Promoting Positive Perspectives: Teaching Children Positive Body Image

Written 8/18/2017

I still remember my ten-year-old sister complaining to me one day that she was “too fat”. She is thin, healthy, and spends her free time running around outside. She plays on a soccer team and eats healthy. Why is it that children are feeling concern over their body shape and size at such a young age? When we first hear the phrase “negative body image” or anything related, we think of insecure teenagers with eating disorders or models struggling to be skinnier. Is it possible, however, that these mentalities begin in the minds of younger children?

Many behaviors and personality traits are learned by children early on, and body image views are one of those things. They decide how to view others as well as themselves at a very young age. In How to Help Girls Build a Positive Body Image, Katie Hurley discusses recent statistics regarding this mental development of body image, which show that, “Kids as young as 32 months pick up on fat shaming attitudes of their moms, and a report released by Common Sense Media reveals that half of girls and one third of boys between 6 and 8 think their ideal weight is thinner than their current size” (Hurley 2016). It is critical to express body image in a positive way during these first few years of development. There is a big push against negative body image in the world today, but most of it is focused toward teenagers and young adults who have already developed negative body image ideals, and may even be suffering through eating disorders or insecurities as a result. Just like any other established mentality or bad habit, it’s much easier to prevent it than to change it once it’s begun.

When a young child develops good body image ideals and is continually raised in this way, they are more likely to retain these same ideals throughout their lives. There are many different ways to do this, such as open communication between parent and child, incorporating positive body image into educational settings, and promoting healthy lifestyles. The best way to teach children positive body image ideals is through a combination of all of these solutions, creating a more efficient outcome overall. Each solution has its own way of improving body image in the minds of children: open communication gives children an opportunity to express their feelings and concerns about their bodies, schools provide an educational environment to teach children about positive body image, and promoting healthy lifestyles gives kids confidence and lifelong healthy habits. Imagine the effect that commitment to all of these solutions combined would have on promoting positive body image as a whole. The collaborative result would fight negative body image in the home and at school, bring support from parents and teachers, and encourage children’s mindsets in a more positive direction.

A great way to prevent negative body image ideals is by continuously supporting positive ideals in the minds of children. If children are raised viewing themselves and others positively, they are more likely to continue through their lives in that same mindset. The article When Looks Take Over Your Life by Jane E. Brody talks about Body Dysmorphic Disorder, a mental illness where one obsesses over a certain “flaw” in their appearance. She talks about proof that “Many trace their problem to a childhood emotional trauma, like being teased about their looks, parental neglect, distress over parents’ divorce, or emotional, sexual or physical abuse” (Brody 2010). While not everyone who experiences these things develops Body Dysmorphic Disorder, it can still lead to some level of insecurity. Experiencing any traumatic circumstance at a young age can leave a larger impact on the child because they are still developing. Therefore, it is important that parents teach their children to have confidence. This can be done by setting an example. If parents show confidence in themselves and avoid “fat-shaming attitudes” as Hurley mentioned, their kids are more likely to see this and act in a similar way. Besides watching parents, children also watch the television for role models. While role models can be good for children, studies suggest that televised role models have more negative affect on children than positive. Sajjad summarizes, “The negative effects consist of aggression and violence, antisocial behaviors and negative body images when idealizing models on the screen” (Sajjad 135). Children learn mainly from what they see. Watching peers, parents, siblings, teachers, and actors all have an influence on them, for better or for worse. It can be dangerous if children develop negative role models. On the other hand, keeping good role models for children is a great way to influence their view on body image for the better.

Besides simply being a good example, parents can also help by having open discussions with their kids about health and weight. The article Indulgent Parenting and Life Satisfaction of College Students: Examination of Eating, Weight, and Body Image relates studies of straightforward discussions about health between mother and daughter. These studies revealed that girls who grow up in homes with more discussion about health are more confident with their own body (Coccia 1207). Not only do children start developing lifestyle habits at a young age, but they also go through puberty which can cause many changes within their bodies. Add these unfamiliar changes with the social pressure that children face from their peers and the media and that can create a lot of confusion and negativity with overall body image views. Talking to children about these changes and encouraging healthy habits may seem small, but it can go a long way. In Sustaining a Positive Body Image in Adolescence: An Assets-Based Analysis, many studies were conducted to test what factors contributed to a child’s body image ideals. At the conclusion of the tests, they found that “Adolescents who found it ‘easy’ or ‘very easy’ to talk to a father figure had more chance of holding a positive body image” (Fenton 195). When children grow up in a home where they feel comfortable expressing concerns or asking questions, they will be more confident about their own body image. Encouragement and guidance from parents will help children in the moment as well as in the future as they grow up with these positive ideals.

Aside from the home, children spend a lot of time in school. This provides opportunity for them to be influenced by social pressures to be thinner or heavier than they are. If physical appearance wasn’t so important in the eyes of children and adolescents, body image wouldn’t be such a problem. Considering the amount of peer pressure in schools, the classroom is a place largely effected by negative body image, and therefore, it’s a great place to battle negative body image. An educational program called "Everybody’s Different" was created to “improve the body image, eating disorder attitudes and behaviors of girls and boys in Grades 7 and 8 by focusing on developing their self-esteem and thereby decreasing the emphasis and importance of physical appearance” (Friedman 276). The book has 11 chapters, each containing research, case studies, examples, and activities to help kids understand the main concepts. By using carefully developed programs such as this in school settings, teachers can effectively increase positivity and confidence towards body image in their students. This is an important tactic because it is not enough to remain indifferent towards body image in classrooms. Classroom settings are a common place for students to feel more social pressure, and therefore, this extra push towards positive body image is necessary to beat out the negativity provided by peer pressure.

