Mom Is In Shambles After Witnessing Her 6 Y.O. Being Body-Shamed By Chick-fil-A Worker

Putting someone down because of their weight is never okay, but there are still folks who continue to do it. It’s hard to escape body shaming in a society where thinness is still considered the ideal. These negative views also filter down to children, who begin to internalize such messages.

Recently, a restaurant manager body-shamed a young child, and her heartbroken mom shared the experience online. She could not believe that someone would go out of their way to bad-mouth a kid about their size.

More info: TikTok

Chick-fil-A manager criticized for making a 6-year-old feel bad for being “too big” for the restaurant play area instead of speaking to an adult about the issue

Mom Is In Shambles After Witnessing Her 6 Y.O. Being Body-Shamed By Chick-fil-A Worker

Image credits: heatherlynne80

“I never thought that I would have to deal with Chick-fil-A basically body shaming my six-year-old”

Heather Taylor, a mom of three, took to TikTok to share the gut-wrenching moment her 6-year-old daughter came crying to her about being body-shamed at Chick-fil-A. She explained that her kid is “bigger-boned” and tall just like most of their family. So, when the child was playing in the restaurant’s play center, a manager approached her and berated her about being too big.

Unfortunately, Heather had just taken her oldest daughter to the restroom and was not around to witness the scene. The mom even said: “I take responsibility for not noticing the size and weight limit of the play center. That is 100% my fault.” She was in tears, stating that the manager should have spoken to an adult about the issue rather than say such things to a child.

Mom Is In Shambles After Witnessing Her 6 Y.O. Being Body-Shamed By Chick-fil-A Worker

Image credits: heatherlynne80

“You handled this so wrong, and when I went to the director who was also working there, [they] just blew me off”

The tearful mom was worried about the effect of the manager’s words on her daughter. She shared that the girl cried after hearing such mean words and she had to console the child. Heather said, “We wonder why all these girls have such issues with their image. This is why. Because now my six-year-old has a core memory, core memory that I cannot take back. I cannot change for her, of being told she’s too big at the Chick-fil-A.”

Mom Is In Shambles After Witnessing Her 6 Y.O. Being Body-Shamed By Chick-fil-A Worker

Image credits: Mike Mozart (not the actual photo)

You can watch the heartbreaking video here

@heatherlynne80 Chick-fil-a you handled this so wrong. You should never speak to a 6 year child in that way or tone ever. #chickfila #chickfilahacks #bodyshame #bodyimageissues #mamabear #chickfilahacks #dobetter @Chick-fil-A ♬ original sound – Heather Taylor

Heather was worried that her daughter would have a core memory of the time she was body-shamed at Chick-fil-A

Mom Is In Shambles After Witnessing Her 6 Y.O. Being Body-Shamed By Chick-fil-A Worker

Image credits: Zoshua Colah (not the actual photo)

The mom rightly stated that a lot of young girls have issues with their body image because of incidents like this. In fact, research shows that little girls as young as 6 wish they were thinner than their current body size. Society and the media play a big role in the way children feel about themselves and their bodies.

This kind of body dissatisfaction and pressure to be thin has been linked to anxiety and depression, especially among young kids whose bodies don’t match the ideal. Youth who are obese also tend to have lower self-esteem than their peers. Therefore, the manager’s comments toward a 6-year-old who was already taller and bigger-boned might have been extremely hurtful.

Heather could not believe that an adult would go out of their way to put down a young child. In her video she even said, “You’re an adult, you should be ashamed of yourself.” Body image issues can arise due to bullying, comments from friends and family, peer pressure, and even well-meaning adults like this. Such moments can stick with young kids and chip away at their self-esteem.

The mom was also angry that the manager did not speak to an adult about the size restriction of the play area. In a later video, she said that the height limit was 54 inches (4.5 feet) and that her daughter was somewhere in between 54-55 inches tall. She said that if the Chick-fil-A manager had spoken to her about the problem, she’d have taken her kids and left, and her daughter wouldn’t have been scarred by the incident.

Mom Is In Shambles After Witnessing Her 6 Y.O. Being Body-Shamed By Chick-fil-A Worker

Image credits: Power Lai (not the actual photo)

Heather was ready to fight for her daughter and make sure that she got some justice for the kid. In an update, she shared that she had sent an email to Chick-fil-A and left reviews on many of their platforms, but they had not yet replied. She really wanted the restaurant to take accountability for their actions and the impact it had on her daughter.

