Thursday, August 28, 2008

mind gasping

It never fails to amaze me what other kids will say to your child. Much less how much information they know at a very young age. Kirsten and McKay came home yesterday and as any normal, typical parent does, I fixed them a treat to last them til dinner. A favorite in our family is cut apples and cheese. McKay had chosen yogurt instead. Afterwards Kirsten went to the fridge and asked

"Mom, how many calories does yogurt have?"

I was shocked. What first grader should ever have to worry about this. It's already such a problem in junior high schools that I never thought it would be in elementary at such a young age. Much less how does one of such age understand calories and how the body works?

I sat Kirsten down and asked her where she heard this and what brought it up. She said a friend told her that her chocolate milk had more calories than white milk and that wasn't good. Things like this I want to shield my kids from. It makes me so frustrated. Kirsten is not big in ANY way. It shouldn't be an issue.

Although, like I noted in my other post, Kirsten isn't much of a follower. So I told her that we all needed calories to live. That calories make us grow and gives us energy so we can run and jump and play. I told her that everybody needs them and that if it's brought up again for her to tell her friend this and not to worry about it.

I thought growing up was hard in my life. My heart goes out for all the kids now. I only hope that I can raise my kids with them knowing that they can be confident in who they are.

2 comments:

Phoebe said...

Henry was asking about calories last year and I realized that they were doing nutrition as part of their science curriculum. After thinking about it I came to the conclusion that it is good for kids to realize how calories work and that we do need them to make energy, etc, but we do not need excessive amounts. After the nutrtion unit at school I saw that Henry was trying to make healthier choices at home.
Food for thought.

amy k said...

That's a good point. That's actually a way I wouldn't mind. I was worried about the way that it was presented thru her from her friend.