To refuse to read this book to DD aged 4?

[Happyland8]

I know the Jill Murphy, The Large Family books are much loved and much though I like the others, I just can't bring myself to read "A Piece Of Cake" to my DD. We started reading it last night and I stopped on page 1 and said we'd do a different book.

DD is quite naive (as are most kids of that age). She understands about the importance of having a balanced diet in the sense that some foods are healthy and others are unhealthy. She knows we should eat lots of the healthy and a little bit of the unhealthy.

I'm very careful about what I say in front of DD, for example, if I wasn't feeling great about my size, I wouldn't say "I look/feel fat".

I've read this whole book and really dislike the message it sends. The Mum decides she's fat, the family go on a diet and then in the end they eat the cake and decide that elephants are meant to be fat. AIBU? Or is this not a great message to be sending to children? I've attached the first 2 pages and the last page.

I wouldn't read it to my little one, they need fairy tales and magic at this age not bloody stories about weight and body image!

There’s a lot DD will hear at school, swear words for example. That doesn’t mean I should start reading her books with bad language and see it as an opportunity to discuss it. I will teach her to have a positive attutude to food and her body image. She will encounter others who don’t, but I’ve taught her to know that everyone does things differently, and that’s okay. I hope that these messages will counter many of the negative messages she will encounter throughout her life.

"I don't agree that some food is inherently unhealthy"- really, OP? most sweets are inherently unhealthy. You'd be hard pressed to find something 'good' in haribos or a lollipop, or any fizzy drink for example. Most cake is inherently unhealthy as well, since it largely consists of refined sugar and butter, not to mention jam/cream fillings and icings.

Eating a load of this stuff WILL make kids fat and will also wreck their teeth.

I used to love reading that book to my kids. I particularly like the line that comes after the family's healthy breakfast, healthy lunch, healthy dinner and healthy jog,

'Everyone felt terrible.'

I threw out 4/5 of the large family books. I can’t remember which I kept. Eldest was upset for a while because he loved them but while I usually like Jill Murphy these books just didn’t appeal. At all.

The mum shouldn't have said that around her kids. Makes her look emotionally immature, and insecure.

She's not normalising self acceptance.

I was quoting someone else when I said that but it didn't come up in bold. I agree in the sense that, if you eat haribo, it's not going to be detrimental if 99% of your diet is excellent healthy foods. It's very much a balance.

This was me quoting a previous poster*:
*
I don't really agree either that some food is inherently unhealthy (unless it is spoiled or poisoned).

Read the 'Long Read' article in the Guardian about a week ago about bacon. Masses of scientific evidence that bacon is inherently unhealthy and actually causes cancer.

Being open and honest with your children from a young age is the best approach, of course there are foods that are unhealthy, of course its not healthy to be overweight, I would read this book to my kids but miss out the last page which just rubbishes the whole positive message the book could have had.

Yes, that was me. Haribo and whatev give calories, calories are energy (litteraly) and our bodies need that. They also need other stuff, fibers, water, proteins, etc...
About carcinogenic, lots of other things are too, perfume, toilettries, cars... it's a a bit of a personal choice I think.

We have that book. It’s meant to be lighthearted. Elephants are meant to be fat afterall.

I don't see how this is a positive message.

They're elephants... They're not supposed to be role models for your child.

Of course they're not elephants. I've never seen an elephant in a pink dress or an orange tracksuit. I've never read Weight Watchers magazine for Pachyderms, or seen the zoo supplying syn-free meals from Slimming World.

Totally and utterly OTT ! That's a great book ! You are bonkers ! It's all bonkers ! My kids had it read to them and turned out ok.. no hang ups about weight and they don't comment on the weight of others. Let your kids enjoy it and stop this nonsense !

I Hate these books

The One Minutes Peace one drives me mad. Awful mother.

Mine got the pack from MIL. They went to the charity shop.

My mum bought my kids that book, I sat down to read it, and declared it was going straight into the bin - I never got as far as that last page you've pictured.

I think my mum thought I was being a bit precious, generally my parenting style in benign neglect so to throw the book away was pretty out of character.

I maintain my stance on it still (a few years later), it's unhealthy and full of disparaging comments aimed at the mum. No food is bad in our house, it's all about moderation. Ad an aside, I love '5 minutes peace'!

It's funny how there are all these new dangerous impacts from this book on a child these days that didn't impact anyone commenting on this thread that read it as a child

They're elephants... They're not supposed to be role models for your child

@Iamagreyhoundhearmeroar

You win the thread.

I did when mine were small. Didn't cross my mind to not read it. Why should children not learn what fat means?

Not all books have to carry a virtuous message. I see it as a "slice of life" (no pun intended). I'm frequently commenting that characters in books are stupid - it's good to have a debate about it!

God help us if every book had to contain positive affirmative messages. We could bin Horrid Henry for starters, (yeah I know, there would be a lot of people who'd like that)... I read it and then get indignant and I'm frequently telling my youngest if they behaved like that I'd give them away to the circus. Funnily enough they've started watching Supernanny on Youtube and being scathing about the parenting .

I agree that elephants are de facto large, quite literally in the case of the LARGE family. I don't think any amount of healthy eating or exercise regime is going to reap them many dividends but again, that's neither here nor there.

She hasn't made a connection between being healthy and weight.

Because you haven't explained it to her. You could use the book to lead into that. "What happens if we eat too much?"
"Our bodies can't use the food an it gets stored on our bodies making us wobbly or 'fat'"

It's a fact not an opinion.