Slimming Season
January might as well be called Slimming Season. Marketing campaigns for dieting companies and products go into overdrive, cashing in on our holiday guilt. I for one feel NO guilt about enjoying special foods at Christmas or about taking the pressure off myself in the kitchen during the holidays. This doesn’t mean my daughter is immune from the marketing messages though. “New year, new you” type campaigns are all over the tv, and meal replacement bars and shakes are in the supermarket aisles!!
This week we borrowed “Rosie – the Cow Who Wanted to Slim” from the library by Christel Desmoinaux. What a timely book and wonderful way to combat the current media assault without making too much of a big deal about it all. Rosie is a gorgeous cow with plump pink udders. She makes good milk which makes good cakes and life is good. That is, until she reads Moo Monthly and discovers she’s a little, well, heavier than the covergirls covercows. Her highly successful slimming campaign results in a svelte figure, but at the cost of her milk. I think there’s a message in that for mums and daughters, don’t you think?
If you’ve got older girls in your family, this would be an excellent book for a big sister, older cousin or young aunty to read to your daughter. Our girls need to hear the real truth about body image, and they need to hear it more loudly and more clearly than the messages they get from the media.
PS – if this is a topic that concerns you, check out Julie’s blog over at Beautiful You.
I have not read that one, but I do feel like Rosie the cow. I had to keep my food up to beable to feed my babies, if I stopped the milk did too. Now for February to come so that the diets begin, January is a waste of time for us, to busy being social.
@Rizoleey – feeding your kids is much more important than being slim. Don’t diet too hard when Feb arrives. Aim for healthy, not skinny
oh this sounds like a fabulous book! Will be on the look out for it on our next library visit!
Thankyou for that incredibly kind mention Cath – much appreciated. Thanks also for the post re: this book which I have never heard of. It sounds so great so I’m on a mission to get a copy.
Love the idea of this book, Cath, I too hadn’t heard of it before.
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Sounds like a great topic for a book – a great book to read as I’m sure it will raise lots of questions.
And I will add that it is a very important message for girls (and there are health concerns involved) but I think there is a message for boys to learn too – about the power of the media to manipulate, and also about real women vs. media images of women.
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An excellent point Catherine re: boys, image and media. Thanks for raising it.
Wow, great book – I’ll have to go searching for it next library visit. xx
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