Brenda Janschek
Instilling a positive sense of self is one of the lasting gifts we can give our children. A large part of that in modern society relates to body image – helping our little girls feel confident and worthwhile in their own skin. Women always seem to be under pressure to look their best, and quite often the ideal presented by airbrushed magazine models is potentially dangerous to how we view ourselves (and our heath). Our girls need to know the reality.
From a very young age girls are exposed to music videos, fashion magazines, Barbie dolls, advertising and TV shows that focus on appearance. The ideal image the media bombards us with is the skinny supermodel or actress, whose image has most likely been manipulated to within an inch of its life. My fear is that this creates the unnecessary expectation of body image; setting young girls up for disappointment, low self-esteem, or even depression and eating disorders. In other words, a failure according to someone else’s rules.
But make no mistake; we are our little girls’ most important role models. They are listening when we talk about our (and other’s) bodies. They notice when we diet and how often we do so, and this could become their reality too…
Our daughters need to know that true beauty lies within, and that they are respected and loved by their family and friends for who they are, not how they look.
My mother was very focused on her appearance, and knew that dad liked his women skinny. I don’t recall specific negative self-talk about her body, but she seemed to be perpetually on a diet and certainly appearance was a hot topic on everyone’s lips at get-togethers. It’s a habit even amongst my own peer groups today, to the point where it’s almost a ‘conversation-padder’ like the weather. It wasn’t long before I was on the Weight Watchers bandwagon, beginning the diet merry-go-round which included diet pills at one point as appetite suppressors.
In my own home we don’t talk about our bodies in context of weight or shape. Rather, our bodies are strong, flexible or fit, and we like to explain how ‘moving our bodies’ makes us feel healthy and happy. It’s all about body function in our household and proper nutrition and exercise takes care of that. We also don’t keep any scales, fashion magazines, watch video clips or the like around the house. However, American sit coms are worryingly entering our zone, so it’s time to be vigilant!
As much as I try to protect my own daughter from this sort of exposure, this is the real world. The best I can do is to instil the values that I think will build a resilient woman who is confident and happy in herself.
Click here for some tips.
Bren x
brendajanschek.com
Get Social