Hey, little two year old! You are getting FAT!

At the playgroup there are a few fathers who are the stay home part of their partnerships. Most of the fathers are cool and all that, and one dad in particular has struck me as being very cool indeed. And then there is one father who just rubs me the wrong way. He seems kind of creepy. He makes a sickly sweet point of greeting each child by name with a “I’m so clever to remember each and every one of these twenty five children’s names” voice, at every playgroup. He never sticks around to help tidy up afterwards and he seems to be overbearing to his daughter. But more than that, it’s a comment he made one time. I know, I know... one remark, overheard one time, does not mean he says stuff like it all the time, but I wonder.

The comment was, “Daughter! Come here! Don’t hang around the snack table! We don’t want you to grow up and be 200 pounds now, do we?”

Nice Dad! Nice way to get an eating disorder established! Um, news flash! Girls are freaking sensitive! Next time, you should just tell her that those footie pyjamas make her look fat, and really get her started. Number one, she is hanging around the snack table because, all the other kids are there, number two, it’s 11:00 in the morning and she might actually be, umm...hungry and number three, hello! People, this child is only TWO AND A HALF. Besides, she's so thin her little neck can barely support her head, which trembles like a daisy on a stem. It makes me wonder what some people are thinking.

A few weeks later it was 200 pound Dad's turn to bring snacks. When I saw him heading towards the infamous snack table, I got all worried. My children are excellent trenchermen as a rule, and I let them enjoy as many healthy snacks as they so desire. As long as they are hydrogenated fat free, high fructose corn syrup free and egg free as well. No, I'm not totally insane, one of the twins has allergies. Anyway, I saw Big Daddy with a bag of "Snacks" and I thought, "Oh dear. Since he hates food so much, we'll be lucky to get a glass of water and a dog biscuit each."

Actually, he brought grapes.