Meghan Trainor: A role model for my daughters

Meghan Trainor meets fan with leukemia. Teen Vogue/ Fanlala screenshot

I've liked Meghan Trainor ever since she flooded the radio waves with her hit, "All About That Bass." Over the past week, however, I have found myself writing about her for the third time. Why? I think she's adorable and a good role model for my daughters these days.

The fact that Meghan began as a songwriter in Nashville and worked (hard) to find her perfect opportunity into pop mainstream stardom makes her a young woman with early career success. I like that she's a songwriter and performer, but above all, I love how she insists on doing her own thing and following her unique style. These are values that parents often teach their kids, but it is really difficult to find examples of other "role models" without encountering plastic surgery or a total inability to create on their own without a team of fifty producers for one song. I'm not knocking the vast array of talent in this world, but I'm trying to point the little heads of my girls to look at someone like Trainor and notice that all she had to do was work hard and not give up on her dreams.

Whether she's winning awards (as recent as Billboard) or performing for national television on The Voice, Meghan Trainor is a busy dynamo these days. To boot, she has time to do other amazing things.

When I read that Meghan coordinated to meet a Staten Island-based little girl with leukemia, I thought very highly of the singer. She's young. Right now, she could be letting her fame go to her young little 20-something head, but instead she's bringing a sick child to dance with her on stage at a recent concert. High five to Meghan for that!

A few days later, I received a "news" lead about Meghan Trainor. As a freelance writer, I get news leads and public relation requests to promote random celebrities, products and events often. I giggled at the topic - Meghan Trainor loves broccoli apparently and this was news. Then, I read one of the articles and realized she was making a subtle and important point.

She eats.

Not only does she eat, but she eats healthy food, like chicken and broccoli, and acknowledges that with her busy schedule, she needs energy. Food equals energy. Trainor also went onto explain how she used to not take very good care of her health when fame knocked on her door, but that she has adjusted to the chaos of celebrity life by making time to eat and sleep.

Doesn't everyone's kids needs to read that? Famous people eat and sleep. Who knew?

There are also the negative nancy articles out there about Meghan Trainor. After all, she is a star and people want to jump on any chance to say something about someone famous, whether it is well-founded or not.

When Meghan entered the mainstream of pop culture, her appeal came from a combination of her catchy, upbeat music and her playful, attractive body image. She's not "a size 2," but I don't think Trainor really cares. Her slightly sarcastic and cheeky song lyrics drive home a point that she has a positive attitude about herself, and she's not looking to look any specific way.

Just a couple of weeks ago, the Ted Baker brand drew some negative attention when Meghan Trainor lashed out at their photo editing of her body while she wore their skirt. She didn't want to look thinner for fashion. She made that pretty clear. In other words, this is a young woman who is also standing up for herself against a worldwide perspective about ideal beauty and fashion trends.

As a musician, I love music and respect all artists. I'm a lover of the creative people in this world. I am open to almost everything, but as a mom, I am more discerning. I look for artists who may help me in pushing the parenting goals and lessons I teach my children. If I can find one, he or she is a gem. I really feel that I have found a gem in Meghan Trainor. I do hope she keeps her reputation as lovely as it has been and I wish her many more years in the limelight of pop culture.

Here's her lovely acoustic performance on The Voice.

Source: http://www.nj.com/parenting/index.ssf/2015/05/meghan_trainor_a_role_model_for_my_daughters.html