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Maggie Goes on A Diet – New Children’s Book has Parents Talking
The book hasn’t even been officially released yet, but author Paul Kramer is finding himself in the middle of a contorvesy he apparently didn’t expect. His soon-to-hit-the shelves children’s book, “Maggie Goes on a Diet” has many parents furious.
Filled with bright illustrations, the book is supposedly aimed at readers between the ages 4 and 8. At least that’s what the Amazon Page says. Now how many parents want to talk to their 6 year old daughter about going on a diet? How many of them want to reinforce that as a option?
Maggie’s journey in the book (again according to the Amazong blurb) takes her from an overweight girl who is transformed by a diet and exercised into a ‘normal sized girl who becomes the school soccer star’.
Wow, do I struggle with this one…. here are my thoughts:
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7 Comments
Hope commented on Aug 24 11 at 5:24 pmIf it talked about being healthy and eating right, I’d be ok with it. Kids are so overweight these days, and that’s not healthy. I have a problem to tying it to self esteem is wrong
Alex | Perfecting Dad commented on Aug 24 11 at 6:12 pmJust another bad children’s book. No need to point this one out for extra attention. If you don’t like the message then don’t buy it or have your daughter read it. However, if parents have children who are overweight I think it’s their responsibility to do something about it. There is no way a young child should be eating so much and doing so little that they are overweight. That part is totally up to the parent: Little kids have no resources and don’t know anything about food or exercise, they rely on the parents to provide them a healthy environment. The book’s story seems like it would be boring for both parent and child.
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daniellesmith commented on Aug 24 11 at 6:27 pm@Hope – that was my challenge too – the issue of tying it to self esteem. When the author was interviewed, he did say his plan was for the book to boost self-confidence, and I have no reason to doubt him. I agree with you – I’m on board with a message of healthy living.
@Alex – thank you for your comment. While I agree with you that there are other poor children’s books, as my daughter gets older, it isn’t as simple as ‘don’t buy it’…as other children may read it, talk about it, model the behavior. And for those reasons (and a few others) I’m unhappy with the book. You are correct – it is a parent’s responsibility to teach a healthy environment to their children, but a book like this – that showcases a child being called ‘fatty’, sneaking into the fridge for comfort and then in a miraculous turn of events, becoming the ‘school soccer star’ simply by making healthy choices AND becoming thin, isn’t the best option. It seems to me the correlation between fat=bullied and thin=popular, with ‘going on a diet’ as the solution isn’t the healthiest example. Thanks again.
Manjari commented on Aug 25 11 at 5:28 pm” It seems to me the correlation between fat=bullied and thin=popular, with ‘going on a diet’ as the solution isn’t the healthiest example.” Agreed.
lola commented on Aug 26 11 at 1:13 amAm I the only one here that read “One Fat Summer” as a child/teen??!!!
That one is a 1970′s version of this with a male as the main character. I don’t remember anyone getting up in arms about that one.
Danielle Smith commented on Aug 26 11 at 11:21 am@manjari Thank you for your comment. That IS just how I feel about it.
@Lola – I appreciate your comment. I am honestly not familiar with that book. I do, however, remember very clearly reading Sweet Valley High books as a middle school/early teen – and do recall a storyline with one of the teen girls being teased mercilessly for her weight, beginning to exercise (I even remember she walked the track at school until she built the stamina to start running) and as the weight came off, she too became popular. Even at that age, I was bothered by the correlation – and it has stuck with me. For my purposes, a large portion of my discomfort with this book is the target age group.
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