Comments on: Raising Beautiful Girls: Conversations of Body Image

By: modernmami

modernmami — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 04:07:00 +0000

Liz, this makes me so sad that the first thing people say is she’s heavy! I really hope she doesn’t grow up hearing this so much she then considers herself to be “heavy”, you know? Your girl is beautiful! You keep telling her so and concentrate on being healthy and strong, nothing more.

By: karen

karen — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 05:15:00 +0000

Just stumbledupon this piece. We have those same conversations here in our house. One of my daughters has a friend who’s parents are both very fit and the woman is slender, but their talk is constantly on diet and fat foods, which surprisingly influenced my child, and at the time she was only 7 and they’d only maybe had two playdates! I believe most of the conversations were being held at the school at lunch. This couple’s child is skinny as a pin, most likely by nature, but it seems sad that she is socialised to worry.

But I believe with all my heart that the more candid we are about the goals of advertisers, the content of the products, and how it wears down our belief in ourselves and our natural instincts, the better off our kids are and, hopefully, other children who may enter into debate as they grow older.

Our children are currently homeschooled, so the playground chatter is less of an issue than it had been in influencing them, but we still keep up with this child and others, which makes for some great post-play conversations.

ps. I love your dance teacher too!!!

By: JMH

JMH — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 23:54:00 +0000

Some things are for grownups. Children get that, don’t worry.
They get to paint their faces sometimes, and to them it’s the same thing.

By: modernmami

modernmami — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 16:41:00 +0000

Thanks! It’s hard for me to explain make-up to her without seeming hypocritical. Even if I say I’m using it to celebrate my beauty, then how do I explain why she can’t use it, you know?

By: unknownmami

unknownmami — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 02:54:00 +0000

Beautiful, thoughtful post. Here’s my take on make-up: We should use it to celebrate our beauty, not cover our perceived flaws. That’s how I feel about adults wearing it. I don’t like the idea of children wearing it.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:38:00 +0000

I don’t have any girls, but I do like to try and treat my friend’s girls like they are more than their outsides. It can be so hard though, I love the bright colors and personality some of them put into their outfits! I have struggled with body image most of my life, being a plus sized person with an anorexic mom is hard to balance. I am glad there are moms who are making the effort to teach their daughters they are beautiful no matter how they look.

By: Heather Escobar

Heather Escobar — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 00:37:00 +0000

Such a thoughtful piece on a very important topic. Thank you for writing this.

By: Featured Posts to Enjoy While I’m At #BlogHer11 — ModernMami™.com

Featured Posts to Enjoy While I’m At #BlogHer11 — ModernMami™.com — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 17:09:33 +0000

[...] Raising Beautiful Girls: Conversations of Body Image [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 02:07:00 +0000

This is fantastic. Bravo on raising a girl like this.

By: Monica

Monica — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:32:00 +0000

This is such an incredible post, Mel. How terribly important it is for us to raise our daughters with a positive self-image. I’m thankful that my daughter is not at a point where she cares much about things like that – yet!! But I am so glad to have articles like this to help me know what to say when that time comes.

Thank you, Melanie!