Tues Tips & Trends

by

Two things before we begin:

1. This is really neither a tip (unless it’s to tip you off that it exists) nor a trend (do we hope it becomes one? that’s for the MizFits to decide).

B. I cant believe this hasnt been discussed ad nauseum but, in my various & sundry travels on the information superhighway, I havent seen it (please to note I didnt search much. if it hath been done to death please to disregard lameass post)

All that to say, why has it taken me so long to discover Full Mouse Empty Mouse?!

(To know the MizFit in real life is to know that she is a frustrated picture book writer. So frustrated, in fact, that Im oft seen signing my name MizFit SeussSilversteinPrelutsky—-but I digress…)

Have you not seen it yet either?

Bottom line is it’s a picture book (targeting the w-i-d-e age range of 5-12) which discusses eating disorders using the mice as vehicles to explain the concepts to children.

These mice live under constant stress (fear of cat, mousetraps etc.) and in order to cope with these stresses they turn to food.

The boy mouse? He overeats to deal with his anxiety.

The girl mouse? She starves herself to be small /try and feel safe.

(the MizFit mouse? she lifts weights, does push ups & sit ups, becomes badass and challenges the cat to a duel—I guess that’s in book two: Muscular Mouse Fraidy Cat)

Boy mouse ends up being teased for being fat while girl mouse shockingly (*wink*) is praised for her teeny, tiny body.

Yada Yada Yada their wise old Aunt teaches them that they should listen to their bodies and, essentially, try and get their needs met in other fashions.

Now, I know that the majority of us havent had the chance to read this yet (have you read it? PLEASE to yammer in the comments), but what’s *your* gut reaction?

Is a picture book a the proper medium to trigger adult-child discussions about body size, weightism, the value of sharing feelings, and the problems that arise when anyone uses food to cope with life?

While initially I thought NO these books sprung to mind and perhaps the answer is yes.**

what do you think?

(oh, and if you happen to have an extra 1005.00 in yer pocket you can buy the rights to perform the MUSICAL of the book. The price includes scripts, handouts, and a cd)

**this one? I wont touch with a ten foot pole.

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Comments

  1. Oh lord, that beautiful mommy book makes me sick to my stomach.

    It seems to me that the best way to teach children to live healthy, listen to their bodies, and take care of themselves is to lead by example. If the question comes up, address it then, right? I just don’t think giving a 6 year old a book in which the skinny mouse is praised and the fat mouse made fun of really sets forth the moral the authors intended. Then again, I’ve only read the synopsis.

    But! In this day and age where skinny is so “in” maybe eating disorders should be addressed in younger children, so they can be knowledgeable and armed to make the right decision. I dunno, it’s a sticky situation.

  2. Oooooh. And I might could have misconveyed OR erred on the too benevolent side as I saw it as a mirror to our society and not praising of the empty mouse.

    Interesting!

    Either way I’m more of the initiate when appropriate and not across the board.

    ESPECIALLY at 4 or 5.

    (Any writers out there? To this one that age span is far too great. Shooting bullets in the dark vs a focused target market)

    Not that I have ANY opinions on the matter….
    😉

    M.

  3. I TOTALLY want to get something like Full Mouse Empty Mouse for my niece–the media’s message that THIN=BEAUTIFUL / SUCCESSFUL / STRONG / GOOD is so overwhelming. I really worry about kids growing up exposed to all this crap!

  4. Eek. The whole thing makes me incredibly uncomfortable. Especially since I struggled with the whole obsessive working out eating disorder. Can’t I just stick to Shrek for now?

  5. Gena – interesting point, I hadn’t thought of it that way.
    MizFit – great post! The way we talk to our children says a lot about us I think. It forces us to distill complex problems to their very essence thereby stripping them of all of the rationalizations and smokescreens we use.

  6. I LOVE that you’re a picture book writer, frustrated or not… I did children’s programming at a public library for years and could never get enough witty picture books! My good friend and I were just talking about the mommy plastic surgery book. So disturbing!

    I’m definitely gonna see if I can get this book ordered for out library system…

  7. I think I’d have to flip through it before I could decide, but from your synopsis I’d say it sounds like it could just confuse younger children about which parts of an eating disorder are actually bad, because the idea of praise could still sound desirable. Again, I think I’d need to see it in person.

    And the Beautiful Mommy book? Holy crap.

