How to Help Teens Maintain a Positive Body Image

Peer pressures, media images, parental values and comments all add to the mix that affects teens’ body image. Boys look at muscular sports heroes and fall short in comparison. Girls flipping through the pages of magazines size themselves up against celebrities and air brushed models. From billboards to movie screen touch ups, teens are assaulted hourly with implications that her/his body doesn’t measure up. It’s as if critical task-masters are constantly pointing fingers and scolding teens to be thinner, cuter, more muscular, taller, bigger, smaller, better. No wonder teens think their bodies aren’t good enough. Here are some ways to communicate positive body image and healthy self acceptance.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Never ever criticize a teen’s body. Trust me on this one. Teens are hyper-aware and hyper-sensitive to bodies. They know their own flaws and consider those flaws to be enormous.
2. Expose distortion. Inform teens that models in magazine don’t look like that either. They are air brushed.
3. Consider your own body image. Do you have a positive body image? If not, please consider how your negative body messages are impacting your teen. If you have a negative body image you may--without intending to--be passing that critical evaluation onto a teen.
4. Expand your definition of beauty. Discuss beauty, looks, and health openly. Share personal body image struggles that you dealt with as a teen. Share the steps you took or are taking to over come your own negative body image. Teens are eager to hear how parents overcame these struggles. Teens are more likely to be interested when the parents share than when parents lecture.
5. Put at positive spin on bodies. For example, “I have legs and they are taking me places and bringing me back again” or say “My body works so well.” Let your teens hear these positive attitudes.
6. Incorporate positive affirmations. Don’t talk negative about bodies. If you hear a teen say something negative about themselves or others repeat the following phrase out loud: Bodies are unique and grand and working well. Bodies are amazing.

Tips & Warnings

• Here is a helpful book: "No Body's Perfect: Stories by Teens about Body Image, Self-Acceptance, and the Search for Identity" by Kimberly Kirberger.