Allison Kimmey and her daughter, Cambelle Kimmey, were hanging out in the sunny beach close to their home in Florida when the younger Kimmey noticed something interesting on her mom that prompted her curiosity, Cosmopolitan reports.
Cambelle asked Allison about the lines around her belly, waist and various parts of her body—her stretch marks—and Allison couldn’t have thought of a better answer. Allison, 30 years old, told her daughter, “When I was a little older than you, I got some stripes when I grew really fast. Some of these stripes are from when I had you growing in my tummy.”
Allison added, “They are shiny and sparkly, aren’t they pretty?” She told her daughter this when the sun shone light on her skin and made her stretch marks “shimmer” as she claimed.
Allison told her daughter that stretch marks are normal for women to have, it’s part of their body that just shows up naturally. Despite products that claim powers of erasing stretch marks and market them as “flaws,” Allison wants Cambelle to accept them and not feel afraid of them when the time comes for her to have stretch marks.
Cambell responded, “When can I get some?”
Allison posted about the incident on Facebook and wrote: "It matters how we talk to our daughters about our bodies! They are listening. They are asking. And it is up to YOU to help them shape how they will feel about these things!"
When she was only eight years old, Allison already had cellulites. She was grateful that her own mother didn’t force her to adhere to beauty standards. She said, "She did her best to make me feel beautiful.”
When she turned 20, Allison became obsessed with exercise and dieting, which reached a level of unhealthiness. When she had a major breakdown after she gave birth to Cambelle, she had to stop and recalibrate her life. She said, "I realized that I couldn't keep living diet to diet and that I needed to work on the INSIDE, not just the outside.”
Overall, Allison is content that Cambelle was able to understand how important being accepting with your own body is. She said, "I know that she will most likely have a similar frame as myself, and I understand the challenges that are ahead.”
Allison continued, “I am confident that if I lead the way in loving my body and showing her that we are capable, lovable, and worthy no matter our size, that she will be a force to be reckoned with."