  8. from just a quick glance, I actually really like the mouse concept. Younger kids often need to learn by metaphor and I think this takes it a step further but still stays “safe” enough so as to not freak little kids out. You know how we learned all about giving from Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree,” but perhaps at the time didn’t realize the lesson being instilled? I think a similar thing could be going on here. I found this excerpt from the book and think it’s really strong:

    Sally Rose did the reverse-
    Avoiding food—but she felt worse!
    Fearing danger behind every door,
    She moved and moved, then moved some more.
    “Perhaps if I am small,” thought she,
    “I’ll be safe as I can be.
    And maybe if I disappear,
    No cat or dog will find me here.”

    Sally’s body grew too thin,
    But it turned out that thin was “in.”
    So other mice said she looked great!
    While Sally pushed away her plate.
    But as she turned to skin and bone,
    She spent more of her time alone.
    The pain inside her grew and grew,
    But other mice, they never knew.

  9. well at first I was inclined to say NO…that I’m not sure I would use this book to educate my kids if I had any! I tend to air on the side of ask and I’ll tell so if I notice it happening I might bring it up at a more appropriate stage in a kid’s life but at 5?? and voluntarily?? I just worry that the message might get all mixed up in there somewhere!

    Its the same point I think about sex and children’s edu…we try so hard to educate about sex and sex ed that a lot of times, kids know WAYYY more than they ever wanted to know to begin with at a time thats inappropriate which prompts them to be more curious early on…and then this spreads across society and we have 10 year olds doing things that a decade ago, ten year olds would have never heard about!

    But Weighting game does make a good point….!

    The plastic surgery one…OH MY!

  10. I’m torn.
    I agree with you leslie (entirely. Especially the giving tree example) but also think that this is a book which would need parental accompaniment (sp? I’m thumbtyping) and is perhaps TOO YOUNG for their younger listed age range.

    For utilization in a therapy session? Yes.

    For random shovage in a toddler book shelf? I think not.

    I’m the mom of a late talker and wonder if certain pieces might stick in a childs mind (not in a good way) and not all children can express that fear/worry.

    I’d love a copy of the book.

    I may recontact them about a donation (even an old copy or ‘second’) or just give in an purchase.

    M.

  11. Lots of thoughts here. But I need to teach in 25 minutes, so here’s the digest:
    Mouse book: NO. Too much for the little ones, not enough for the big ones.
    Sperm book: hilarious. And disturbing.
    Plastic surgery book: YIKES.

    General: I want to teach my child (soon to be childREN) positively, not negatively. As in, “these are good ways to be,” not “these are bad ways to be.”

  12. When I was in the fourth grade we had 2 mice, one we fed healthy food and the other junk food. We’d weigh them every week and observe their behavior. I’m wondering if that’s a common class project and where the idea for this book came from…

  13. oh my. rushing out but had to say what happened to the good ole days of just “Are You There God, It’s Me, Margaret??”.

    And I’m totally getting the plastic surgery book for the LAUGHS!

  14. I still don’t know how you find all these things! The Mouse book holds more promise than I originally thought. I have an 8 year old who worries about the size of his thighs and frets about his stomach. He is not even remotely chubby. I worry that we have a serious problem in the making, so maybe books like the mouse book early on will help.

    The sperm book? I’ve had babies and still don’t really want to know about where the sperm goes!

    Plastic surgery book? God help us.

  15. i think (as a recovered ED-er and current FITNESS GURU*my words but feel free to use them as well** plus volunteering with teens with EDs) this book is a good try but misses the mark. i havent read it, but you cant put adult feelings and situations on a child. even as a teen, when i was starving, and then binging and purging, it didnt occur to me “Oh, I am doing this in order to shrink away from my mother who’s constant tyraids are unpredictable. If i stop eating I will be able to completely turn inward and only deal with my hunger, and over come it, the only thing i can control..” I was thinking, “If Im skinny, I will be beautiful and people will be jealous of me because they have to eat when i dont.” When it reaches the point where you dont have to try anymore is when it gets scary.
    We should teach these children about all the things your body can do for you, instead of focusing on how it looks.

  16. I love reading all of your insights and find myself nodding in agreement (including, Kelly T, when you said youre a fitness guru!!)

    I was kidding —but not really—about musclar mouse. fraidy cat.

    I had a friend who was a powerlifter once whose physique was NOT what society rewarded.

    she was strong as hell but, in clothes, you’d never be able to tell she wasnt (HER WORDS) thicky thick.

    she adored her bod because of the competitions it had won for her.

    all goes back to your comment, Heather.

    M.

  17. I had a patient who had major facial re-constructive surgery who was concerned that her daughter wouldn’t recognize her new mommy! At a post up exam she brought in a drawing of her, her daughter had done with the “I love you, Mommy.” Not to worry, children, like the fox in “The Little Prince,” see clearly with the heart 🙂

  19. I always wanna chase after you, Dr J, yelling:

    WAIT, MORE PLEASE!

