Body positive book for toddlers!

I was obsessed with dinos too! My favourite book had pictures of all the different kinds. Not sure when this became a for boys thing but nope, sorry, they don't get to own all the fun stuff.

It wasn't clear from the title that this book is aimed at children up to the age of 6, so My reception year DS will be getting a copy in his stocking

It will also be great when she has to argue that she is female despite loving sharks, space and dinosaurs

I can relate, my daughter also loves dinosaurs.

@LangCleg A copy or two would also make fantastic presents for primary school teachers who might enjoy something for the class rather than joining the hundreds of mugs they've collected of the years.

If anyone else is looking for further places to donate to - your local council website will have a list of Sure Start and other children's centres.

Looking forward to reading this with my granddaughter who at 4 1/2 has come home from school talking about being fat and then not eating properly . Not that any child should feel like this but she is a tiny scrap. It will also be great when she has to argue that she is female despite loving sharks, space and dinosaurs

Give your granddaughter a big cuddle from me. And tell her I was utterly obsessed with dinosaurs when I was little!

I really hope that one day women like Clara Vulliamy will look back at their vicious bullying and threatening of other women for producing such a lovely book with a sense of shame.

Me too. Imagine seeing this book and thinking only of yourself and your own interests. Vile.

VMisaMarshmallow

We clearly have similar conditions. I have hEDS with POTS and heart and gut complications thrown in for good measure.

Please tell me how you love your body. How? How do you not resent the struggle that it causes every second of every day?

I roll over in bed and dislocate my shoulder. I twist awkwardly or step off of a kerb at an odd angle and dislocate my knee. Stand up too quickly, have a bath that's too hot and faint.

What is there to love about the body that does that? Carry on with the "me railing" comments if it makes you feel better about yourself but I'm sick of attitudes in society that expect people with disabilities to put on a brave face in order to protect everyone else from the reality of living with disability. Maybe this book doesn't do that but I'm just going on what posters have described it as. I think it's wrong to tell people with disabilities to love their bodies unless you're also doing everything possible to alleviate the suffering that those disabilities cause (and that does not include getting a manicure FFS)

My kids are too old to read this book, but I’m going to go buy a few to gift and donate to school. Attempted me railing has motivated me to do this.

As a teeny side note I always loved the pip and posey book about toileting, where pip has an accident and then after he clears up with posey he wears her dress while they continue to play. It has a nice mix of them both playing all types of toys and was a favourite of my kids while we were working on toileting.

Looking forward to reading this with my granddaughter who at 4 1/2 has come home from school talking about being fat and then not eating properly . Not that any child should feel like this but she is a tiny scrap. It will also be great when she has to argue that she is female despite loving sharks, space and dinosaurs .

Agreed LangCleg
There is so little power that women have in the face of this onslaught on women's rights so to find this gentle book that is so positive towards children and their bodies is heartwarming.

I really hope that one day women like Clara Vulliamy will look back at their vicious bullying and threatening of other women for producing such a lovely book with a sense of shame.

Genderists: Oh, by the way, those adult males who identify as women, but say they don't need a medicalised path to identify as the other sex, well...ignore them, well don't, because they're also trans, but not trans like our children, but they are, but they're not quite like our kids, but they are, but they aren't.

Pom - this is so on point and genuinely terrifying.

Janes not the wrong thing, or the wrong thread at all. This thread is about supporting a book that supports parents in a fight against a dangerous, extremist point of view that encourages children to disassociate from their body and reality.

That's' exactly what this thread is about. I'm so happy for the arrival of this book, because buying and distributing a few copies is an act of solidarity I can make. I spend a lot of time feeling helpless, so doing this assuages that somewhat.

Kittens's hug - FFS, Friday typing!

I'm more than happy to provide hugs as well so your comment was fine!

Been thinking about this overnight. I have

hEDS I dislocate multiple joints on a regular basis. I have a heart problem, reactive hypoglycemia and POTS as a result so can't eat any carbs or sugar and need multiple joint replacements as constant dislocation has worn them out.

I have crohns disease and inflammatory arthritis caused by the Crohn's. I have arthritis in my hands, wrists, feet, shoulders and spine from this. I have to inject myself with immunosuppressants which make my hair fall out, wipe me out for 3 days a week with the side effects.

I take a cocktail of drugs every day to try and control the symptoms of these diseases, the pain and the side effects of the drugs I take. Pregabalin causes memory problems and the opiates affect my concentration. I have a spinal cord stimulator implanted into my spine to control some of the pain that I have to charge up for an hour everyday.

But - I'm expected to love and appreciate my body? Even better, if I just go and have a manicure my pain will go away and all will be well?

