Five Ways to Teach Your Kids to Love Their Own Bodies

Healthy body image is something we all need, and it’s something that most of us do not have. We look in the mirror and immediately zone in on our flaws and imperfections. We don’t see all the gorgeous things that our bodies consist of and what they have to offer. We, instead, ignore the good in favor of the bad even though it’s the least healthy thing we can do in our own lives. Why do we do this so often? It is because we are conditioned to think this way. It’s because we are conditioned to want to see our bodies as something imperfect and distracting. We’re not taught to have a healthy love of self and our bodies, and to focus on what’s good while working hard to make the rest of our body what we want. So how do we teach our kids to be happy with their own bodies in a world so focused on perfection? Well, we have to take a few pointers and apply them to life in general.

Be a Good Example

Stop asking your husband if you look fat and complaining about your thighs. Stop asking to see the photos you just posed for and commenting on how gross you look. Start being proud of your body and not complaining about it. And exercise; it’s a good way to get your kids involved in good, healthy habits.

Sign them Up

Sports and other physical activities will help your kids stay active and fit, and that will give them a healthy bit of self-esteem and body confidence. You can help them stay healthy and life a healthy lifestyle this way, too.

Stop Striving for Perfection

When you make it a point to tell your kids they’re beautiful, they’ll believe it. But if you start telling them they need to eat less and exercise more, or that another cookie is going to be a bad idea, you’re not promoting body love.

Make Sure Kids Know the Value of Inner Beauty

Stories such as Beauty and the Beast can help to teach kids that it’s not all about the outsides, but it is about the inside. When they realize that true beauty comes from within, they’re more likely to be happy with their own bodies.

Expose Kids to all Forms of Beauty

Don’t just say that supermodels with stick thin bodies are the pretty ones. Make sure your kids know that Beyonce with her round booty and Kim Kardashian with her imperfect body and Ellen DeGeneres with her athletic body are just as beautiful in their own way as women your kids might otherwise perceive as beauty.

And as a bonus – make sure your kids know that being healthy always trumps being thin.

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