Anyway, I think these are supah cute. But do you know what I do NOT think is cute? Comments about how they show off her "chunky thighs" etc. YRGG! Listen. I like these teachers a lot, and they were fussing over her and trying to compliment her and make us both feel good, and I get that. I do. However. I would NEVER say anything even REMOTELY like that to a person of any age! Unfortunately, the substantial loophole in my Policy About Talking About Weight is that I cannot control what OTHERS say and do! This SUCKS, and also HELLO CAPT. OBV! Sigh. I'm no control freak, but this is one thing I WOULD control if I COULD. (Also: the weather, the temperature of my coffee, and traffic lights). I just...I don't know. A glimpse into my vast future of hating people, I guess.
Wait, is the gist of this beef basically CANNOT CONTROL OTHERS *indignant foot stamp*? Uh, pretty much. Didn't really think that one through. Still. Beef. (Attention Fussypantses-I'm not going to say anything to the teachers. Not worth it at this point, and a subsection of The Policy states Ignore When Possible)
Beef the second: I keep getting work mail addressed to Tussy FakeHispanic. TUSSY! How does this HAPPEN? Tessy IS the most common misspelling of my name, but how do you get from there to fucking TUSSY? It reminds me of that generic "Tussin" cough syrup shit! New blog title! Don't Tussle With Tussy!
34 comments:
Those jumpers are totally adorable, Tussy. And I don't think we need to be referring to children as chunky once they not baby babies anymore. I mean, like 4 year olds have eating disorders these days.
Totally on board with the misspelling of the name. I often get mail addressed to "Doan." And I always think, "I'm not a effing back pain pill, people!!!"
I agree, I call babies chunkers and refer to their chunky thighs but ONLY babies!
I wish we could get away with rompers like those. I am settling for a jean skirt and sandals. GAH. HOT!
I hate to bring this up, but isn't Tussy a brand of deodorant?
http://www.medshopexpress.com/093662.html
People usually mis-pronounce my name as "blight," as in a far-reaching tree disease that causes the leaves to turn white and die.
I guess we should just be glad our parents didn't actually name us after deodorant/fatal maladies.
I had a friend with the last name of Parker, and her family kept getting mail addressed to "The Porkers." Definitely worse than Tussy :-)
I'm completely guilty of gushing over chubby baby/toddler thighs. I LOVE them. We call them "porkchops" around here and tickle them whenever possible.
You know, I wish grown-ups would be more careful about this. My son's first grade teacher, who is what I would say and average sized woman, has talked so much about her weight and dieting that my seven-year-old BOY child doesn't want to wear shorts to school because he has "chunky thighs" and is always talking about how he needs to go on a diet because he is fat.
I could kill that stupid teacher. My son is no where near overweight. He is so picky about what he WILL eat and with her self-loathing projections, he keeps whittling the list down further.
Oh, I am totally GUILTY of chunky thigh comments about babies and toddlers. BECAUSE I AM ADDICTED TO CHUNKY THIGHS. Seriously, I am partially motivated to have more babies because the thighs thin out on older models and are not nearly so chompable. Sorry. I will try to keep my chunky thigh addiction contained, at least to my own children.
Misty, that is EXACTLY the kind of thing I am hoping to avoid! GAH!
I understand that at this point she is a baby/toddler and it's not really harmful. But, when DOES it start to be harmful? We don't really KNOW. Which is why I say just QUIT ALTOGETHER.
I think if it was happening when AD was a little older, I WOULD say something to the teacher.
I think she is too young for this to be an issue now, but I don't know where the line is. I know nothing about babies/kids, so why I am even trying to comment, I don't know.
I can comment on the name thing though. I hate when people do not pay attention name spellings! Let's say my name is Renee (it's not). I ended up on some mailing list as Nrenee, which makes me laugh.
The first thing I thought of when I saw "Tussy" was Tussin. And the Chris Rock skit where he talks about healing EVERY ailment with Tussin. It's hysterical.
Also, that jumper thing is ADORABLE.
Sorry Tess, but I think chucky baby / toddler thighs are ADORABLE. I also find baby bellies ADORABLE (and puppy bellies too)!
