What To Do?

Me:  Presley, tomorrow after school we're going to Miss Linda's house, and do you remember who I told you is going to be there?

P1:  Who?

Me:  I already told you. Do you remember?

P1:  My cousin Claire?

Me:  No Presley.  Someone else. We talked about it this morning.

P1:  Claire?

Me:  I'll give you a hint. He wears a red suit.  He's fat, and he says, "Ho, Ho, Ho."

P1:  Santa Clause!

Me:  That's right!

P1:  You aren't supposed to say "fat."

Me:  Why?

P1:  Because we don't say "fat."

Me:  But Presley, Santa is fat.

P1:  No, he has a big belly.

Me:  Presley, people with big bellies ARE fat, and it's an adjective used to describe them.  If someone is fat, then you can call them fat.

P1:  We don't say fat. We say they have a big belly instead.

Me:  Well you can call someone fat if they are fat, but you're right, you shouldn't say it to them if you think it will hurt their feelings.

This conversation really stuck with me for some reason.  Fat just describes some one or thing.  If they are fat, then why can't you say that? The more I thought about it though, the more I realized the negative connotation associated with this word, and why maybe perhaps you should not say that to someone because you could hurt their feelings. What's more is that at the age of almost 4 years old, she has already learned the negativeness associated with this word. I'm really confused about what to tell Presley the next time we have a conversation like this. I suppose I'll tell her she can say it, but that she should never say it to be mean to anyone.