The Country School is an independent, coeducational, Pre-K through 8 school founded in 1934.
News
From the Director of the Upper School Life Skills Program
Every year, when I discuss nutrition, setting goals, and body image, I am amazed at the prior knowledge my students possess when they enter the classroom. Alternately, I am concerned about the mindset of some of the students as well.
Children’s weights had been rising for decades now. This has as much to do with technological trends as anything else - less active kids. This trend is beginning to level off. (Childhood Obesity: The State of Obesity. [2016, November]) While this sounds like great news, what about the diet-psychology involved? What about the body-image involved when our children directly or indirectly inherit our diet-mentality or the overwhelming body-image pressures of cultural images attacking them daily. Yes, I used the word, “attacking.”
As a teacher and mother, I have learned that our children don’t model what they are told nearly so much as they model what they see and the energy around them. Many adults who smoke had parents who smoked. No matter what parents and teachers may have said about the dangers of smoking, they modeled what they saw and the energy and “proof of experience” around them. The same is true of inheriting the diet-mentality and its closely-connected cousin of body-image issues. We can tell our children to love and accept their bodies and appreciate food abundance, but if all they see is us “dieting” and focused on our “body” – this is the energy and experience that will likely affect them and they will model.
Are we aware of our eating behavior or the ways in which we talk about our bodies around our children? Together, these two elements of a child’s intimate surroundings can set them on a path to eating disorders or body-image issues inherited from well-meaning parents. When our children see us dieting - starving, denying food - overexercising and always commenting negatively about our own bodies – this is what they will grow up modeling, beyond anything they are told. Of course, we all want what is the best for our children. But, in the name of, “caring,” “fitness,” and “setting a good example,” some of us over-reach and mistakenly encourage dieting, because we think it will help our children succeed in life – teach them commitment, discipline and be thin in a world that judges and rewards it. Although this sounds logical, we must consider that we may be projecting our own body dissatisfaction onto our children.
Parents who distrust their own appetites may mistakenly distrust their children’s appetites and become over-involved in our own child’s eating patterns, trying to make them eat this or that, and, in particular, portions. Of course we want our children to make healthy food choices, but imposing eating behavior on children ignores the importance of them finding out their own individual preferences and their desire for overall autonomy and self- control. We dampen this natural process when we impose our own diet-mentality onto our children. Metabolically now – just like many of us – the result is that our children may no longer be able to recognize their natural hunger and satiation cues. Always keep in mind that our children are going through growth spurts and changes during puberty. They are much more active. Their bodies are very different from ours. Our metabolism has slowed with age, and we require much less energy during our work day.
I know I have given you a tremendous amount to think about and consider. I hope you will take the time to do so. I also know there may be a tendency and desire to want to emotionally “defend” or “react” to a lot of what I have written. Just try to “consider” this objectively for the time being. Otherwise all of us may continue to hand down self-destructive notions and imprints of food/eating/weight and body-issues for generations to come.
Recent News
List of 5 news stories.
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Kindergarten Students Serving Others!
Kindergarteners have been participating in a 3 part HOHO (Helping Others; Helping Ourselves) project lead by Ferris and Laura Butler. Students packed boxes to be shipped to veterans and their families. The boxeswere filled with child friendly, donated items. Also in the boxes were handwritten letters from the students along with a handmade American flag craft. The Butlers carefully orchestrated this project, and we are very grateful for their time and efforts. -
Spring Athletic Award Winners
Congratulations to all our spring athletics award winners and to all our Cougar athletes who participated in sports and clubs! This spring, TCS offered Boys’ and Girls’ Lacrosse, Pickleball Club, Running Club, and Volleyball Club. Providing so many athletic opportunities took a village—thank you to our amazing coaches, volunteers, and parent drivers for making it all possible! And thank you to our students for setting an example of dedication and sportsmanship!Read More -
Summer Trips for Upper School Students in 2025
It is with great excitement that The Country School announces the addition of 2025 summer trips for our Upper School students!Read More -
The Country School Celebrates 90 Years and Installs Jay Parker
Read MoreThe Country School is proud to be celebrating its 90th school year. This milestone year also marks the beginning of a new chapter with the appointment of Jay Parker as the 7th Head of School. -
Conversation & Homecoming - Saturday, February 24, 2024
Read MoreThe Country School, Talbot County Free Library, and the Avalon Foundation, sponsors, join with fourteen other community organizations to present Conversation & Homecoming with Carole Boston Weatherford and her son, Jeffery Boston Weatherford, a program free and open to all.
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