We have all looked in the mirror at some point and struggled to love what we see. Even as adults this is a skill a lot of us have yet to master. Now think back to you at 14, with hormones raging and every media outlet in the world telling you what your body should and shouldn’t be, it was a tough time to try and love yourself!
As mums, particularly as mums of teen and pre-teen girls, we know how hard it can be to help our daughters build a positive self-image so we have put together some simple tips to help you get started!
Being Your Own Bestie
Make sure to encourage positive self-talk and thoughts. Whenever your daughter is talking badly about themselves, remind them that they wouldn’t talk to their bestie like that so they shouldn’t talk to themselves like that. Helping them to practise giving themselves grace is a skill that will stand them in good stead as they go out into the world and face criticism of all kinds.
Avoid Comparison
Social media is the main culprit here. Having a conversation with your daughter about how they shouldn’t be comparing their ‘behind the scenes’ to people’s (often edited) highlight reels, is a must for a healthy and realistic relationship with social media.
You can take this one step further and suggest they unfollow or block accounts that make them think negatively about themselves and find body positive accounts they can be inspired by.
Look at the Bigger Picture
It’s all too easy to focus on our bodies as teens and forget that they are just vessels that allow us to move through life. This is a bit of a big topic for a young teen but you can help teens to ‘zoom out’ by praising non-physical attributes. E.g. “You are a great friend” and “You seem much calmer when you’re playing sport” ect.
Be A Role Model
This is the tough one! As much as we preach to our kids they will do as we do not as we say. Make sure to implement these tips in your life first before you start the conversation with your teen. Even when we think they are in their own little world they notice your negative self-talk and disapproving looks in the mirror. Use these moments to show what loving yourself can look like and they will follow.
Make sure to head to our IG page and tell us your experiences with helping your daughter with body positivity!