Top Ten WORST Things a Mom Can Say

Quick – clap your hand over your mouth before you utter one of these.

by Abby Ellin

Most of us have probably uttered at least one of these in a low moment.  Or maybe more than one, especially if YOUR  mother said any of these to YOU.  But with a little awareness and humor, the errors of the past do not have to be repeated.  And if you forget, remember that you can always apologize to your daughter, or, better yet, use it as an opportunity to talk about why mothers used to say these things to their daughters, and how the world is so much better now...

1. "You would be so beautiful if you only lost weight!"

2. "Why are you eating that? You've already had enough!"

3. "Don't eat that in front of me--it kills me to see you ruining yourself like that."

4. "Of course you have a lot of girl friends--girls love it when there's a fatty around!"

5. "You can't do x (go out with your friends, go on vacation, play X-Box) until you lose weight."

6. "You embarrass me."

7. "Get off your fat rear end, put down the clicker and MOVE!"

8. "Aren't you worried about your health?"

9, 'If you keep eating like that you'll… [pick one] blow up like a balloon; get Type 2 diabetes; never get ahead in life!"

10. 'Don't you want boys to like you?"

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Fitsmi's Editor at Large Abby Ellin is the author of Teenage Waistland: A Former Fat Kid Weighs in On Living Large, Losing Weight and How Parents Can (and Can’t) Help, which was published in 2005. Her greatest claim to fame is naming “Karamel Sutra” ice cream for Ben and Jerry's.

Photo courtesy of eschipul

  Published March 23, 2010