Teen Mom OG star Maci Bookout doesn’t want you to get the wrong idea about her parenting skills!
The reality TV mainstay is speaking out after Tuesday night’s episode shined an unfavorable light on how she helps maintain the diet of her 11-year-old son Bentley, with some suggesting she’s cultivating seriously unhealthy habits for her kid.
Related: Leah Messer ‘Sickened’ By Online Comments About Her Daughter!
For those who haven’t been keeping up with the MTV show, Maci’s pre-teen has been taking wrestling lessons since “it’s been a great outlet for him” as he copes with family struggles. However, fans were concerned with a scene where the momma told her son he has “lost [his] mind” after he requested grilled chicken for dinner. Maci explained she’s enforcing “a very strict, good, healthy calorie diet” and “lots of water and workouts” that’ll help Bentley cut a few pounds to his desired weight class for the regional competition. He currently weighs in at about “74-75 pounds,” but wants to get down to 70.
The young athlete said he’s trying to eat only 1,000 calories a day and with his mom’s help, he’ll “achieve his goal.” But later during the episode, his father Ryan Edwards and step-mom Mackenzie Edwards voiced concern over the new diet regimen, with both claiming it could cause him to be a “late-bloomer” in terms of his growth.
As we touched on earlier, some fans also slammed the 16 & Pregnant alum for being way too hard on her kid! One Instagram user took their frustrations directly to Maci’s page, writing:
“I am normally on the same page with you about so much—but the weight thing… I have a son the same age as Bentley and I could not imagine telling him it is okay to lose weight at his age. He’s a growing boy and his body needs those calories and nutrients. Let him be little. And let him have the damn chocolate milk.”
Another concerned critic remarked:
“You are creating an eating disorder in that boy. Shame on your parenting. This episode just makes me so sick. He’s 11. No 11 year old should be on a diet.”
Momma’s Defense!
The 28-year-old took to Twitter on Tuesday night to address the backlash in a series of tweets which read:
“In reference to tonight’s episode-I have never and will never convince Bentley to ‘cut’ weight. After wrestling his first 2 tournaments in the 75lb class weighing in at 72-he came to me & said he wanted to wrestle at 70. I told him that’s fine, but you WILL NOT ‘cut’ weight.
“I will lay out a healthy scheduled diet for u, u can eat salads, grilled chicken, veggies, good carbs-instead of pizza, Doritos & candy bars. Through the season, he decided he didn’t like it—I told him that’s okay! U can go back to usual and wrestle at 75 which is what he did.”
I will lay out a healthy scheduled diet for u, u can eat salads, grilled chicken, veggies, good carbs-instead of pizza, doritos & candybars. Through the season, he decided he didn't like it-I told him that's okay! U can go back to usual and wrestle at 75 which is what he did.
— Maci McKinney (@MaciBookout) May 27, 2020
And when another Twitic argued Bookout had no idea what she was doing, she clapped back letting them know her family’s long history with the sport:
“I appreciate your input. My brother was a collegiate wrestler so I grew up around the sport and have a bit of knowledge in the sport and healthy weight maintenance.”
Luckily for her, there were quite a few wrestling fans in her replies who backed up the well-known tactic used to shift weight classes. Granted, Bentley’s age might be what’s so concerning here, but if HE’s on board with it and their family is approaching his goals in a healthy, structured way — it’s truly their business! WATCH the full clip (below) for more context on the controversy:
And let us know if you think Maci was being too harsh with her approach in the comments section (below)!
[Image via Maci Bookout McKinney/Instagram]
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