In a second update, Heather got a response from the owner of that Chick-fil-A location who seemed like he was trying to downplay the incident. He shared that the manager in question had worked there for 12 years and had kids of her own. When they checked restaurant footage (which had only video but no audio) of the incident, it showed the manager gesturing to the little girl in a way that didn’t seem intense or aggressive. The mom was not convinced by the owner’s explanation of the incident, and she felt that the matter had not been resolved.

Unfortunately, she and her daughter did not receive an apology for the incident. But, for the young girl who might still be dealing with anxiety over the harsh words of the manager, she can benefit from some body positive self-talk. The mom could undo some of the damage by helping the daughter develop a compassionate view of her body, which has been shown to reduce anxiousness and unhealthy eating behaviors.

This one small incident might have contributed to some negative self-talk in the child’s mind. Adults should mind what they say, as it can have a big impact on children. Just like Heather, people were enraged by the manager’s behavior, and the video got 796k views and 62k likes. It’s mind-boggling that anyone from Chick-fil-A thought that this was okay.

What would you have done if you were in Heather’s shoes? We’d love to hear your thoughts about the situation.

Commenters sided with the mom and urged her to follow up with the restaurant

Mom Is In Shambles After Witnessing Her 6 Y.O. Being Body-Shamed By Chick-fil-A Worker

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What do you think ?

POST

Captain McSmoot 4 months ago

First of all, they didn't body shame; they enforced the posted weight limit of their play area. They were looking out for the daughter's safety along with the other children. Had the play area suffered any damage resulting in bodily harm, y'all would be coming after Chic-fil-A. Secondly, had this been McDonald's, Burger King, or some other place, her response to this most likely would have been different. Mom is in the wrong. Mom could have prevented ALL OF THIS had she paid attention to the posted rules. Mom didn't do that and mom wasn't around when the staff found out the rules were not being obeyed. Mom wants to pull blame and shame on Chic-fil-A when the blame and shame goes to mom not setting the example of reading posted rules before using property that is not hers.

25points

Insomniac 4 months ago

This could have been easily avoided had the manager spoken to the mother rather than the kid. Mum is at fault for missing the sign, but it's no excuse to humiliate the child. I've worked in fast food, and we adults climbed through the play areas after closing to clean, and we never broke it. A child couldn't. The sign said 54 inches tall, and the girl is, according to the mum, 54-55 inches tall, so she was right on the line as it was. That manager would have had to measure her to know for sure that she was too big, which she obviously did not. She just looked and assumed, conveniently in the few minutes the mum wasn't there. Some adults get a thrill from humiliating kids, and all you need is words, not gestures. Telling a 6-year-old she is too big to be doing what her peers are is indeed body-shaming, no matter your intent. She won't understand safety. All she's going to remember is a stranger saying that there was something wrong with her body so she couldn't play.

2points

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rorschach-penguin 4 months ago (edited)

The mother was in the bathroom. The kid could've gotten hurt or stuck in the five minutes it would've taken to wait for the mother to come. If a six year old is bawling because an adult calmly says "hey, you're too big for the play area", then the kid has been in an unusually toxic environment surrounding body image, which is the parents' issue. Also, given the mother's fixation with social media, I'm betting the kid was actually crying about not getting to go in the play are and the mom is projecting.

3points

Rebekah Fuentes 4 months ago

This is going to be unpopular, but, here it goes. There is no such thing as "big boned", unless of course you have a genetic mutation. Even then, I highly doubt that's what this mother means by that expression. I know what it was like to be a tall child and there were some things I couldn't do by a certain age. That is life. It's messy, can make you angry and is not fair all the time. That is reality. I do agree though, the manager should have addressed this issue with the adult and not the child.

20points

Insomniac 4 months ago

The kid's a little heavier than normal. We all get it. And as someone who has lost a great deal of weight and can now feel and see my bones, I assure you that one person's bones can indeed be thicker and broader than someone else's. My niece is my height; her wrists are half the circumference of mine, and I'm down to skin and bone there. An overweight person often develops a thicker bone structure to support the weight. Either way, there's no reason for a stranger to tell a child that young to stop playing because she's too big and heavy. That is a discussion for the mother. I was a big kid and couldn't do some things either, but I grew up in a time where fat-shaming kids was fine, and hearing from strangers "you're just too fat" was humiliating and traumatic. It felt far better coming from my parents, who would either shelter me from the notion at all or explain it in a way they knew wouldn't hurt me.

7points

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