Confronting body image

Question: My daughter and I were talking this week about how she wants 2007 to be different for her. Immediately she started talking negatively about her body. She just turned 13. What can I do as her mother to help her develop a positive body image?

Answer: We hear about body image all the time. It’s the perception or thoughts we have about our body. We all have an image of our body, parents included.

The question is: is it a truthful, loving and realistic image or do we become our own worst enemy? And is it an image we want to model to our child? When your child hears you putting yourself down, putting your body down, watches you try and stop fad diets, or hears you making comments about other people’s weight struggles, it has a huge impact on the development of your child’s body image; your subtle messages become powerful ‘unspoken rules’.

Our body is the house for our thoughts, emotions and our spirit. We need to take care of it in a loving, kind and realistic way. And we need to model this healthy body image to our children. This means getting enough rest, eating healthy and getting enough exercise. Many of us know cognitively what we should be doing but we don’t do it. Remember, your actions speak louder than words. I encourage you to be loving towards yourself, not only in actions and setting realistic eating and exercise goals, but most importantly regarding the comments you make about yourself in front of your children.

Remember, your attitude and perceptions will not only affect how you feel, it will give your child the motivation to take care of her body too.

* Dr. Karyn is a youth expert, parent/teen coach, motivational speaker and author.