Can you not see how utterly disgusting what you are saying is? Why on earth should I love my body or care about it? I can't enjoy my life because every single second of it is spent being aware of what is wrong with me. I can't enjoy food because I have to watch what I eat and worry about the effects the food will have on me, am I near a toilet when the inevitable happens, can't eat at all if I need to travel afterwards, can't eat at work, can't stand for longer than 5 minutes or I faint (thanks pots) can't walk far or upstairs, can't do sports, can't do housework unless it's very light and can be broken into tiny chunks, I can't sit for more than 10 minutes so long car journeys or plane journeys are out of the question.

My list goes on and on. But just trot out your glib "love your body" as some panacea. Tell me why. Why should I love my body? What is there to love about it?

VMisaMarshmallow

Just wanted to acknowledge your post.

Slight derail, sorry, but "Being Born in the Wrong Body" line is a horrible thing to say.

I'm shocked that some activist group is not considering the impact of these words on people born with debilitating conditions which cannot be fixed by medicine or surgery.

Kittens's hug - FFS, Friday typing!

Genderists: Oh, by the way, those adult males who identify as women, but say they don't need a medicalised path to identify as the other sex, well...ignore them, well don't, because they're also trans, but not trans like our children, but they are, but they're not quite like our kids, but they are, but they aren't.

As JanesKettle said, once you spend five minutes looking into this, you can see through it.

And now I'm derailing too.

Rachel, Jessica - this book is lovely. Don't let the bastards grind you down.

Lang Definitely, there are a few of my fivers' worth sitting waiting to be distributed right now.

Rogd and Janes and all other parents, many of us are here to surround you with Lang's same virtual hug.

I tried to play out that conversation in my head with the 'transphobic terrorism' twitterers:

Genderists: This is a terrible book, it tells children that your body is yours, it's a wonderful thing.

Many of us here: OK, so what would you rather tell children?

Genderists: That sometimes you're born into the wrong body. That body is 'wrong'. God, or your brain, or your essenceful soul, got it wrong. But we can fix that

Many of us here: Erm, OK. So is that just for sex-based reasons, the god, brain, soul thing made a mistake? No other reasons, not race, age, or, I don't know, species mistake?

Genderists: Yep. Just sex. That's the only category that god/brain/soul got it wrong. We just need to move along now, affirm the sex-mistake, medicalise the problem by halting that child's puberty with drugs that we don't have much evidence-base to prescribe for this group, bring them into affirming support groups that tell them that this is all normal, tell them and their parents that suicide is likely if they don't go down this route, even if the stats don't add up

Many of us here:

(Hugs), Janes. Everyone has moments where it gets to them. It's only when someone does it on every thread that people start to get annoyed. The pressure you're under is immense and we all appreciate you and the other mothers of kids who're in the firing line for doing your best to protect them.

The best thing we can do, when we've got a spare fiver, is to get this book out there in as many places as possible. It's an investment in the next generation.

I was at least heartened to see a couple of other children's authors chime in to support Rachel.

I really think someone only attacks a person like that when they are knee-jerk reacting on the massively defensive. It's clearly wrong, whatever you think of Rooney's work, to try and get her blacklisted like this.

Then again, there is always the Streisand effect. In the long run, nine times out of ten, calls for a book to be 'banned' are the best marketing campaign possible.

I’m the mother of a 14 year old daughter who recently announced she is actually a boy. I accept that there are parents who think that positive affirmation is the right route for their child but I hate how they attack us.

I suspect many of these parents didn’t realise there is any support for any other route when their child said they identified as the opposite sex. When I first went onto Google, ALL the suggestions were Mermaids and ilk. It took an awful lot of looking before I found one website for parents questioning positive affirmation and then through that I eventually found online support via Twitter etc.

We are bombarded by positive affirmation. Schools push it. The NHS pushes it. Politicians push it. Other parents push it. It an be next to impossible to find a therapist who does not positively affirm. We can be demonised and called child abusers for not wanting to go down that route. We have to stay anonymous online for fear of our children being outed. It’s a completely abnormal situation to be in for what is a very complex and sensitive topic.

I think the tweets condemning Rooney are absolutely abhorrent, particularly the ones questioning whether she should be allowed in schools and the ones from school librarians who are stating they won’t stock the book. I hope most schools do stock it and the issue gets discussed because the more publicity it gets, hopefully the more people will realise there are other options to automatic positive affirmation.

many of us are here to catch it as well as we can here on FWR for you, and turn it into action in the real world

I know. And I know that women here are doing that for Rooney too. And I appreciate this oasis of solidarity and sanity.

I told hooves off for crashing a celebration, and now I'm like the patron who had too much to drink and is sobbing and gesticulating wildly in a corner (I have been to too many book launches!) so taking myself home for a lie down and I think about what else I can do, besides ordering in her books, for Rooney.

Janes not the wrong thing, or the wrong thread at all. This thread is about supporting a book that supports parents in a fight against a dangerous, extremist point of view that encourages children to disassociate from their body and reality.

Echoing littl you're caring for your child. (I don't have that emoji so a for you too).

Your frustration is understandable, and many of us are here to catch it as well as we can here on FWR for you, and turn it into action in the real world to support you and your child.