They may be predicting sixty degrees today in Chicago, but that won't last and we'll be stuck inside for at least another month. Because of that, I feel bad that Romy isn't getting up and about as much as she should. That's why I checked out this little beauty from the library:
I'm trying to find some pictures of the guy who leads this gruelling workout (when was the last time you did push-ups?). He had on those lovely little shorts from the eighties with the built-in undies, which Romy and I saw up close and personal during the sit-ups segment.
Then there's the weird song that goes along with the program:
"Go you chicken fat go!"
Something about this video made me really sad. I know it's a nice, healthy way to bring exercise into Romy's life without making it about weight. It's good to move around and laugh, and it's great we do it together. I want exercise to be something normal, but nothing that we HAVE to do or hate to do. I'm trying my darnedest not to project the bullshit in my brain onto my sweet daughter. But I have to say that I loathe the title of this video. Why does it have to have the word "fat" in it? There are several words that I don't want Romy to know yet, or at least not use. Gun is one. Hate is another. Stupid another. And fat. I don't want her to even think that weight is something to feel bad about, to ridicule others about, or to acknowledge that it matters. Just as I want there to be books and dolls in our house of various colors, I want there to be happy, adjusted images of people of different weights, too.
Man, being a parent is heavy.
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| I took this off my TV. Awesome. |
"Go you chicken fat go!"
Something about this video made me really sad. I know it's a nice, healthy way to bring exercise into Romy's life without making it about weight. It's good to move around and laugh, and it's great we do it together. I want exercise to be something normal, but nothing that we HAVE to do or hate to do. I'm trying my darnedest not to project the bullshit in my brain onto my sweet daughter. But I have to say that I loathe the title of this video. Why does it have to have the word "fat" in it? There are several words that I don't want Romy to know yet, or at least not use. Gun is one. Hate is another. Stupid another. And fat. I don't want her to even think that weight is something to feel bad about, to ridicule others about, or to acknowledge that it matters. Just as I want there to be books and dolls in our house of various colors, I want there to be happy, adjusted images of people of different weights, too.
Man, being a parent is heavy.
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6 comments:
I did push-ups yesterday :)
Um...I'm totally with you on your choices and think kids need positivity. The one thing I do think however, is that as a society, we've become too accepting of too many people being grossly overweight. I'm not saying people need to be ridiculed, but the idea that "it's okay because people come in all shapes, sizes, and colors" is problematic.
A good analogy is this: If someone lights up a cigarette in a restaurant, people have no qualms about making rude comments and berating the smoker. "Do you know what that does to you?"
However, if a unhealthily large person orders the "Death by Chocolate" desert after pounding down a fired dinner, nobody would say anything to them and most studies will show that what they are doing to themselves is just as bad, if not worse.
We tax cigarettes and alcohol through the roof, theoretically because of the cost they have on our health care system. Obesity costs us a hell of a lot more but bring up the 'junk food tax' and people go ape shit.
The song was written by Meredith Wilson (at JFK's request, according to Wilson) and recorded by Robert Preston, probably during the sessions for the Music Man soundtrack. It still came up in schools when I was a kid.
There are a LOT of words I wouldn't use now, most notably "nuts to the flabby guys." I'd switch it to "lazy guys." We need to encourage the flabby guys most of all. Definitely a relic of the early 60s, though.
We tax cigarettes largely because it's a tax you can propose that everyone will vote for.
Brian, I completely disagree about the tax on junk food. There is nothing wrong with it in moderation, unless we are talking about ingredients that are proven killers, like partially hydrogenated items. Instead of taxing the food, the companies that make them should be forced to stop using such ingredients. Telling people they cannot eat items because they may or may not make them fat is taking away rights of joy and is not at all analogous to smoking, which instantly causes danger to the smoker and those around them. And there are people who aren't morbidly obese that are made to feel like shit because they are not a freakishly skinny shell of a person our society covets. People do come in different shapes and sizes, fat or not. I do agree with you that things need to change, especially the disgusting fact that fake food costs less to buy than real food, not helping the matter.
Adam, there was a whole intro on the DVD about JFK that my daughter and I fast-forwarded. Not very interesting to a two year old.
Everything is fine in moderation. Most doctors will even admit to you that smoking, while not desirable, still okay in small moderation. Even crack is okay in moderation, just ask Charlie Sheen.
I don't think anyone is suggesting telling people they can't eat something because it will make them fat, just as we don't outlaw smoking. Everyone has a choice to live however they want. But when those choices begin to cost society huge sums of money, then it makes sense to push more of the burden on the items that are direct causes to skyrocketing rates of diabetes, heart disease, and a wide range of other ailments.
I love junk food as much as the next person and a tax on it doesn't seem out of line in my opinion.
Totally agree that choices of food and nutrition available is crazy. Also, school lunches are appalling. The amount of junk food advertising on children's television is appalling. All of these things need tackled. But in my mind, the acceptance of this epidemic is also appalling. The fact that people in my family refer to me as 'skinny' is wrong. Medically, I'm exactly average recommended weight for my height, but I'm in the bottom 20% of the national average. THAT is appalling as well.
I don't think anyone deserves to be ridiculed for who he or she is. We are all flawed. We all have vices that we can't control. But at the same time, I do believe someone who is 400lbs should be paying for 2 seats in coach on a airplane.
I think we did the chicken fat workout at my day care. It's been weirdly stuck in my head all these years, so thank you for letting me know I'm not insane to have this strange memory!
Also, I don't think fat is a bad word, necessarily. In reference to food, especially meat, it's a fact. I forget if you're vegetarian or not, but next time you cook, either with meat or olive oil or something, you can explain to Romy what fat is.
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