Tonight's soap box.

Listen. I'm about to get on my soap box.

Are there a lot of overweight kids out there? For sure.
Do kids too often eat fast food in place of healthy vegetables and fruits? Absolutely!
Is childhood obesity an epidemic we should be paying attention to? Yes.
Should something be done about it? Definitely.

Should an almost 7 year old believe she's fat? Should she think that she didn't win a beauty pageant because she wasn't skinny enough? Should she order diet drinks out at restaurants and wonder whether a food is on her "diet" or not? Should she believe that her worth is somehow compromised because of something that is more or less out of her control? Never.

I'm all for limiting soft drink consumption; I think it's important to teach kids to choose apples over chips; I want my kids to be active and not sedentary. Sure, I'll make my kids eat their broccoli, and I'll stand my ground refusing fruit snacks for breakfast. But you cross the line when you even hint to a young girl that she'd be more desirable, better...if only she wasn't so "fat."

As if children, especially young girls, weren't already bombarded with unhealthy images of what it means to be beautiful (and therefore acceptable) on a daily basis.

Teach kids to be healthy eaters. Help them learn to eat more salads and less junk. But tell them that they're beautiful the way that God made them, too. Tell them that they are acceptable and worth something in your eyes whether they win some award for "beauty" or not. Teach them that their value comes from within - that kindness, compassion, honesty, loyalty, patience, and discipline are more important than your weight on a scale or pant size.

I would argue that other eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are just as dangerous to our youth as obesity is. People spend a lot of money trying to achieve some unattainable "perfection." That has to stop! This world is too fleeting to be so wrapped up in something so undeserving of our time and energy.

For the love, give your child an Oreo cookie every now and then...and do it just because they taste good.