Yes, one of my kids asked me that after watching an episode of The Biggest Loser. It’s really my husband’s fault. Every time one of the men took off his shirt, he would jokingly exclaim, “Man boobs!” The kids thought this was hilarious.
So every time the show is on, I hear all three of them chanting, “Man boobs! Man boobs!” from the family room. Talk about monkey see, monkey do.
As parents, watching The Biggest Loser is a great opportunity for us to talk with the children about eating in a healthy manner, exercising regularly and sticking to your goals is important. My husband also likes to talk about how Jillian Michaels is so good at motivating her team to work hard, just like their martial arts instructor, Scott.
But this “man boobs” thing. Eeesh!
Occasionally my kids will say something like, “You know Bobby, the kid with the fat mom?” Out loud and in public, of course. Embarrassed, I tell them that it’s not nice to call Bobby’s mom fat. Instead I tell them to say, “You know Bobby, whose mom we see at baseball practice?” I tell my children there is no need to point out that someone is heavy, has a tattoo, isn’t white, has purple hair or an eyebrow ring, or anything “different.” It just isn’t polite.
Yet, here we were saying embarrassing, disrespectful things just because we are in the privacy of our own home. So much for being great roll model for our kids.
Next week when we watch The Biggest Loser together, there will be no man boob jokes. (If there are, someone’s going to get a jab in the ribs.) Instead, we’ll be cheering on the contestants and praising them for their amazing weight loss and dedication to getting healthy.
(This originally appeared in slightly different form over at Incredible Shrinking Ladies.)
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Great point, why is it that we have to point out those flaws instead of just using a reference as you point out so clearly?
I tend to be sarcastic (especially on my blog) but I do try to be a bit more sensitive to personal appearance and activity aspects because I hate when people think being mean is funny.
When did we lose that filter and become so insensitive as a whole?