Member-only story
How I’m Changing The Conversation About My Daughter’s Body
And how a common improv strategy helps
If every time someone saw me, they commented on the length or shape of my legs or the size of my arms; I would probably have to fight off the urge to give them a piece of my mind—or a swift punch to the throat.
Yet, over the past few years, as my daughter has grown, there have been countless times when I’ve described her as “all legs,” or a “string bean,” or simply “tall.” Whenever she meets new adults, they almost always look right at her, take a beat, and then proclaim, “Wow, she’s tall!”
She is tall. She has her dad’s build—long limbs. She’ll probably end up on the taller side when she’s older, but it’s really too early to tell for sure. Right now, she towers over most in her 2nd-grade class. It’s a fact that she takes great pride in.
She takes so much pride in it that I haven’t stopped to think about the fact that I’m doing exactly what I preach about not doing when I verbalize it. I’m openly commenting on her body.
And I’ve seen this with kids time and time again. Adults constantly comment on how big or small kids are—often right in front of their faces. And nobody bats an eye. But what is it doing to those children over time?
