One of the biggest struggles of growing up is losing confidence in your appearance. As a parent, you’ve probably noticed as your children have started to deal with the emotional battle with their confidence that goes on inside their minds. It can be really painful for parents to see their children suffer so much over their appearance. But one of the best parts of being a parent is that you are their built-in supporter and cheerleader. There are lots of ways that you can help your child to have a healthier relationship with their self-perception and appearance.
Keep Things Positive
First of all, it is so important to always communicate positively when talking about your child’s appearance. Even if you’re trying to encourage them to take better care of themselves, use positive feedback to help them to see that they have a wonderful self-image and that you want to help them to maintain it happily and healthily. The words that you use when describing anyone’s appearance will rub off on your child. You always want to make sure that you have a positive attitude about anyone’s self-image, even your own. Be careful that when you’re talking about your own body or appearance, you don’t use demeaning words or phrases. This not only hurts your relationship with your image and body, but it teaches your children that negative and hurtful behavior towards one’s body is acceptable.
Treat Cosmetic Issues
Especially as your children reach puberty, you may want to consider treating certain cosmetic issues not only to help their confidence in their appearance but also to ensure that their bodies continue to grow healthily. Lots of teenagers deal with issues that are natural parts of adolescence, like acne, crooked teeth, or body odor. Not only can things like crooked teeth make your child self-conscious, but they could also indicate more serious issues. You can address these issues to teach them how to take care of their bodies. A quick visit to the dermatologist or orthodontist will help you to know how to treat the issues that your child deals with.
Emphasize Their Abilities
It is important to teach your children to place more value and emphasis on their abilities and skills than making their appearance match an impossible standard of perfection. This easy shift in communication and priority can help your child to avoid body dysmorphia and other issues. This will help your children to appreciate the many things that their bodies enable them to do rather than hating their bodies for not having an ideal appearance.
Remember that implementing these few practices can help your children to have a much healthier relationship with their bodies. It might even be a good idea to apply these same practices to your own life, as your children learn directly from your example. You can teach your children to take care of their bodies and to be confident of their self-image.
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