Lynda Loveland: Scary thoughts from a six-year-old

I couldn't believe the words that came out of my daughter's mouth.

One night during dinner, I was trying to get my six-year-old to eat more. She's more of a grazer and doesn't eat much at meals. I told her she was getting thin and needed to eat more. (Growth spurt).

A little background here: My 10-year-old daughter, Campbell, is skinny just like I was. She's in the 15th percentile for weight meaning she weighs less than 85 percent of kids her age. (I think that's right.) My eight-year-old son and youngest daughter are around the 40th percentile. All three are below average in weight.

So, after I told Carys she needed to eat more, she said, "I want to be skinny like Campbell. My belly sticks out!"

I was absolutely stunned!! I quickly informed her that she didn't need to worry the least bit about her weight. I said she had a healthy body and she absolutely shouldn't cut back on food because her growing body and brain depended on it!

Negative body image for girls is a very serious issue! It's the last thing I want my first grader to worry about! We don't talk about "needing to be thin" in my house. We talk about having strong, healthy bodies.

Carys doesn't seem too worried about it anymore, but it's something I'll be keeping a very close eye on.

We, as women, are far too hard on ourselves. I would like the next generation to be a kinder, gentler one.