Where are her parents?

I am sooooo upset. I have to share this with all of you, my millions of Fit Moms. I hope you can help me make sense of what I saw today at the market.

The scene: I was at the grocery store with my kids. Buying a few things for Taco Tuesday: Extra lean ground turkey, whole wheat tortillas, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. The grocery store was very crowded  and we tried to find the line with the least # of people. We went to checkout #4.

As we walked up to the checkout stand,
I looked to see who was in front of me, it was a little girl about 9 years old.  She was shopping alone. She was very over weight.  When she raised her arms to lift her cart up to the the checker, her shirt pulled up to reveal her tummy that hung way over her shorts. She was 9.

On the checkout stand, she put the following "foods:"

• XL 2 gallon generic brand ice cream chocolate


• 3 cans of whipped cream


• 3 Pizza Pockets


• 2 bags frozen Mashed Potatoes


• 2 bags generic brand frozen pigs in blanket


• 3 bags frozen french fries


• 4 packages of chocolate chip cookies


• 3 liters of regular Coke

She looked very unhappy, very self conscious and lonely.  Why was she at the market alone, unsupervised?  She could be kidnapped!? I envisioned her "parents" leaving her money on the counter and leaving her all alone for the day. Very sad.

My daughter asked me if I thought the little girl was "going home to eat all of that food or if her mommy told her to buy it for the family?"  I told her I hoped it was for a big party for lots of people but that I had a bad feeling she was going to eat it all herself. To make matters worse, the grocery clerk told me that girl comes alone all the time and buys similar junk food all the time.

So many thoughts filled my head at once: Did she live alone? Her happy childhood is filled by sweets? Were her parents obese and unable to get off the couch or bed to go to the grocery store? Did they tell her to buy those foods? Would she end up a diabetic? What kind of life would she have? I thought of all the activities she would miss out on as child.

I took this opportunity to explain to my kids that they are so lucky to have parents who look out for them and care enough about them to say "no." This blog was meant to support Fit Moms who say "no" with love to protect our kids and teach them the proper foods to eat. And what foods are to be enjoyed a little at a time.

Hug your kids-they are so lucky to have you Fit Mom!