But, I shall TRY to keep such comments to myself....but AD is too adorable for words.
Too bad nobody finds my chunky thighs adorable... :-(
Oh, CRAP Tessie. I totally say stuff like that ALL THE TIME, b/c like Erin, I'd addicted to chunkiness in babies/toddlers. I love how some kids loose their baby fat by 1 or 2, and some still have lots of baby roundness at 3 and 4. I just love babies, and chubby babies so much. Also: I love when the summer clothes can come out of the closet and onto the children, b/c I miss their soft baby/child skin. During winter, I never get to feel their tiny (and chubby, in M's case) soft arms, or see their adorable kid feet.
So CRAP!
Also, Tussy? WT?
I like chunky baby thighs too! I DO! And I KNOW she is too young to really "get" the comments. And I ALSO know lots of people think I am way overboard on this.
But...what if she's NOT too young? She certainly seems to understand most if not all of the things we say. And where do you draw the line?
It just seems like it would be so much easier to keep ALL comments about others bodies to ourselves. But I know I'm in the minority with that feeling.
And that's cool. I don't want to make a bigger deal out of it than it is. In fact, that's the OPPOSITE of what I want to do.
I guess I'm thinking that even if Marin's thighs ARE chunky, and she knows what I'm saying (b/c I agree, the do seem to understand so much), at least she'll know that I love her body and that SHE should love her body.
I hear what you're saying about OTHERS making those comments though. I would be best to keep all comments like that to ourselves, but I know I'm one that doesn't follow those rules. I'll probably be more careful now. =)
So Tussy, I would totally point out an infant's chunk a lunka thighs---but a near 2-year-old? No way.
I remember wearing those sun suits when i was a kid and I hated them--taking the whole thing off to pee?? Scarred for life. I can't buy them for Lucy. Just.Can't.Do.It.
I don't know about the baby/toddler chunky thigh thing. I don't know too many people who DON'T love a monchable baby thigh.
I can see how it would grate on you, though. I think it's way more acceptable than a teacher /mother /girl scout leader (whatevah) talking non-stop about their OWN body self-loathing around kids. Who, like the sponges they are, soak it aaaall up. That makes me WAY crazy.
That jumper IS supah cute! And: the other day I saw a woman I knew from high school in the grocery store with her baby, and due to my complete lack of social skill and/or knowledge, I said: "Wow, your baby has the most serious eyes I've ever seen." (Note: this was intended as a compliment). However, I realized she may not take it that way when she said, "Oh, he's a happy boy, he smiles all the time!" in an ever-so-slightly defensive tone.
UGH. As we were leaving the store, my sister just looked at me and said, "You are stupid. No one wants to hear that their baby has SERIOUS EYES."
Now I know, right? I'm just going to not comment on people's children. Safer that way.
I think the chunky leg comment is actually supposed to be a compliment for toddlers. I don't really get thsi either, but some people go ga-ga over babyfat rolls, and they love to tell you about them. And if your baby has them then that = cuteness.
"Tussy" sounds like 1 step away from "Hussy" and man I would NOT want that to start up. Put your foot down NOW.
i was a very, uh, "rotund" baby.. and my dad took a SERIOUSLY HARD LINE on what he allowed people to say to me. apparently even when i was an INFANT and would be pushed around in a stroller, people would come up and say something innocuous like "look at those chubby thighs!" and my dad would actually say something to make them stop. he was worried that names like that would "stick" - like, maybe people would start calling me "porker" as a joke, or something, and it wouldn't stop - and then i'd have body issues my whole life.
a little bit overreactive? yeah, maybe, but i can ABSOLUTELY see his point.
Hmmmmm, just like, "Does your son resemble your stupid husband?"...My husband is The Real Deal Hispanic, although I'm as White as Wonder, and I HATE it (typed with italics) when I get Spam or junk mail in Spanish. When I used to get phone calls in Spanish, I just hung up.
Commenting on one's children's "flaws" is a passive-agressive rudeness of any adult. PLEEZE!
I wished my family had your policy this weekend when my parents & some friends were at my house.
