Body Image
What is body image?
Body image refers to how someone feels about their body. It may be positive, negative, or neutral.
What does body image look like for your child?
Your child’s body image is shaped by what they see in the mirror, what other people say about their body, and what they see at home, in movies, on TV, and on social media. Bullying and peer pressure may also affect how they feel about their body.
Your child’s body image may evolve as they grow, especially if they feel uncomfortable with how their body is changing during puberty. Thoughts about their body image may go beyond their appearance. They may start thinking more about their overall health and strength and how it compares to others. You may notice that your child may start talking about their body more often, ask more questions about their body, and have stronger or more frequent emotions about their body than usual.
If your child makes critical comments about how they look or seems worried about their weight, they may have a negative body image. Help your child by helping them navigate and identify what may be contributing to their negative body image, and if possible, reframe it into something positive.
Talking with your children about body image
Prepare for the conversations
Before talking with your child, consider your own body image.
How do you talk about your appearance? If you tend to criticize your looks or your weight, your child may learn that behavior. Instead of making negative comments about your body or other people’s bodies, make an effort to model body positivity.
Share what you love about your body and what your body allows you to do.
When to start conversations
Many kids have a hard time with body image at some point in their lives, especially during puberty when their bodies change quickly.
While these feelings are normal for kids, be on the lookout for signs of a more serious issue like an eating disorder. If you notice your child has changed their eating or exercise habits or is weighing themselves more frequently, consult an expert such as a doctor or mental health professional.
Start a conversation
If your child is interested in social media, talk with them about how the images they see there are almost always cropped, filtered, and retouched to look a certain way. Research shows that many teenagers feel worse about their bodies after looking at social media, because they compare their own real bodies with the manipulated images they see online. Ask your child if they ever feel that way.
Ask your child if they’ve had experiences or conversations that made them feel bad about how they look. How did they respond? What might they do differently if it happened again?
In conversation
Talk with your child about why self-esteem is important. It helps people believe in themselves and feel confident. Very low self-esteem can lead to anxiety, depression, and eating disorders. If you’ve struggled with your body image in the past, share that with your child.
As your child gets older, they become more responsible for taking care of themselves. Discuss how eating a balanced diet and being physically active will help them feel stronger, healthier, and better about themselves.
Remind your child to look at social media posts with a critical eye. What do they think has been retouched or edited out? Sometimes accounts that feature dangerous diets or unhealthy fitness routines may show up in their feed. If they notice that a certain account makes them feel bad about themselves, encourage them to unfollow, mute, or block it.
Emphasize that each person’s body is different. Just because someone else is eating or exercising in a certain way doesn’t mean that those are healthy things to do—or that other people who do the same things will look the same way.
Next steps
Understand the conversation
Thank your child for talking with you about body image. If you can tell your child doesn’t like what they see in the mirror, talk with them about things that might help. Would they like to talk with a therapist? Do they want to take a break from social media or remove harmful accounts from their feed? Do they want to spend less time with a critical friend?
Continue the conversation
In addition to complimenting your child on their appearance, look for opportunities to say positive things about their attitude, their efforts, and their talents.
Encourage healthy friendships with people who make your child feel good about who they are and how they look.