By Sarah Prosser

Bikini Clad

My name is Sarah, and I am addicted to buying bathing suits for my daughters. That means that they each have at least five in their current size, and possibly a few more in the next size up.

I love to be in the bk4water, and I introduced both kids to pools, lakes and oceans within their first months’ of life. As a result, I have two water loving kids who regularly play with the hose in our yard, dip in the hot tub and ask to go swimming at least once a week. We frequent the outdoor pools in the summer, going at least four or five times a week.

With all this time spent in the water, the girls need all of those bathing suits. Okay, maybe not one for each day of the week, but close to it. Here’s the kicker – I even buy them bikinis.

 

I understand the argument that people think bikinis sexualize children, but a one piece suit clings as much as a bikini, and really, it’s the perception of the beholder, not the wearer. I think there’s something inherently wrong with our culture if you are looking at a child as a sexual being while jumping through a sprinkler in a bikini. These two parents faced off about it, too.

I’m trying to teach my girls that they can wear what they want, when they want, and I try not to limit them. If we are bathing suit shopping and they see something they like, I usually let them have it. I draw the line at white, because of practicality- they often will wear a suit all day long in the summer and getting grape popsicle out of white is a laundry nightmare. I help them pick out suits that will be comfortable. For my eight-year-old, that means two pieces. She is quite petite for her age and while she can fit into size four or five clothing for her width measurements, one piece suits don’t fit the length of her torso. Now, I bet you’re thinking, why not a tankini or rash guard? You’re right, she has some of those, but she likes the freedom of a bikini in the summer. Since my littlest one gets all of her sister’s old clothes, she gets all the suits too.

bkI, myself have not worn a bikini since I was 14 year old. It was the last time I felt like it was okay for me to wear one. We were on the beach in Hawaii and I wore it, but was fat-shamed by a group of young men, and I immediately covered up my body with towels and dresses and haven’t put one on since. I think that was a mistake. I should have been proud to wear whatever I wanted, no matter what other people thought about my body.

Maybe I’m living vicariously through them, or maybe I’m just trying to teach them that it’s okay to express themselves from an early age. The key point here is that it is their choice. I buy the suits and they choose what they put on. The caveat, of course, is that the more skin that’s showing, the more sunscreen they need to wear.

Who knows, maybe this will be the summer you’ll find me at the pool in a bikini, (likely not looking at me in a sexual way because you’re busy chasing your kids around), in solidarity with my girls.

Where do you weigh in on the great bikini debate?

Encouraging kids to be passionate about food

food

Studies have shown that children who cook food for themselves are more likely to make healthy choices. What could be more fun than getting elbow deep in a bowl of dough, or designing a masterpiece out of veggies? Here’s how I got my older daughter to fall in love with cooking.

Don’t underestimate them
When my older daughter came home with a kids’ cookbook from her school library and told me she wanted to cook dinner for our family of seven by herself, I was surprised. She’d made cookies with me before, and always wanted to know what I was doing in the kitchen, but I wasn’t sure that she was ready to do it on her own. Her first plan was to make a ham fried rice from a kids’ Chinese cookbook. She did every step on her own, under my careful supervision. The following week, she brought home another book in the series, this one French. She proceeded to cook us all a Valentine’s Day meal of savoury crepes and homemade chocolate mousse for dessert. Week after week, she came home with new cookbooks. Under the watchful eye of adults, she successfully made homemade pasta from scratch, a sauce and cheese bread to go with it and a chocolate torte.

(null)Know their boundaries
When I had my second daughter, my then five-year-old wanted to help out and offered to cut veggies for our dinner. My judgement was clouded by my two week old baby and she ended up cutting herself, which resulted in a trip to the emergency room. Since then, we’ve worked on knife skills and kitchen safety.

Let them choose
When you bring your kids shopping with you, they become more interested in cooking food. Cooking is many other subjects in one: science, math, reading, and art. One way for kids to make a real connection to their food is to visit farmer’s markets. They can meet farmers, ask questions, and then get to take it home. It gives them a sense of pride to make the connection about their food. I run an event a few times a year called Food Swap New West, which encourages locals to come and swap food they’ve made, grown or foraged. My older daughter is a staple at these events and enjoys helping prepare the food, set up the tables and talking to participants about their offerings.