My dad: Hi A! Wow, they aren't feeding you much in Cali, are they? You are so thin.
A: Um...(awkward pause) and N (A's sister) enters room
My dad: See A, N looks great - you should eat what she eats!
A & N look at each other nervously and I pray for the earth to swallow me whole!
I am used to my dad's bullshit body comments to me, but my friends? Arrgh!
And you are So Right that it is always the people with issues themselves who nominate themselves as The Body Police.
I totally thought of Tussin too! I don't get how you go from Tessie to Tussy. 3 letters different is alot.
Love the jumper, bet she looks super cute in it.
Um. That's kind of weird, and crosses some boundaries in my opinion. I don't know, maybe I'm hypersensitive to that sort of thing, but there you have it.
My husband was calling our infant daughter "fat girl" for a while (she was almost 10 pounds at birth). He didn't mean it in a bad way (even though it sounds like it), but I told him to cut it out anyway. There are some things you just can't do with children - and with girls in particular. I realize she was only a few months old but still. It is a Thing for me, I guess.
Nonsoccermom, it's a Thing with me too (OBVIOUSLY). I'm not saying that there's (necessarily) anything wrong with it, or that people mean anything by it, it's just that I would never do it.
Oooh, it's a BIG THING with me too. My 6yo son was a preemie, but then chunked out in a major way (like 99th percentile when he was 1yo). So I got both ends of it - from "don't you ever feed that kid?" to "omg, WHAT do you FEED that boy?" I would just deadpan "Miracle Gro, why?" But GAH.
And it's starting up again now because same 6yo has some weight issues (as does my entire family). I NEVER comment on his weight and I try not to let him do it to himself either. But he was swimming at my dad's a few weeks ago and my dad made a snarky comment about him being chubby/needing a diet. Ooohhh, childhood weight issues reared their ugly heads and I was MAD. I told him to cut it out. Not cool.
Oh and I don't get the name thing either. I get Dan and Daun and Dwan and Dana and Donna...???
Babies and toddlers are SUPPOSED to have chunky thighs! Otherwise, what would we squeeze to make them laugh hysterically?
I actually USE the deoderant known as Tussy...it's CRAZY cheap and works really well.
People are so rude. Kids have enough body image issues dealing with our media and hollywood celebritites...let them be babies..GEEZE..
As for Tussy--hussy with a twist of "t" ? LOL J/K
I thought of Tussin before I got as far as your mention of it. I heard it in Chris Rock's voice though, thanks to this bit of stand-up:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd-EBG3a7jU
I know there are an increasing amount of unusual names out there, but since when is Tussy a likely name? If it makes you feel any better, my daughter's SS card came addressed to "Puper". I can see how a typed "i" can be switched for a "u". Fucking idiots.
All right... if someone EVER made a comment about my kids chunky thighs they would be getting a smackdown.
All right, if I was being honest I would probably just give her an inscrutable, passive-aggressive stare.
Crap. That woman should be fired, and then force-fed three boxes of Ring Dings.
It's weird that you wrote about this subject today. Earlier, my daughter and I were at the library. She had a small snow-cone in a cup and this old, senile man came up to her and said, "you know that will make you fat, don't you?" He laughed and went on his way and I GET that he was trying to be funny but the comment almost made her start crying. I told her not to worry about it, that he probably has cataracts and can't see.
I think it would bother me too, because I'm sensitive that way. . . and you'd never want to assume that someone wasn't.
I love little girls' summer clothes. I miss (sort of) my daughter's diaper days just because of all those cute sunsuits/rompers. . . the boy ones aren't quite as much fun.
It's unbelievable to me how much people comment on a kid's body shape. With my girls, the oldest is called 'willowy' and the baby is called 'solid'. Because of my own issues, I see one as a compliment, the other is a veiled insult. I would just prefer that people comment on their hair or eyes, if they need to comment at all.
Also, a couple of weeks ago I saw an older man I hadn't seen in awhile at work. His comment to me: "Lori, you look so good! Last time I saw you, I thought you were too thin, but you've filled out a bit and you look good!" Um, thanks.
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