The Importance of Moms Accepting and Loving their Bodies
By So family It’s always been important for everyone to love who they are including the body they have; but today that has become even more important. Children and teens need to appreciate their bodies so they do not grow up comparing themselves to others. The best way for a positive self awareness to begin is by seeing a role model with their own Mother. Moms that love their own body and accept who they are relay this important message to their children. Between what appears on TV, shows up in magazines, and the body type it takes to wear some clothing lines a child can easily feel out of place when they do not have a body that looks like some people say it “should.”

When a Mom looks in the mirror and groans with complaints about herself, it teaches children (especially girls) that it must be normal to not like what we see in the mirror. Children look up to their Mothers and gather information on what it must be like to be grown-up. Seeing their Mother complain about hair color, body shape, a blemish on their face or any other physical characteristic leaves an impression on their children. Many children view their Mom as perfect, but seeing her not think so starts a physical confusion in their minds. The more positive a child sees themselves; the less teasing will affect them.

The negativity not only can harm the mentoring children of the household but it can also start to take too much time out of quality family time. When a Mom starts to really worry about herself she can start to spend too much time trying to fix the issues she sees. In addition, her negative attitude can roll into her attitude with the children and her husband (or significant other). A mother can also become distant, due to her feeling not attractive enough, for loving male-female relations.

There is nothing good that comes out of a Mom not accepting and loving her own body. It’s not good for the happy life of neither the Mother, nor the family and it sets up a child in believing the wrong values. There is enough in our world today to veer children and adolescents in a direction of seeing themselves as not so perfect. They should not see such at home. Our children need to understand it is important to take care of ourselves and keep our bodies healthy but they also need to learn what they were born with is just perfect for them.



Body Image Resources:

For Women - http://www.womenshealth.gov/bodyimage/