Here I take a little journey through thoughts of my adolescent body image as I recall it.
I was a pretty average size baby. I believe I weighed 7 lbs something at birth. I don’t think I had any real issues with eating at that young age and I certainly haven’t seen any pictures that suggest that I was anything other than an average size baby with an average size appetite.
I actually love when I see those babies with the chunky monkey legs that you just want to nibble on…I love that healthy baby fat!
That wasn’t me at this age though. That would come later! 😉
Here are some pictures of me throughout the toddler years…
Here again, you can see that I was of pretty average weight. I don’t remember my parents feeding me anything other than the occasional treat when it came to sweets at this age.
The following pictures cover ages 6 through 11. They are headshots only but you can tell by my face that I was still of pretty average weight for my age. The body image of children is definitely being developed around these ages and I don’t recall anything out of the ordinary.
I did start developing at a pretty early age – I would say 10-ish. I do remember noticing and not being completely comfortable with my new body. I didn’t want classmates to know when I began wearing a bra for example. I also recall not wanting anyone to see my weight on my report card in the 4th grade…hmmmm…what was that about?! I think it is so important when you have a daughter to be aware of a girls body image and what can affect this.
In both of these pictures to the left, I was 12 years old. I believe I was very aware of my changing body and how I looked at this stage relating to my adolescence body image. Not sure what was going on with my jeans in the first picture. LOL AND it certainly doesn’t seem that I had an issue with showing my legs in the second picture. 😉
I wouldn’t say that I was overweight at all here, but I do think I was heavier among my peers and probably more developed as well. I think I was starting to get a little attention from older boys at this point also. For example, I can remember mingling with the boys on our Jellystone camping trips by this point. Ugh…what a parent’s nightmare!
I will be revisiting the issue of body image a bit more as I complete this Turning 40 series. I’m confident that my real weight gain happened much after high school, but I’m sure that earlier ideas of body image also played a part…just as it does for all of us.
Not looking for any one thing, excuse or reason…just trying to be aware and look at the whole picture/journey of my life so far that has gotten me to where I am today. 🙂
Introducing…Paula the Water Skier!
My grandfather and aunt taught me how to water ski when I was pretty young and they felt confident enough about me being in the water. I can remember sitting in the boat watching my aunt ski who was really quite good and desperately wanting to learn to water ski. Finally the day came and she loaned me a pair of water skiis. I’m sure that I did not get up that first day.
I have wonderful father daughter stories and memories of my childhood. Of course I loved my mother just as much as dear ol dad, but there was something about spending time with him that I loved. Perhaps it was because I was the first born and a girl at that. (My brother wouldn’t come along until 2 more daughters and several years later.) I guess one might have called me a tomboy in my youth and I don’t think I would have minded.
Memory #2 and why I know I did many things just to hang out with my father…aren’t little girls cute? 😉 I was my fathers daughter and I wanted to be by his side even if it meant the freezing cold of winter toting a gun and mindful of the tears freezing on my cheek because I was so uncomfortable. I did the gun safety course just as any son …errr daughter would do, but even before I could carry a gun I was going on these deer hunting expeditions with him.
