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Behaviour/development

Body image

2 replies

Madai · 04/07/2015 04:15

Hello all- I wondered if I could get some opinions from some other mums/ parents on this...

My toddler is two and a half, so any body image that she has displayed so far is 'my hair is pretty' ' my dress is pretty' etc which is adorable... She was commenting on my toenails being pretty this afternoon, which led her to say how pretty her dress was- I obv agreed, she then gestured to her tummy, and I said 'is your tummy pretty too?' and she said 'no, my tummy is too big'. And looked sad as she said it.

I was really taken aback and thought I had mis heard, so asked her to repeat it- which she did. I told her she was the most beautiful girl in the world, and asked why she thought her tummy was too big, who told her that etc but she lost interest and didn't answer. I didn't push it, and just left it.

I've checked with my parents who have here 3 days a week if anything is said in jest there- that could lead to this- they said no- she does go to nursery one day a week which is the only other place you would think this would be from.

What do you think? Is this a big deal? In my mind someone has said this to her- I can't see she has formed this opinion herself. Her weight is fine- she has toddler sticky out tummy as lots of them do- but is very in proportion- she is a nice solid child, but not big in any way.
I just wanted to see if anyone else had experienced this? I didn't expect these issues for years yet- bar world is so small at two and a half, and to be honest I sort of feel that I've failed her if someone has managed to hurt her self esteem on any issue already. I am heavily pregnant, so am aware my hormones are rampaging protectively - so would love to hear others opinions on this- thanks :-)

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BathshebaDarkstone · 04/07/2015 07:09

Do you say your tummy's too big? Tell her her tummy's just the right size, her tummy muscles just need to get stronger.

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LittleLionMansMummy · 05/07/2015 16:57

Yes if you're pregnant have you ever said "My tummy is too big!" when trying something on. Although it's possible, i doubt that someone has told her that her tummy is too big. Much more likely that she is copying what someone else has said. I've always been really careful not to say anything self pitying about anything about my body, even in jest, for this reason. We also don't make comments about others. Children that age are like little sponges for things they see and hear around them.

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