A torn man has sought help on the internet after his wife accused him of fat-shaming their daughter for trying to help her lose weight.
As an unnamed dad revealed in his Reddit post, he started running with his daughter to help her lose weight and promote a healthy lifestyle after the 12-year-old put on extra weight during the lockdown.
According to the father, his daughter was very active in the past which is why he decided to encourage her to run with him so that she wouldn’t forget about the need for physical exercise.
“I have noticed she will stay on the couch all day watching TV, play video games or just do much of nothing. Cause of this she is gaining very noticeable weight,” the father wrote.
“I created the father-daughter walk to get her moving a bit. We talk about the day, what’s going on, things we would like to do and so on for 30 minutes.
“Slowly I turned the walk into a jog then a run. Susan struggled some at first but now she can keep up with me. I love it since she is getting a bit of workout every day and I get to spend time with her.”
While he and the daughter allegedly both enjoy their workouts, the man’s wife wasn’t thrilled by the sudden change in her daughter’s schedule.
As the father added, his wife accused him of fat-shaming their daughter for helping her maintain her figure. To make matters worse, the mother told their daughter she didn’t have to exercise and encouraged her to watch TV instead.
“She confronted me saying I was fat-shaming our daughter and forcing her to exercise when she’s a kid! Kids are supposed to watch TV and eat junk food!” the dad added.
“She’s telling Susan she doesn’t have to come for a run with me, buys large amounts of Susan’s favorite snacks and is encouraging her to binge watch TV and ‘just be a kid.’ She says I’m trying to push lifestyle habits onto my daughter and I’m embarrassed of her!”
After asking Reddit for advice, the man quickly received loads of support from all sides, whereas the majority of people suggested the mother was in the wrong for feeding their daughter junk food and neglecting the need for physical recreation.
“This is a great thing you’re doing, especially because your daughter seems to enjoy it. I was obese my whole childhood and would have killed for someone to help me,” someone wrote.
“It seems her mother is jealous of the time and attention you are giving your daughter,” another one suggested.
One person wrote: “How is you going for a run ‘pushing lifestyle habits’ on her, but mom buying junk food isn’t? You didn’t fat shame her. You created an activity for both of you to do together and unless you left significant facts out, she likes it. A healthy, active lifestyle is the best thing to ‘push’ on your kid.”
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