Two Sydney mums have joined forces to create a new kids book aimed at changing the way children use the word ‘fat’.
The book titled Fat is Fat & That is That shows children several scenarios showing how to correctly use ‘fat’ in a bid to remove the negative stigma associated with the word.
The idea came to accredited practicing dietician Kim Lawler after one too many mums came to her asking for help surrounding the word.
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“I kept on running into parents that were unsure how to navigate the word fat even to the point that some parents and families were banning it in their home.”
“And then at the same time, I’m dealing with women and men that have been long term affected by the word fat in some way or another.”
But it wasn’t until a conversation with longtime friend and published psychology author Amba Brown that the idea to put pen to paper came about.
“I had this idea and so I drew it out on little pieces of paper and I sent it to Amber and she’s said ‘we’ve got to do this’ and so then we just started to do it,” Lawler says.
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“We both love books and reading and we think of them as a way to teach both adults and children without being too intense or aggressive.”
The messaging in the book is direct but also removes the negative connotation often associated with the word fat.
For example “look at that fat puppy” or “I love her fat little legs” when referring to a baby, to then using fat to describe “some really fat, juicy oranges” or “an adorable fat little bunny”.
It also touches on a student describing that her “legs are fat”, while another student agrees adding that her legs “are long” showing children to use it simply as a descriptive word.
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“Overall we want to neutralise the word fat, or any fat, like fat in food, etc”, Brown says, “The idea is that they’re not going to be as triggered as if it was something that they had been taught to fear.”
School counsellor and social worker Lauren Gough says it’s a great initiative and hopes it could make a real difference to the students she speaks with on a daily basis.
“I work with lots of kids and the word fat gets thrown out so much as a quick and easy insult and I think the damage that it can do to kids, particularly girls is lasting, so just starting this message from a young age that all bodies are different and just desensitising the word fat, I think it loses its power.”
Gough says the way the book is structured, fat shifts from an attacking word to a describing word in the minds of little people.
“It’s not a negative word, it’s a word that can describe anything, you know tall and fat and thin and if it’s done at a young age like preschool or kindergarten age it loses its power, I guess, to be an attack.”
Gough says something needs to change because “it can have a very lasting impact towards a young mind”.
“It can really negatively impact a child’s self-esteem, their worth and I think it could have lasting impacts on body image down the track, it can stay with them for a lifetime.”
Gough also thinks while it could be really useful in schools it’s also a great tool for parents to start a conversation with their children.
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“It’s a good talking point to ask them ‘what does the word fat mean?’ [because] fat is really vital and I know Kim’s done parent education sessions talking about how we need fat to survive and every human’s got fat so I guess it’s a good tool to use to open up that conversation.”
As not only the brains behind the book but also mums who grew up in the ’90s when fat culture was rife, Lawler and Brown both say we all need to start doing the work now to create generational change and remove the cultural fear associated with fat.
“It’s one of those things that the more that it’s been taboo at different times or spoken about negatively, it just builds.”
“Different publishers have removed the word fat in books and I also know kindergartens that will change songs with the word fat in it because they think they shouldn’t be using it.”
The pair are hoping their book will return ‘fat’ to its rightful place as just another word in our vocabulary.
“When you think of the word fat we all have different mental shortcuts that come to mind and we’re trying to weigh up the negative associations that come to mind and even it out with some positive descriptors for the word.”
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