DISNEY PATTERNS

I haven't been measured for height recently, if required in the future, I shall refuse lol

That is an excellent plan Cheryl, go to it.

It's hard to tell yet. Girls can change so rapidly, even if they are not trying. I believe the main thing is to discuss it and stress that these models are not the norm, they are basically freaks and abnormal. They also appear with lots of air brushing and Photoshopping techniques and probably look entirely different getting up in the morning in the flesh.

We women have such big issues with weight. I remember feeling huge at size 8, size 10, size 12 and now a generous 14. My weight all hinges on wanting to please my father and hearing him remark in the car after we left cocktail parties, dinner parties etc. "Did you see so and so ? She's certainly let herself go" - knowing he thought extra pounds were not on (my mama was always a perfect size 10 no matter if she ate

10lbs of chocolates) I was always hyper about my weight and I do wish, even now, I could stop caring what I weigh!

Have you ever watched that Fashion TV - if ever anyone looked like starved wretches, it's those girls. They have to be doing serious damage to their bodies starving themselves so much. I don't know if any of us will ever be comfortable with our weight as it is today, but I sure wouldn't want to look like any of them.

Sharon (N.B.) ...................................................................

If the Grammar Police are a "she", then Dawne's sentence should correctly read "The GP never rests."

I was last that size when I was 10.

As a stupid college trick, I dieted down from a whopping 117 to 108 and could go no further. Even at 117, 5'7" looks like skin and bones. When I got sick and gained 30 pounds, my doctor was thrilled.

With DD, it will be easy; point out that she looks ill when the ads come on. How to incoluate the world against this negative body image - I have no clue.

Cheryl

At the moment it is that easy but another couple of years and she will figure she doesn't care if she looks ill, is ill trying to be that thin, it's worth it. Unfortunately there is always one girl with a boyish look in their group.

It's more a question of how to make females think all men like Rubensque figures lol There are many males who do not like boyish figures and much prefer something a bit more meaty lol There are cultures where a plump wife/lover/mistress is considered a sign of a well todo man. Perhaps the best thing we can do for our female descendants is to try and bring fashion back to the more rounded curves.

I agree! I have 4th & 5th grade Girl Scouts and let me tell you, the battle is beginning in earnest. I keep trying and trying to tell them that it's not healthy to be that way, that you need to like the way YOU are. Also, we are not a "prissy" troop - we play games, sweat, exercise and do science experiments.

I think, to some extent, I am succeeding, but let's chime in again next year, when some of them move on to middle school

I think the best thing I can do is watch what she sees on TV and in print. None of those girls magazines, continue to be careful what on the tube, talk a lot about what our bodies are supposed to do.

She eats well and varied. Lots more fruit and veggies than anyone else in the house. Playing hockey helps - she's really interested in speed skating for later. Having a Mom that is not a slave to fashion will help.

Cheryl

Funny - I just saw a book review on this - why the starved waif look is in and seems (for the moment) to be here to stay. Dang - I don't remember the title, I dropped the copy off to the library as a request. One tidbit I do remember has something to do with the current "average" Playboy Bunny being

3 inches taller and 20+ pounds lighter than "average" model 30 years ago.

Cheryl

I sailed past 5'0" when I was only 10, and was surrounded by a whole town of people who weren't even 5'0" when fully grown. Since there was nothing I could do about meeting the local image of perfection (i.e., being 4'9"), I didn't get caught up in the notion that I had to look like everyone else. I knew that was impossible.

Trust me - she's going to be tall.

agreed

I think, we (including the medical profession) have begun to confuses weight with health and appearance. Thin is not necessarily healthy, nor is large necessarily unhealthy. According to what sources you look at, I am any where from 20 to 60 pounds overweight and should be suffering from all sorts of nasty problems. But my blood pressure is low-normal, my cholesterol and triglyceride levels are good and in general I can go all day with a modicum of food and rest. I might look better with less weight, I might not be "healthier".

As a matter of fact I didn't know I was severely nearsighted until I was in

2nd grade and had my eyes tested with a chart at 20'. Up until then we sat in size place in our overcrowded school room. I always sat in the first row and since the teacher wrote rather large on the blackboard, I had no problem seeing it.

Lucille

30 years ago, when I was purloining my brothers' copies of Playboy to read the latest Jean Shephard story, the women had figures.

Okay, I grasp it this time! lol

We are not amused, she said editorially.

I loove your theories Cheryl - wait till you are living with a teenaged girl, you'll be telling us all about it !!!!