A proud Australian mother revealed the letter her eight-year-old daughter wrote after a classmate called her ‘fat’.
Mother-of-four Mel Watts, who blogs under the moniker The Modern Mumma, shared a letter penned by her eldest daughter, Ivie, in a response to a friend of hers calling her ‘fat’ as a joke.
Proud mother Mel, who admitted she had sometimes worried she was raising her children the right way, said she was proud Ivie stood her ground and said she ‘loved’ who she was and was not going to change.
Australian mother and blogger Mel Watts, who writes about parenting under the moniker The Modern Mumma, said she was proud of her eight-year-old daughter Ivie, who wrote a letter saying she loved herself after a classmate called her fat (Mel and Iivie)
In the letter, Ivie said she did not care how heavy she was, but asked the classmate to stop calling her ‘fat’, because she didn’t like it – the girls have since reconciled
The letter was shared by Mel on Facebook, where it quickly went viral, Bored Panda reported.
People on Facebook praised the eight-year-old’s maturity, as well as Mel and her partner Nolan’s parenting skills.
In the letter, Ivie wrote: ‘Why would you say it [‘You’re fat’] to me, I don’t like it. I feel
The eight-year-old went on: ‘But this is my body, and I love who I am and I will never change it and I don’t care what other people or you think of myself.
‘I am beautiful and I don’t care how heavy I am, so please just stop. I don’t like it.’
Ivie still signed the letter with a heart before she sent it to her friend. Her mother shared the letter with the caption: ‘There are many moments I have worried that my parenting style isn’t working, some of my kids are harder to parent than the next, some are more sensitive and some are much stronger in certain aspects.’
She continued: ‘This letter Ivie wrote to a friend who used an unkind name to describe Ivie, it wasn’t meant in a nasty way, I think it was more of a conversation but the one word stuck with her. It made her feel uncomfortable, stand on scales at home and question her body shape,’ the mother-of-four went on.
People praised Ivie’s sense of maturity after Mel shared her letter online. The eight-year-old still signed her letter with a heart
‘Now the other child involved is a different personality to Ivie, a little stronger and has a different sense of humour to sensitive Ivie. Both little girls, and both learning their way in the world.
Mel also insisted she did not want to shame the child and that the situation had been dealt with appropriately. She went on to talk about the letter her daughter wrote.
‘The way Ivie wrote “but this is my body, and I love who I am. I’ll never change it and I don’t care what you or other people think about myself I know my mummy and dads and family love me,”’
‘I’m done. I have mastered parenting and everything else will [be] easy right?’, Mel joked.
‘I have always taught my kids to love their bodies, it’s their only body and their only chance to live a Beautiful life. I tell them they need to respect it and their body deserves the respect back,’ Mel said.
Mel with three of her children, including Ivie (top left) and her husband Nolan. Mel admitted she sometimes wondered whether her way of parenting was effective, but said she was reassured by the letter Ivie wrote, which displayed confidence and self-love
Mell said she was very proud of her daughter, and insisted she did not want to shame the other little girl, who was also learning to navigate the world
The blogger said her daughter not only got her point across to her friend, the two little girls also reconciled after airing out their issues.
‘I’m so proud of Ivie for standing up for her body, and her feelings. I’m also extremely happy that the other girl acknowledged that Ivies feelings were hurt – they were friends again afterward,’ she said.
‘She’s still learning to write and I’m so proud how far she’s come this year,’ the proud mother added.
People were impressed by the maturity displayed by the eight-year-old child as she resolved her issues with her friend by expressing how it made her feel.
People applauded Ivie’s letter, saying it was a great testament to Mel’s parenting, and that the eight-year-old was ‘fabulous’
They were also happy that the eight-year-old said she loved her body and was not going to change.
‘Love that she put the love heart at the end. All we can do is teach our kids to treat everyone equally. Unfortunately some parents so care how their kids speak,’ one said.
‘This is amazing. I love that she is advocating for herself and declaring her self love, and that she’s so confident in her families love for her,’ said another.
‘You should be soo soo proud,’ another penned.
‘What a beautiful letter from a fabulous little girl! I’m so glad that she has already learnt this. She is growing up to be so strong and confident,’ one wrote.
‘What a proud parenting moment! go Ivie,’ another said.
‘Amazing parenting moment! Look at her go,’ one applauded.
‘Parenting done right You should be so proud,’ one said.
‘Go Ivie and excellent parenting Mel and Nolan,’ one wrote.
‘Well done Miss Ivie So proud of you,’ another cheered.