Programs
If you’re not sure of your abilities in the kitchen and want to leave it to the professionals, there are great programs that you can register your kids in through the Parks and Rec Active Living Guide, which cover ages three to teens: Mini Chefs, Chefs Are Us, and a Youth Cooking Program.

When you introduce a skill like cooking early in their lives, you’re preparing your kids with some pretty basic skills for life, and you save yourself a night of cooking once in a while, and what parent couldn’t use a night off?

Parenting with Chronic Illness

 

Growing up, I thought it was totally normal to have a dad who was in a wheelchair occasionally, and who had to give himself blood transfusions at the kitchen table. I thought everyone had a dad who would be in the hospital for weeks at a time because I’d never known any different. As I grew older, that sense of innocence went away, and I discovered that our family was unique.

Now that I am an adult with my own chronic illness, who happened to marry and have children with another chronic illness sufferer, I see how truly wonderful that experience was for me. It gave me perspective that not everyone is perfect and that you have to be able to adapt.

There are definitely challenges. My husband recently had a flare up, and was in and out of the hospital over a two week period. We leaned on family and friends for support and childcare, but we made an effort to explain to the kids that this was not about their dad not wanting to see them and spend time with them, that it was his illness. In a way, we are able to make the disease the villain. Our kids even think that the scar on my husband’s abdomen from previous surgery gave him a second belly button.

Other parents with chronic disease site having a plan B as one of the most important things to consider when parenting with chronic illness. Since you are rarely able to predict a flare-up, it’s important to have other arrangements in place. We often have friends and family at the ready to help us watch the children, and our daycares understand the necessity of flexibility, as do our employers.

We also like to keep our kids involved with our self care. They join us for stretching exercises and yoga to keep muscle pain at bay, and we don’t hide when we take medication. On days when I just can’t get out of bed, my girls and I like to play spa and doctor. I get to be the patient or client and they can do my nails, give me massages, or give me a checkup. It is win-win – I get to still enjoy quality time with my kids and give my body the needed rest.

It’s also important to work with your family physician, they may know of treatment options that could work with your family’s lifestyle and needs.

It’s not impossible to parent with chronic disease. There are challenges, but it helps the children learn about empathy, patience and flexibility.Related: qKkM, EOKkav, XQMhK, czZYKt, plzAQ, cMagc, oWlFB, kUJMQv, nMDW, lLwRJ, VNHGiv, ANAGAZ, yHpk, iMc, hGW,Related: ohio republican party central committee, is sandals credit card worth it, bus from milwaukee to chicago o’hare airport, nyc doitt employee directory, kylie pentelow caravan, where has brittany bade been, katie h sternwheeler for sale, windmill training rural king, walkers green lake menu, joseph todaro iii, how much does tom selleck get paid for commercials, sheraton grand chicago floor plans, what are the wait times at universal studios hollywood, google wifi stuck on creating your wifi network, how to fix a tear in chiffon fabric,Related: maryland driver’s license restriction card, aluminum bike fenders, lee county, florida court records, wolf 30 carbine ammo for sale, chief inspector of constabulary, fox 2 detroit reporters, fine dining restaurants in clark pampanga, miniature horses for sale in california, unity funeral home obituaries apopka, fl, alaska club membership, gran turismo engine swap, teacup shih tzu for sale in georgia, mears group asylum contact number, sweetfin nutrition information, what does aft stand for in police,Related: diary: anne lister code, wire size for 30 amp 240 volt circuit, monologues by black playwrights, marie callender’s fresh peach pie recipe, what page do elio and oliver kiss, night at the museum fanfiction ahkmenrah crying, elizabeth kloepfer stroke, old italian restaurant in atlantic city, kronos workforce central data dictionary, joplin city council zone map, harbourside iii quarter shares for sale, ribbon for car accident victims, smokey and the bandit truck diecast, is dwayne thompson still a detective, glock 19 slide,Related: chris trujillo new mexico, scottish gaelic sayings about friendship, how did millie t mum die, caitlin roth engagement ring, usc pibbs acceptance rate, structural foam moulding, nfl assistant coach salary, dallas orchestra auditions, ahenobarbus henocied face origin, effingham police blotter, dymocks building parking, selkie puff dress dupe plus size, what kind of protection is kevin here for dana, bruising in corner of eye socket, port protection, gary muehlberger dog,