With Dominique-Adèle Cassuto, endocrinologist and nutritionist, author of the book “My daughter is too round” and “What do we eat? Food for teens from A to Z ”at Odile Jacob.
From the age of 6-7 and even more around 8, little girls sometimes develop certain complexes related to their weight, which were thought to be reserved for teenagers who feel bad about themselves! However, awareness of their body and the comments it can elicit is a reality for many (very) young girls. The child often returns from school with his chin tucked in, looking downcast. And even though her figure is that of a growing little girl, she sometimes says she is “too fat”. And at the turn of a sentence, she admits that little girls have fun comparing their thigh circumference to recess!
A simple mockery is enough
The fault obviously lies mainly with the fantasy of the ideal female body that we observe in fashion magazines, on the catwalks or in the cinema. “It has entered the everyday language of mothers, sisters, daughters or girlfriends that it is better to be thin in life”, explains Dominique-Adèle Cassuto, endocrinologist and nutritionist. Even if at that age, the little girl is still protected from the flood of images on social networks and on screens in general, for the specialist, this vision of the perfect body is already imbued in her. And very often, it is at school that a sentence, a mockery or a reflection from a friend can give rise to previously non-existent complexes. The girl is then more sad than usual, has a stomach ache in the morning before going to school, or the teacher may have noticed a change in her behavior … So many signs that should alert us.
We play humor
Whether the little girl is really slightly overweight or not, we forget about diets, which are totally prohibited at this age, but we can teach her to establish a relationship of pleasure with food: “We go to the market, we cook together … important that she understands that eating is not just for weight gain, but it is mostly for sharing. We also have to work on sensoriality and taste, ”explains Dominique-Adèle Cassuto.
To reassure a little girl who thinks she is overweight, the nutritionist advises parents to play the transparency card: “You can look at magazines, explain to your daughter that the photos are retouched, and also work on humor. If a mom is often on a diet but laughs about it, it goes better. We must not dramatize and focus on it. “If the pressure is still great for women, the company is still making some progress, as Dominique-Adèle Cassuto underlines:” There are now Barbie dolls of different morphology and skin color, some luxury brands have banned size 32 for their catwalks… Slowly, the lines are moving. “
A book to read with the child
“Lili is ugly”, Dominique de Saint-Mars, ed. Calligram, € 5,50.
Ugly, fat, thin… The complexes can be numerous! A little book to play down, and show your child that he is not the only one concerned!