Thursday, February 25, 2010

Mrs Obama on Role-Modeling Fitness for Tweens

We're huge fans of First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move campaign to battle childhood obesity and marvel at her multi-faceted campaign (the White House Kitchen Garden and White House mentoring program to name just two). But what really made us smile this morning was reading this quote in the Washington Post:

"Because of my mother, I feel more comfortable saying, 'You're going to stay with Dad and I'm going to the gym.' " One woman's regret becomes a first lady's call for action.

Wow.

The entire article is about the emotions behind her Let's Move initiative, and she talks about her own childhood at length. The First Lady candidly shares that her own parents "sacrificed everything for their children" - to the point of her mother (Marian Robinson) not taking care of her own needs by investing in herself, going to the hairdresser, working out, etc. "But she will even tell me today that she wouldn't want me to do that for my girls," the first lady says. "Fortunately, I had a mother who taught me through her own failings and could admit, 'This is what I would have done differently.' And I think because of that honesty, her openness, I'm more -- I feel more confident about showing my girls now that you invest in yourself."

This initiative had all the right things going for it in the first place - but we parents of tween girls have yet another proof point to get our own bodies in gear and model good habits, self-preservation, life balance and healthy living for our own daughters.

All the right stuff. Now excuse me, I'm finally going on that walk.

(Photo by Marvin Joseph of the Washington Post)

If you liked this post, you can subscribe to this blog by clicking here. Please also follow our updates or Re-Tweet our posts on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MsTwixt


No comments:

Post a Comment

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...