    (and I love the little prince)

    M.

  20. Definitely would want a parent to be reading and explaining it all. I’d never heard of this mouse book before but I read the exercpt on the website and I think it looks great. I’d be really interested in reading the whole book… that’s such a fascinating idea.

    Kids learn stuff fast, and they’re learning things at a younger and younger age. I wouldn’t want to give this book to a five year old, but even just a little bit older I think that they’d be ready (it’s REALLY sad how fast kids today are acting like teenagers). If the book was read and explained by a parent, then they could really benefit. I think it’s likely that a lot of eating disorders crop up because of a lack of discussion about it (think about the study that says that familys that eat dinner together just a few times a week have a better relationship with each other and with food and body image).

    As for that plastic surgery book? Disgusting! HOW has that been published??

  23. Whoa! I would have never believed there was such a book as “Where Willy Went” had I not clicked the link and seen it with my own eyes. Jeez, he’s wearing swim goggles and everything. LOL!

    In light of the mouse book, I like the concept. It’s very timely to today’s issues of body image among kids. However, I’m not sure if this is the right way to tackle it.

    First the 5 to 12 age rance is very broad. A five-year-old may appreciate the pictures and rhyming, but won’t quite grasp the concept of the eating disorder.

    An older child would get the concept, but if the book is too babyish, forget it. Remember there are 12 -year-olds devouring Gossip Girls books and Elle Girl magazines like they were candy.

    I think this book would help if it were introduced at the right time (not too early and not too late) by an aware and involved parent. Maybe around ages 7 to 10? Definitely as Weighting Game says “Not something to just toss into the book bin.”

    Again…as always… it comes down to the parents.

  26. Wow, I have not heard of any of these books. Certainly not the kind of books lining my girls shelves!
    I have always just tried to enforce healthy eating, moderation and being active with my kids. I do believe they follow by example.
    It is scary nowadays, my daugther was in grade 2 when she came home and asked me if she was fat – and she is a STICK!! So, it does start young. I would hope anyone reading this book would also talk to their child a lot about it as they read it together.
    My daughter is in grade 4 now and they don’t feed and weigh mice… The big push is in Wellness talking about “Go Foods”, “Whoa Foods” reading labels, that kind of thing.
    And for the record “Are You There God, It’s Me Margaret?” is still in school libraries and kids are still reading it!

  27. I am laughing hysterically over the Where willy went book! As for the mouse book, I don’t like it at all, even if read by a parent. It just doesn’t sit well with me, and maybe it is something I have to read.

  28. I think the age range is way too wide. I also believe in addressing issues when the issue comes up in any form. We watch our children and can see or hear them say things that will trigger a discussion. As far as their weight and appearance many times they start my listening and watching us (moms) so we lead by example and hope the pick up all the good. Then the media with all the skinny girls showing more than they should…it really is crazy and difficult sometimes. I don’t think I would read this book to my 6 year old unless she started talking about being fat (which she’s not). My 14 girl says she has a fat belly (which she doesn’t) but that worries me sometimes. She has reassured me that of all things she could never “not eat” because she loves food so I should not worry about that. She said she’ll just start running or swimming again. Whew!!

  29. Hmm… I get “bad vibes” from the mouse book. I understand what message is trying to be conveyed, but something about it just doesn’t sit right with me. I don’t know that very young kids even should be thinking about potential eating disorders. Whatever happened to just being a kid – playing, being active, eating, and not worrying about weight?

    “Where’s Willy” is hilarious! Kinda weird in a way too!

  30. Bag Lady, such restraint!
    Just because I’m not a parent doesn’t stop me from having opinions — especially about the plastic surgery book!

  31. Ohhhh this is a tough one. On one hand I get it but then part of me says aren’t we perpetrating the problem. I agree with previous commenters… Example, example, example!!!

    I know my bad body image came from a father who pointed out my flaws at a young age. He was obsessed about weight so I become obsessed by weight. BIG no no.

    By the way I want to ask you a muscle question and I’m not sure if you wrote about it before (too lazy to look through your archives). It’s the tone vs bulk topic. I’ll shoot it to you in an email.

    Oh! and how does this guest chef thing work? :~P

  32. I like what Gena said about being a living healthy example to kids. Books can be interpreted in so many ways which is part of the beauty of the art. For kids and their growing and evolving minds, I would think that living examples would prove most impactful.

  33. “For utilization in a therapy session? Yes.

    For random shovage in a toddler book shelf? I think not.”

    Ding Ding Ding!

    That’s exactly how I feel.

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