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Learning About And Getting A Healthy Body Image
If you watch television and think that most of the women you see are just far too thin, you are not alone. What is even more amazing is that as thin as they look, they are really thinner than they appear. The camera really does add ten pounds. Models tend to be thin too, and that, along with other things, are showing our little girls that they are just not good enough. That is not true - but that is the message that they are getting. You have to work hard to ensure that your daughters, and even you, have a good and healthy body image.
What you may not realize is that a healthy body image starts when children are very young. If you are walking around the house complaining that you feel ‘fat’ and if you are always skimping and not eating meals, they are going to pick up on this in ways that you may not understand. Children think their parents are perfect and beautiful, and if you are showing them that you think you are not good enough, they are going to think they are never good enough. That means they are never going to have a healthy body image even when they are older.
You have to monitor not only what you do, but what your children are seeing on television, in print, and even through their friends. You can’t keep them from seeing most of it, but you can make sure that you talk to them about it. Once of my favorite sayings is that ‘real women have curves’ - but you can use whatever you want. Those that are on TV and in print are not realistic and are not what most feel comfortable with. They should be thinking about being healthy for better healthy body image rather than fitting into a size 0 or 00.
If you find that you are having problem with talking to your kids about healthy image, you can do your best to model it for them. You should talk about healthy eating and exercise if you are not happy with your own image, and if you are working towards a lower weight. If you put too much emphasis on it, they are not going to learn good things about how to find a healthy body image. Keep discussing it to a minimum, don’t talk about ‘dieting,’ and work activity into your lives. That is the best way to go about it.
What is hard about healthy body image is that it can be very hard to counteract the bad messages children are getting no matter how hard you try. What you want to do is to try to show them that confidence is the best way to go, and that no matter what your body size, you are going to be attractive if you feel good about who you are. Healthy body image and healthy self image are two different things, but they can complement each other. Got at it from all angles for the best chance of helping them love themselves no matter what.
Summary
Getting a healthy body image is very important for self esteem and crucial for kids. They are bombarded daily by images of models and other people who appear perfect in every way. They need to understand real life is different and they are just perfect the way they are. Make sure they understand the difference between a healthy weight and an unhealthy weight.
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