How to handle this situation

I dont know how to handle a situation like this and need some advice. We were walking in the food court the other day, and there was a large man sitting there (he was noticeable big, I am guessing around 350-400lbs), so my son was looking at him as we walked by, and he stated very clearly "that man is big". He just turned 3 (today actually), so he doesn't quite understand hurting someone's feelings yet. But, I didn't know what to say, so I just said "yes" and we continued on our way.
My DS didn't mean anything bad or hurtful by his comment (obviously as he has only 3), but its a hard concept to teach, because if that man had a big white beard, my DS would have said "that man has a white beard", in the same manner. And in that circumstance I would have said "yes, he does" and kept going. Or perhaps if the man had been wearing a cowboy hat, he would have stated such.

I am pretty sure that the man heard my DS, and I felt bad for that, but I wasn't at all sure what to do...

How do you teach kids that somethings we can talk about with appearance and some things we dont??

 

All you can do really is tell them that people come in different sizes and shapes but it's not polite to comment about it because it can hurt their feelings and make them sad... eventually they'll understand the concept I guess.

 

This is what we do.

There is a difference between stating something and being 'mean'/inappropriate.

The vast majority of people would know that a 2-5 yr old is still learning social manners and is not saying anything to be mean, but stating an observation. Our embarrassment as adults are because we have a good sense of awareness of social manners/empathy/and cultural points of view. To be able to moderate your speech/manner to be polite to others takes a lot of social modeling and practice!

My 5 yr olds are still learning this skill---now at least they whisper an observation vs shouting it or saying it loudly....too bad it is usually a 'stage whisper!'. They are aware that they dont want to make anyone else feel bad, but they still are learning too!

As with all social manners it will take time!

 

One time I was in a restaurant with my girls and there was a large man at the table next to us. One of my DDs said (in a loud voice) "Mommy does that man have babies in his belly?" Mortifying!

That is only one of many instances of them commenting on people around us. They don't mean to be hurtful. I usually just say "People come in all diffent sizes, etc."