's MOTD Sun 8/27 Parent's Beware!

[Guest guest]

's Daily Message SundayAugust 27, 2006PARENTS BEWARE!

Pamela`s mother and father began telling her she was fat when she was 7 years old. "Honey," her mother said, "You`re the heaviest girl in your class! You don`t want to be fat; you want to be thin like the other girls." Pamela`s mom would put her on different diets and monitor what she ate at home, but when Pamela went to school, she spent all her money at the vending machines.

She kept this facade up for a while, but when her parents kept seeing Pamela gain weight, they took her to the doctor`s to have her checked. The doctor told them that their daughter was very inactive and was still taking in more calories than she needed. That very day, Pamela`s father put her on a walking program and walked with her. Her mother got more strict with the food, but Pamela kept gaining because she ate in secrecy.

At this point, her parents began to bribe her. They promised her $20.00 for every pound she dropped, and her mother promised her a new wardrobe.

Pamela sat in her bedroom one night and wondered why it was so important to lose weight. Why didn`t her parents love her like she was? Finally she decided to give her mom and dad what they wanted the most… a thin daughter.

In the morning, Pamela started walking an hour every day. After a week, she walked an additional hour at night. She ate half of her breakfast, half of her lunch, and just played with the food on her plate during dinner. In one month, Pamela dropped 33 pounds. Her parents were so impressed, but she wasn`t happy. Pamela felt the pounds were coming off too slowly. She started to run, not walk, 3 hours a day, and she began toning up.

One afternoon, Pamela collapsed during one of her runs and was rushed to the hospital. She was suffering from dehydration and malnutrition. After a six day stay in the hospital, Pamela`s parents took her to an eating disorders clinic, and that is where she wrote me an email. She saw me on TV and wanted to tell me her story.

I called Pamela, and I could tell in her voice she was doing very well. She told me she had learned a lot about nutrition, and she and her parents were in counseling. She asked me for an autograph for her, her mom, and a few other girls in the clinic. I asked her if she forgave her mom and dad for driving her crazy about losing weight, and she admitted she was guilty for driving them equally crazy.

Parents out there, BEWARE! Be kinder to your overweight children. Don`t talk at them! Teach them a healthy way of life.

Love,