Man Makes His Plus-Size Wife Cry By Saying She’s Wrong For Calling Their Baby A ‘Fatty Patty’
He's afraid his wife's "endearing" nicknames will affect their daughter's self-esteem.
LightField Studios via Shutterstock / Kara Eads via Unsplash / Panacreative Studio and white shama via Canva After having a baby with his wife, a man has found that not everything is sunshine and rainbows with their 10-month-old daughter.
"She’s a very big and healthy baby and we love her very much," the man wrote in a Reddit post. However, he added that their daughter "is pretty large for her age."
While he's not so much concerned about his baby's weight, he is concerned about his wife's approach to their daughter's size.
His wife and her family have begun calling their daughter nicknames that reference the baby's weight.
She keeps calling our daughter 'chunky girl' or 'ms. Piggy,'" the man explained. "She says they’re 'Endearing' nicknames and all her side of the family also calls her this."
Photo: Alex Bodini / Unsplash
He, however, has an issue with the nicknames, worried that calling their daughter such names could harm her in the future.
"I’ve been reading some parenting books about how much children absorb at this age and the names have started to bother me," he wrote.
The man eventually had enough and spoke up about his feelings after his wife called their daughter 'fatty patty.'
"I told her to stop calling her fat because it’s going to hurt her self esteem when she’s older," the man said. "My wife looked shocked and told me there is nothing wrong with being fat. I agreed but completely disagree that calling our daughter fat even in an 'Endearing' way will not teach her it’s ok to be fat," going so far as to call her actions "fat-phobic."
"Her obsession with our daughters weight is unhealthy for her and our baby," he continued. "This upset her immensely and she went to bed," he wrote, leaving him wondering if he was in the wrong.
Research shows moms have an immense impact on their daughter's body image.
Though some people on Reddit claimed that both parents were being “overly dramatic, uncommunicative, and concerned about body image for a literal infant who does not care or know that this is a thing," research suggests kids begin developing body image at very young age, and parents have a huge influence on how their children perceive themselves.
"Moms are probably the most important influence on a daughter's body image," Dr. Leslie Sim, clinical director of Mayo Clinic's eating disorders program and a child psychologist, told USA Today.
As one person on Reddit wrote, “A 10-month-old baby won’t understand these nicknames. However. She should work on coming up with new nicknames because those WILL leave an impact once your daughter is old enough to understand.”
While nicknames concerning a child's weight may seem harmless and "endearing" when that child is a baby who can't quite understand what's even being said, it's not a habit parents should stick to. Studies have found that kids start understanding body image as early as the age of three, and once a nickname has stuck, it can be difficult to get out from under it.
Instead, the Mayo Clinic suggests using positive nicknames that don't relate to a child's weight or looks.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics.