Two 10-month-oldbabies, Santiago Mendoza and Isabela Caicedo, may be two of the youngest kids to ever be sent to weight loss "camp." Specifically, the obese babies -- who weigh a dangerous, collective 91 pounds -- are now participating in a special weight loss program run by Colombian health charity Gorditos de Corazon (translates Chubby Heart). Santiago's mother, Eunice Fandiño, got in touch with the foundation earlier this year, after his weight shot to 42 pounds at just 8 months old. And after she saw Santiago on TV, Isabela's mother Niyered Martinez also reached out for help.
Fandiño has said that she blames her own "ignorance" led to her son's worrisome weight, because every time he cried, she'd give him food or milk to pacify him. Still, both she and Martinez deserve to be celebrated for swallowing their pride and asking for help.
Not every parent would be able to make the sacrifice, throw up their hands, and willingly hand their child off to a specialist. Or any similarly challenging situation that has spiraled out of control, for that matter. We're often conditioned to think that moms should do their best impression of Scandal's Olivia Pope and "handle" any distressful situation that arises. But sometimes, doing right by your kid means admitting you can't handle it alone and that you need backup or even full-on intervention from an expert.
Good for these moms for doing exactly that! What their children are learning now from the foundation may just be the beginning of a lifelong journey of better health for their whole families. But with this initial plea for guidance, they've already set the stage for a better shot at staying on track. And continuing to remember that "it takes a village," and there's no shame in that, may very well be the key to their children's well-being in the long-haul.
What was an instance in which you swallowed your pride and asked someone else to help with a problem your child was having?
See this video on The Stir by CafeMom.