Dear Prudence,
I am the mother of two beautiful girls, “Lily” who’s 8 and “Ramona” who’s 6. Lily is an introvert and a bookworm, while Ramona has enough energy for five kids and loves to play outside. Lily also enjoys trips to the park and other outdoorsy destinations, but she likes to bring a book wherever we go. Both girls are perfectly healthy and in a totally appropriate weight range, but because of Ramona’s more active appearance, my mother-in-law thinks Lily is overweight. And she mentions it every time she visits. She will always make a comment about Lily’s weight and compare her to Ramona. I have told her to stop a number of times, but she just waves me off and claims to be “concerned.” I have told her there is nothing to be concerned about, but she won’t stop. My husband won’t say anything to her and just told me to ignore her, but now Lily is starting to catch on and worry about her weight. Now I am ready to cut all contact and just be done, but when I said that, my husband got upset. I am at the end of my rope!
—“Itty-Bitty and Fatty Fat”