Stop Evaluating & Commenting on Others’ Bodies

Jenn Sydeski
5 min readDec 25, 2022

PSA about bodies to extended families because my moms are overwhelmed with managing this already:

It’s not okay to comment on a kid’s body or eating habits. It’s not healthy to talk about being “bad” for having a cookie or fat-shame yourself in front of them. It’s intrusive and controlling to comment on other adults’ food choices or exercise habits. Yes, even if that adult is your daughter. And while we are talking about bodies and kids and holiday family struggles for appropriate care — it’s not okay to pressure kids to hug us, even if we are family. My kid will hug (and climb up and curl into a sleepy ball on) absolutely anyone, but many kids don’t feel that way and they get to decide who touches their body.

https://neworleansmom.com/ages-stages/toddlers/stop-body-shaming-in-front-of-your-children/

https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/blog/raising-resilient-kids-in-fat-shaming-world

And while we’re at it :)

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Jenn Sydeski

CEO of Connect Wolf, professor, tinkerer, operations nerd, recovering scientist, and mama.