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Strollerderby
Ballerina says "I'm not overweight."
Jennifer Ringer, this year’s Sugar Plum Fairy in the New York City Ballet’s performance of “The Nutcracker” said she didn’t want an apology from The New York Times critic who called her fat.
Instead, she wanted her company’s diverse range of bodies to be appreciated for what they are — the artistic tools of trained, skilled and athletic dancers.
Ringer went on the Today Show this morning to talk about the firestorm that Alastair Macaulay caused when he wrote that this year’s Sugar Plum Fairy looked as if she had eaten one sugar plum too many.
She told Ann Curry that her first reaction to the comment was that it hurt.
Read on to watch a clip of Ringer on Today.
Continue reading »
Wait. How many carbs are in that?
By now, virtually everyone knows that childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in America. In fact, the rate of obesity in children has doubled over the past two decades. Accordingly, many parents are playing a more active role than ever before when it comes to their children’s diet.
But how early is too early to get involved? At what point do concerned parents turn into obsessive ones? More specifically, is it okay for parents to subject their chubby babies to diets? It certainly sounds extreme, but that’s exactly what doctors say more and more parents are doing.
A story which aired on Good Morning America suggests that some parents are going to such extremes because of their previous weight issues. Dr. Jatinder Bhatia says, “I have seen parents putting their infant and 1 year-old on diets because of history in one parent or another.” Continue reading »
Nutcracker Ballet
I’m so excited to be taking my daughters to see The New York City Ballet perform “George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker” tonight at Lincoln Center.
Though we’re Jewish, it was a family tradition for my mother to take me to see the ballet every Christmas season. Tonight’s performance is even more special since one of my daughter Jesse’s friends will be performing. We’re hoping that if we’re lucky, we’ll get to go backstage after the show.
Reading The New York Times review of the premiere performance on Friday night, however, I was disturbed that the critic Alastair Macaulay pointed out one dancer’s weight. “Jenifer Ringer, as the Sugar Plum Fairy, looked as if she’d eaten one sugar plum too many,” wrote Macaulay.
Don’t ballet dancers have enough body image issues as it is? Is it really necessary to poke fun of a woman’s body in such a snarky way?
“While it’s the reviewer’s job to critique the dancer’s performance, commenting on their debatable weight gain just seems cruel,” writes Margaret Hartmann at Jezebel.
Eating disorders among kids are on the rise.
According to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, eating disorders among children in the U.S. have risen steadily over the last few decades. Currently, it is estimated that 0.5 percent of adolescent girls suffer from anorexia while 1 to 2 percent have bulimia. And while the number of boys who suffer from eating disorders is less than girls, that number appears to be on the rise as well.
Interestingly, this increase in the number children with eating disorders has occurred at the exact same time that childhood obesity rates have exploded. While eating disorders get some press, childhood obesity gets a lot more.
Never before have we been so focused on our kids’ weight than we are right now. From First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to schools sending home fat notes to parents, our children’s weight has become a national topic of conversation.
Could there be a connection?
Study author Dr. David Rosen, a professor of pediatrics, internal medicine and psychiatry at University of Michigan, believes there may be. He says that many of his young patients trace the beginnings of their disordered eating to being told by a physician to lose a few pounds.
Healthy body image?
Do you think you’re fat? If you’re female, chances are good that you do.
According to a recent Glamour magazine survey, 40 percent of women are unhappy with their body. But it sounds as if even more women have a negative body image.
While only 46 percent of the women surveyed were actually overweight, 71 percent of them said they felt fat, according to CBS News’ “The Early Show.”
What makes me sad about this survey is that I know that many of these women are mothers and it’s likely they are griping about their bodies in front of their daughters. Continue reading »
Valco Baby Stroller Recall
Crib and Stroller Recalls
First things first! The Consumer Product Safety Commission Announced some recalls affecting parents this week, including almost 13,000 Valco Baby jogging strollers that pose a strangulation risk and Alexander Designs drop-side cribs for JCPenney that can cause entrapment, suffocation and fall hazards. As we reported in July, the production and sale of drop-side cribs has been banned; regulations should go into effect before 2011.
Teenage Cutting Underreported
ScienceDaily reports that “40.8 percent of patients with eating disorders in their study had documented incidents of intentionally harming themselves, most often by cutting and burning,” a new study shows. However, “inadequate clinical screening might mean the count should be much higher.” If you have a child who is battling an eating disorder, be sure to talk to them about their behaviors and seek medical help.
Hero Mom Saves 5 in Blaze
A heroic mother in Louisville, KY saved her three children and 2 nieces in a house fire, but lost her life in the process. Louisville Fire Department Captain Melendez is quoted as saying, “I can safely say that if it weren’t because of the working smoke alarms that the mother heard, we would’ve have had more than one fatality this morning.” Check your batteries!
Malaysian Monkey Snatches Baby
In a sad and strange story, a wild monkey “snatched [a] baby from her family’s living room” in the Negri Sembilan state of Malaysia. According to MSNBC, there is a “booming macaque population” in Malaysia, many of which are “riddled with disease.” Hopefully this case will incite public officials to rid their cities of these dangerous animals.
Run, Mommy, Run!
Heather Cabot has written an essay for Psychology Today about the effects of exercise on parenting. In it, she cites a “2005 study of middle aged and older women in the U.K.” which found that “exercise over a 10 week period boosted feelings of achievement, empowerment and well-being.” I love this quote from mom athlete Jessica Cribbs about bringing a sporting attitude to caring for children. She says, “You do what it takes, because you’re either in it focused and ready to go, or things will fall apart.”
Finally, a Reality TV Shocker
In this jaw-dropping story, an Italian mother was informed of her daughter’s passing on live TV. Continue reading »
Healthy Weight of Overweight?
Like most people, whenever I see a chubby baby, I have an uncontrollable urge to squeeze his cheeks. And there’s nothing cuter than chubby baby thighs.
But not everybody appreciates a big baby.
For some moms with a history of eating disorders, seeing a “fat” baby could trigger anxiety. In some extreme cases, they might even be tempted to put their baby on a diet.
Jessica Katz, guest blogger at Momlogic, recently wrote about such a case. Continue reading »
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