‘I heard a 6-year-old girl come up to Tucker and exclaim, ‘Look at me! I am skin-nay!’ My heart sank instantly.’: Mom urges importance of teaching self love, ‘My girls deserve better, and so do yours’

“Ever since Tucker was born, I’ve placed an importance on speaking self-love and never saying anything negative about my looks, my body or food in front of her, Dawson or Boone.

I don’t speak about hating the way my body looks, my face being ugly, or food being junky or bad.

I never use the words fat or skinny to describe someone. I never talk about others looks negatively.

I never say anything about ‘dieting’ or using the word ‘diet’ in the terms of weight loss. I never say I need to lose weight, I’m too fat or I won’t look good in something.

I don’t want her to have those struggles and thoughts while she is growing up as a woman in a world that heavily focuses on these things. I want her to completely love herself and know she is loved. I want her to know she is perfectly created by our Maker.

This has all been a struggle for me, but man, it’s taught me so much.

A few weeks ago, I heard a 6-year-old girl come up to Tucker and exclaim, ‘Look at me! Look how skinny I am! I am skin-nay!’

Ugh, my heart sank instantly.

Last week while eating dinner, Tucker began telling me a little boy in her class told her he was on a diet.

Ugh. I knew this would happen. I knew it was going to happen. But, in these moments it felt like all my hard work was just crumbling out from under me, and her.

I just wanted to grab her and stick her in a bubble where society can’t tell her what is beautiful and what is ugly. What is good and what is bad. That she isn’t worthy of love or happiness if she doesn’t look a certain way.

I knew it was inevitable and it will continually be a battle…but, I’m going to keep fighting it, because I know the damage it can do and the damage it does.

My girls deserve better, and so do yours!

Trying to raise some God lovin’ + strong + confident women,

Whitney”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Whitney Smith of Liberty, MO. You can follow her journey on Instagram. Submit your own story here, and be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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