Everyone in my immediate family is normal/healthy sized except for me, so my new focus on losing weight and being more active is completely public knowledge around here, lol.
My children are elementary and soon to be middle school aged. We have been eating healthier as a family since I focused on my own weight loss starting about 4 months or so ago. They are still young enough to really get enthusiastic about new family routines, which is a huge help. They have both told me there are proud of me
I let them "pick your green" vegetable (Quelle horreur!!) at dinner at night to make it kind of a game. They also get to choose which fruit serving they want once per day. I buy water bottles weekly at the grocery store - I take a Sharpie and write their name on a bottle and that's the bottle they sip out of from the refrigerator. I also have a big shallow fruit dish that I have stocked with different types of breakfast and granola bars, graham crackers, etc., and we call it the healthy snack basket. We do a formal "last snack" about an hour before bed where they get to pick out a healthy snack themselves. I know all of this is rather elementary, lol, and I don't even know if I'm doing things right, but I'm trying to introduce an element of their making their own choices about healthy food. I'm really hoping these routines will help them later in life!
My daughter is definitely at that age where I want to strengthen, not weaken, her self esteem and self worth as she gets close to entering her teen years. What I tell her is that she is beautiful and her diet is fine, but let's ramp up the movin' and groovin'. I'll push them out the front door to ride bikes, or take them to swim at the pool, or just run around at the park. A decent diet plus an active childhood will take care of any size concerns over time. I feel absolutely no need to harp on her for what she eats. I do not comment on her physical appearance ever in a negative way. I'm just keeping her busy as well as having designated meal times to keep her from eating out of boredom.
I live in a smallish town in the midwest, and the majority of people and a large percentage of children are obese. While not a great situation, obviously, the upside is that children who are chubby aren't uncommon at all. There isn't a lot of teasing about weight because it's almost considered pretty much normal.
I also have taught my children sensitivity about obese people. I tell them loveable people come in all sizes, like me, lol, I'm their obese Mom! Whenever they create an avatar of me for fun on their various video games or gaming systems, they always make me uber girly and pretty
So very sweet. Beauty comes in all shapes and sizes is something else I teach them.