner then looks down at her computer, then back up at Riley’s face and says to my 13-year-old daughter, ‘Tell me Riley, HOW CAN YOU EXPLAIN ALL OF THIS WEIGHT YOU’VE GAINED?’
My daughter is speechless, and her eyes begin to glass over. I am speechless, and the Nurse Practitioner goes on to explain to her that given what her previous weight was last year, the numbers just don’t correlate with her current height.
Has she been eating junk food or has her activity level changed? I LOST MY MIND. I had a literal, physical reaction.
I put my hand up and said, ‘STOP! You need to stop talking to my daughter about her weight. She is 13, she is strong. She is healthy, and she is PERFECT. You need to move on!’
Nurse Practitioner seems surprised at my reaction and doesn’t say much. She continues with her exam. As she finishes, she asks me to follow her because she has a question to ask me. I follow her into an adjoining room out of earshot of my daughter, and she asks me why I had that reaction to her.
I explained in no uncertain terms that she was out of line in the way she dealt with my daughter. Our girls need to be empowered and supported and celebrated. They already have to compare themselves to the ridiculous social media bullsh*t standards.
They are flooded with images of perfection via TV, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. Their whole freaking lives have a filter on them! I hammer home the importance of eating healthy, exercising, and of course sports because we are sporty people but my God!
Kids eat junk food! Kids sit around watching Netflix! Kids get heavier, lighter, taller, wider! IT’S NORMAL! Our young ladies need a break! If my child has a problem or is OVERWEIGHT then a doctor needs to talk to ME, not my daughter.
This Nurse Practitioner actually went on to defend herself by saying she tells the kids because they have control over their food and exercise. My response – ‘LAST I CHECKED MA’AM, I DO THE GROCERY SHOPPING.’ I do the meal preparation and the extracurricular scheduling for my children. She’s 13!
She responded that some kids have their own ‘pocket money’ and use it for junk. WTF. So, we left the office and won’t be back. The reason I am sharing this is because it is dangerous. Riley’s response when we left was, ‘Mom, this is why kids have anorexia or feel like they want to hurt themselves.’ She is exactly right!
Here’s what this doctor COULD have said to my daughter and all of the beautiful young ladies you impact:
‘Hey kiddo. Let me tell you how exciting this time of your life is. I see you have started to grow into being a strong young woman and that is awesome! Know that some girls gain weight, some lose weight, some struggle with acne, some feel insecure, but remember this: YOU ARE PERFECT just the way you are. As you mature, you will be responsible for more things that pertain to your body – hygiene, activity, menstruation, exercise and healthy eating. This is just the beginning of a long, confusing, sometimes scary road to becoming a woman, but it is worth it!’”
This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Julie Venn of Illinois. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories.
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