Mom's Put on that Swimming Suit

[Anonymous]

This article made me cry. I do put mine on even though I am 51 pounds overweight and feel embarrassed about it. This article made me feel better.

Moms, Put on That Swimsuit

You've got two choices every summer -- to put on a swimsuit or to skip it.

I have a lot of friends who do the latter.

They go to the pool with their kids, but they only put their feet in the pool. They sit on the sidelines, too concerned about what they look like and what others will think to embrace the joy of swimming with their kids.

Or they go to the beach, but stay under the umbrella instead of running into the ocean.

And it makes me incredibly sad.

[ Edited to comply with copyright law. ]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jessica-n-turner/moms-put-on-that-swimsuit_b_5521937.html

[Anonymous]

I'm 40lbs overweight. I wear my bathingsuit anyway and I don't shave.
If you knew what kind of stares and under the breath comments I get.
And you know what? I totally agree with this piece. I was so tired of feeling self conscious. Now I feel ashamed for the person and when I notice they're talking about me I give them a big smile and go back to building memories with my children.
I don't have energy for all this drama so I chose to focus on my kids instead.

[Anonymous]

Who are these mothers who do not put on a swim suit? At our pool every mother has on a suit and is swimming with their kids. Tall, short, fall, thin, everybody is in a suit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40lbs overweight. I wear my bathingsuit anyway and I don't shave.
If you knew what kind of stares and under the breath comments I get.
And you know what? I totally agree with this piece. I was so tired of feeling self conscious. Now I feel ashamed for the person and when I notice they're talking about me I give them a big smile and go back to building memories with my children.
I don't have energy for all this drama so I chose to focus on my kids instead.

I love that you are doing this with your kids. I totally agree about making memories. I am not really overweight (I could stand to lose fifteen pounds or so), but am super self-conscious about my body. Now that I have kids, I wear a bathing suit at the beach and play with my kids. I do this despite my discomfort in the bathing suit, because I want my kids to have fun at the beach and not memories of mom refusing to participate because I was too embarrassed to be seen in a bathing suit in public. I hope this will help them, both girls, be comfortable with themselves. One of the worst things I think I could do as a mom is to pass on my own body image issues so, even though I still have them, I try not to talk about them or exhibit any behavior that would indicate body issues in front of them.

[Anonymous]

Here's the dirty little secret: when your kids are older, they want to play with other kids! And that leaves parents free to do what they want to do - some may want to jump in the water anyway, but many of the women at my pool are like me: relieved to have some down-time to read a book or relax in the sun.

Without kids, I would never go to the pool or the beach; it's just not my thing. I'm thrilled that I don't have to suit up every evening after work just so they can cool down. I watch my kids like a hawk, but I'll keep skipping my swim suit now that I (finally) can!!

[Anonymous]

Only my sitter gets to go to our club with my kids this year, unfortunately. I am in my cube

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Who are these mothers who do not put on a swim suit? At our pool every mother has on a suit and is swimming with their kids. Tall, short, fall, thin, everybody is in a suit.

The moms who dread the pool so much that they opt not to join/go so they don't have to put on a suit.

[Anonymous]

I agree with this piece and I am making a real effort this summer to take my kids swimming more often even though I hate what I look like in a bathing suit.

I even went swimsuit shopping the other day (horror) and had my four-year old DD with me. I put on the first suit, which I thought did look horrible but I didn't say anything like that in front of DD. Although I probably did make a face. DD had a different take on it and exclaimed without any prompting: "Mommy you're beautiful".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I agree with this piece and I am making a real effort this summer to take my kids swimming more often even though I hate what I look like in a bathing suit.

I even went swimsuit shopping the other day (horror) and had my four-year old DD with me. I put on the first suit, which I thought did look horrible but I didn't say anything like that in front of DD. Although I probably did make a face. DD had a different take on it and exclaimed without any prompting: "Mommy you're beautiful".

That is so sweet! Really puts it in perspective.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40lbs overweight. I wear my bathingsuit anyway and I don't shave.
If you knew what kind of stares and under the breath comments I get.
And you know what? I totally agree with this piece. I was so tired of feeling self conscious. Now I feel ashamed for the person and when I notice they're talking about me I give them a big smile and go back to building memories with my children.
I don't have energy for all this drama so I chose to focus on my kids instead.

Why you no shave? That's probably problem

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who are these mothers who do not put on a swim suit? At our pool every mother has on a suit and is swimming with their kids. Tall, short, fall, thin, everybody is in a suit.

The moms who dread the pool so much that they opt not to join/go so they don't have to put on a suit.

At our pool it is only the moms of the younger kids (under age 5 or so, or kids who can't swim yet). My kids want to play with their friends and don't really want to hang out with their parents in the pool. I just kick back and read a book, as do most of the other moms.

[Anonymous]

And would you follow that logic to wearing whatever we damn well please?

Because I wore my old string bikini to the pool yesterday, and realized it didn't fit as well as before I had DC2. My body has changed, belly's wrinkly, breasts are flattened, etc...

However I love the color and feel of this one and hate all my other suits.

[Anonymous]

I love swimming. I'm a little surprised at how many moms at our pool either do not wear a swimsuit or wear a swimsuit under a cover up they have no intention of taking off. Then there are a few that will go in part way, but get upset if their hair gets a little wet (actually these are the only ones that annoy me - you are in a pool - don't get mad if someone splashes you by mistake).

I totally get the parents whose kids have no desire to have them in the pool, but I'll be swimming laps when those days come.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm 40lbs overweight. I wear my bathingsuit anyway and I don't shave.
If you knew what kind of stares and under the breath comments I get.
And you know what? I totally agree with this piece. I was so tired of feeling self conscious. Now I feel ashamed for the person and when I notice they're talking about me I give them a big smile and go back to building memories with my children.
I don't have energy for all this drama so I chose to focus on my kids instead.

Why you no shave? That's probably problem

Why do you care about my body hair?

[Anonymous]

^^bc it makes me want to vomit my lunch.