The internet can’t get enough of a woman in the US who told her daughter stretch marks are “glitter stripes” before posting the exchange to Facebook.
Mother of two Allison Kimmney in Florida was laying by the pool with her daughter when the four-year-old asked “why is your tummy big mama?”
Kimmney saw it as an opportunity to teach her little girl some self-love. This is how it went down:
Me: “Oh those are my stretch marks!”
Her: “Where do they come from?”
Me: “Well when I was a little older than you, I got some stripes when I grew really fast! And some of these stripes are from when I had you growing in my tummy.”
Exercise: Do you want to be fit? Or do you want to be thin? Post continues below.
She didn’t stop there.
Kimmney made her stretch marks sound like something to be proud of, impressed by. A message so rarely seen or heard in media or in change rooms or in conversations between girlfriends or, even, mothers and daughters.
Me: “They are shiny and sparkly, aren’t they pretty?”
Her: “Yes, I like this one the best, it’s so glittery. When can I get some?”
Me: “Oh you will get your glitter stripes when you get a little bit older baby!”
Kimmney shared the conversation on Facebook, alongside a reminder to other mothers: “It matters how we talk to our babies about our bodies.”
The post has attracted more than 150,000 likes, and has been shared more than 70,000 times.
Most heartrendingly, the comments on the post are examples of other mother-daughter lessons, and sometimes the other way around. Showing how stretch marks and post-pregnancy bellies and cellulite are only “problematic” because we think them so.
What a beautiful lesson for all little girls and boys out there: Glitter strips are nothing to be afraid of.
