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A trip to Badminton with …

May 9, 2017 by Molly 24 Comments

Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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Ten years ago I read a thread on Mumsnet slating a

Ten years ago I read a thread on Mumsnet slating a mum spotted at a park allowing her toddler to eat a sausage roll. It was at that point I realised the huge judgements made around food and parenting, and how classism, over-simplified ideas of health and people’s’ own parenting insecurities are often tied up in the assumptions we make about how people feed their kids.
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A few years after that I found myself knee deep in an “avocado chocolate cake” recipe using gram flour because I’d convinced myself I was a terrible mum for allowing my child to eat sugar. I lapped up the “clean eating”, “paleo”, “raw food” rhetoric and essentially put my kid on a diet of restriction, thinking I was just introducing my family to “healthy living” (it’s not a diet! it’s a lifestyle! 😐).
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I’m glad I woke up and realised what I was doing, but I’m angry I got sucked into it in the first place. If you’re looking to raise kids with a peaceful and happy relationship with food then I did a Live last week on this subject with @bub.appetit (also on here as @laurathomasphd and @intuitiveeatingldn).
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It’s nuanced stuff so I recommend investing an hour with a cup of tea to really soak it up. And there’s obviously a whole chapter in my book #BodyHappyKids about raising happy eaters, because the way we approach food and the language we use around it can have a huge impact on how kids feel about their bodies. For that chapter I interviewed @sarahdempsternutrition and @thenutritiontea - and a nutritionist from @ellyn_satter_institute peer reviewed it too.
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I guess what I’m trying to say is to get your kids’ feeding info from people who are actually qualified in this subject. Not random angry people spouting off about sausage rolls on the internet 🙄
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[Image description: Molly and her daughter stand against a pink wall. Molly has pink hair and her daughter is holding a pink lollipop.]

Note to self: don’t become so focused on where y

Note to self: don’t become so focused on where you want to go that you lose sight of how far you’ve come ✨
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Trying this thing where I remind myself of what I’ve done every time I start getting frustrated and cross with myself that I’m still not where I want to be.
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Leaning in to the idea that perhaps I’m exactly where I’m meant to be right now, and that while ambition, passion, dedication and drive is OK it’s also OK to stop every now and then because running myself into the ground isn’t good for anyone - least of all, me.
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Tweets / posts: @ch32 @tylerjmccall (and the list is a note on my phone) 💛
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[Image description: Slide one - a multicoloured square with a screenshot overlaid from Charlotte Hole which reads “we’re always quick to big up our besties but when it comes to talking about ourselves we go blank and play down our achievements. wild. note to self: big yourself up more. Full text in Alt Text.]

My book is one month old today! 🥳 This T’shir

My book is one month old today! 🥳 This T’shirt was a publication day present from my mum and dad. They’d had the @charliemackesy quote printed on it for me. It says: “Sometimes all we feel is tired and frightened, but there is more strength and love in us than you can possibly imagine.” This quote basically sums up the past year for me. I thought I’d share here in case it means something to you, too ❤️
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Thank you for all your support for the book this past month. Publishing in a pandemic is tough, especially when you’re not a celeb or an influencer with millions of Instagram followers. So for my book to have had the reception it’s had is bloody wonderful. I honestly wasn’t expecting it.
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But the biggest thank you goes to you, because without you sharing it, recommending it, reviewing it (Amazon reviews are so important - they help Amazon decide whether to recommend it to new people!) it wouldn’t be reaching half as many people as it is.
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I thought I’d share some of the messages, comments and reviews here because I’m not very good at celebrating my achievements but that’s something I’m working on, so here goes.
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Also, in case you’re after more support in raising kids who are friends with their bodies, and you don’t have the book yet, this is to let you know we have a special thing over at @bodyhappyorg to celebrate the book‘s birthday. You can get both the book and Body Happy Kids Masterclass for £30, for a limited time. (The Masterclass is £24.99 so with this offer you effectively get the book for a fiver!)
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Ok I’ll stop rambling now. Thank you thank you thank you 💖
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[Image description: Molly is kneeling on her bed, wearing a T’shirt with a Charlie Mackesy quote. She has bright pink hair and is smiling. Full text for slides in Alt Text.]

My favourite thing about this photo is the way the

My favourite thing about this photo is the way the sunlight catches the hairs on my arm ✨✨✨
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[Image description: Molly is standing on a beach wearing a brightly coloured swimsuit with a black woolly hat. It’s early morning and the sunlight is golden. Molly is smiling.]

One from the weekend. Swipe to see me showing ever

One from the weekend. Swipe to see me showing everyone up on the obstacle course. Like Eunice Huthart in the 1994 Gladiators final. (If you know, you know 👀)
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I was looking back at these videos and photos thinking what a shame it would be if I didn’t have a record of me enjoying this day with the kids. Not a record of posed photos looking awkward but a record of real, lived moments, being silly and not giving a crap what I look like. The fun stuff, basically.
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I wish I had more of these types of moments on record from when the girls were tiny. Our first holiday abroad there isn’t one pic of me in the pool with my kids or messing around on the beach. It’s only posed photos where I’m holding my body “just so”, or pics where I’m the one behind the camera.
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Diet culture doesn’t just steal our brain space and body freedom, it steals the memories and chance to record those memories for years to come too.
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[Image description: Molly and her daughters stand in a muddy field with an obstacle course behind them. They are covered head to toe in mud and Molly’s t’shirt is ripped. They are all laughing. Full descriptions of all slides in Alt Text.]

This is what advocating looks like as a parent. So

This is what advocating looks like as a parent. So often I get messages from people frustrated at weight stigma, potentially harmful messages around food or body ideals in school, asking what they can do. THIS is what you can do! Raise awareness of the issue and tell your school about the resources and support available to them in this area at @bodyhappyorg
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The Women and Equalities Commission recently found 66% of children feel bad about their bodies most of the time.
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Despite the fact that positive body image is a key foundation for kids’ health and well-being, that it affects their academic attainment (yes really) and is a safeguarding issue too, unfortunately it’s still a subject teachers and youth leaders get little support with.
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This is where you, as parents and allies for the kids in your care come in!
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There’s a @bodyhappyorg teacher / youth leader workshop taking place this Thursday hosted by @amysnellingpt with spaces left. It’s a 90 minute interactive workshop about body image and how to create a body happy setting for the kids in your care to thrive in.
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We are running workshops every single month and now have an extended 2 hour option we deliver to entire school staff. It comes with a detailed workshop notes booklet, activity pack and media literacy toolkit. It’s very, very good.
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We also have body image teaching resources (lesson plans, books, learning activities, display resources) - and until Friday there’s 40% off all of those.
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We’re a social enterprise with no big fancy marketing budget. This is why you helping to spread the word about our work is more important than ever. (And don’t forget - we have resources and support for parents too!)
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Go to the Free Resources page on the @bodyhappyorg website to download our info pack and letter template to send to your school. THANK YOU 🙏
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