Allison Kimmey's 5 Year-Old Was Called Fat By A Peer And Her Response Was Amazing
When it comes to being a parent, one dread that lingers in their mind as their children approach nursery or school age is bullying. There's only so much prep or damage control that can be done, because let's face it: kids are mean.
So when body positive Instagrammer Allison Kimmey picked up her daughter, Cambelle, from practice, a billion thoughts went through her head as her five year-old said that a girl had called her fat. The conversation took an interesting turn, however, when Cambelle went on to tell her what response she gave.
The conversation went as follows, according to Kimmey's Instagram:
'Cambelle: "Mama I need to tell you something"
Me: "Okay baby, what's up?"
C: "Yesterday at practice my shirt came up a little bit and my tummy was showing. The girl next to me looked at me and said that my tummy was fat."
Me: "Oh really? And what did you say to her?"
C: "I told her that I'm not fat, I HAVE fat. And that everybody has fat. And I told her it's okay to have fat."
Me: "Wow Cambelle! I am SO proud of you for the way you handled that situation. Fat is not a bad word, I don't think she was trying to hurt your feelings. It was so brave of you to help her understand that all people have fat, but that no one IS fat. And that it doesn't make you a bad person if you have more or less of it. Did she have anything to say?"
C: "She just said 'oh, okay'"'
Cambelle then went on later to apologise to her mum for previously having called her fat, to which Allison told her it was okay because she'd learned from the situation.
Writing on an Instagram post, Kimmey said: 'I couldn't believe that my 5 year-old daughter had been able to handle a situation with more grace than most 30 year-olds.'
She went on to say: 'Children aren't born with hate inside them. They learn words from their environments and the things they see/hear, and they try them on for size. I can't prepare my daughter for all of life's situations, but I can help her to be a voice of compassion, humility, and love.'
She then added - likely used to the typical anti-fat spiel - to the caption: 'And to anyone that will undoubtedly say that this is "promoting obesity," please understand that preventing childhood bullying before it can even start is not a matter of weight, but of character.'
I think we can safely say that that's parenting done right.