Peers tend to have a strong influence on body image. When I was in elementary school, I was very small for my age – third percentile or lower – and as a result, I got carried around a lot. Other kids would always come over and pick me up, as if the mere fact that I was small was an invitation to do so. To this day, I don’t like it when people try to pick me up or carry me around, regardless of how well I know them. Similarly, influences about body image from peers can stick with children longer than one would like to think. Just as I have a subconscious vendetta against being carried around, children can develop a mentality that they must be thinner or heavier than they are. Studies discussed in Weight, Perceptions, and Bullying: What Kind of Pounds Matter? show that such peer influences can lead to bullying. They say, “Our results suggest that prevention programs should address weight as a predictor of bullying behaviors, especially for girls, but also that body image and misperception of weight are important topics for prevention programs” (Schell-Busey 2101). Bullying is yet another downside to allowing children to maintain negative body image ideals. While body image isn’t the only cause of bullying, it is a large enough factor that bullying rates would decrease if negative body connotations did as well. Children can easily adapt to misperceptions that surround them on a daily basis. Removing these misperceptions of weight from any setting possible – mainly at home and at school – will work towards correcting said misperceptions. Therefore, schools and teachers can be a great influence on students in promoting positive body image.

Because schools are established learning environments, they are a great place to teach children about body image. Gail McVey, Psy.D., discusses studies done on the effectiveness of training teachers more about eating disorders and diets to pass this information to the students, similar to the Everybody’s Different program. From the results, they determined that students felt more comfortable about their own bodies because of instruction through the web-based training. The article says, “If teachers adopt a body positive stance, they might stand a chance in helping to reduce the typical onset of ‘fat talk’ that tends to surface among school children in late elementary school” (McVey 23). This is very similar to what Hurley said about avoiding “fat-shaming attitudes” in the home. That same concept applies to the classroom. Children spend a lot of time in school watching and listening to their teachers. Therefore, the way teachers address body image in the classroom plays a large part in how children will view body image themselves. The Article Evaluation of an Upper Elementary School Program to Prevent Body Image, Eating, and Weight Concerns conducted similar experiments to test the effectiveness of teaching positive body image in a classroom setting. A curriculum was created for fourth, fifth, and sixth graders to teach them about things such as the hazards of dieting, satisfaction of hunger with wholesome food, choosing realistic role models, etc. The results showed significant positive changes, simply because the children were better informed about what attributes to weight and body image. All of these programs implemented to inform and improve children’s view of body image shared a similar outcome: knowledge and exemplary attitude of body image in a classroom setting is continuously proven to better children’s perspectives towards body image.

The final tactic I will discuss against negative body image ideals is to place the focus on health rather than appearance or weight. There are countless benefits that come with being healthy, as well as many downsides and dangers that come with unhealthy habits. Countless celebrities and models have shared stories about often unrealistic and unhealthy expectations that their careers wanted them to fill. Jennifer Lawrence, well-known actress from The Hunger Games, said, “I’m never going to starve myself for a part . . . I don’t want little girls to be like, ‘Oh, I want to look like Katniss, so I’m going to skip dinner.’ That’s something I was really conscious of during training, when you’re trying to get your body to look exactly right. I was trying to get my body to look fit and strong—not thin and under-fed”. Here she acknowledges the difference between being thin and being fit. Too often, children do exactly what Lawrence works to avoid: they look at the screen or a magazine and develop an idea of how they want to look, and often that can inspire the need for a quick and easy way to look that way. It’s important for parents to bring the focus away from appearance and place it on individual health and wellness.

It can be difficult to get children interested in their health and fitness, but it is possible. Dale Haynes wrote an article about teaching positive body image to children for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. He talks about this transition of focus to health as opposed to weight and gives some great examples of how to do this. He says, “Children shouldn't be counting calories or restricting their intake; they need to enjoy regular meals and learn how to make smart, tasty snack choices” (Haynes 2015). Children learn and establish personal dieting habits from their parents. Encouraging healthy lifestyle is as simple as showing children how to live it. My aunt and uncle don’t enjoy cooking and don’t have the best dietary habits, and therefore, they eat a lot of fast food. By the time my cousin was about 10 years old, she didn’t even know what foods were fruits. Eating habits such as these can lead to obesity, diabetes, and other health problems. It’s important to establish a positive mindset towards healthy eating habits as well as healthy exercise habits in children. Haynes says, “Feeling fit, strong and capable is one aspect of positive body image. All children need regular physical activities that they enjoy… It doesn't matter what kids do for physical fitness; it just matters that they do something” (Haynes 2015). In a world of advanced technology, kids are spending more and more time in front of the television or on the computer. Helping children find ways to be active is a simple and easy way to incorporate physical fitness into their lives. There are so many options that any child will be able to find something they like to do; whether it’s running, biking, swimming, gymnastics, dance, or participating on a sports team, anything that gets your heart rate up is healthy for children to participate in. It’s much easier to start a habit than to break a habit, so teach your children healthy nutrition and fitness habits. It will pay off for them not only now, but in their future.

Although there are many ways to combat negative views of body image, the best way to fight it is to prevent it in the first place. Body image only becomes a concern when people focus too much on how they think others will view them rather than focusing on their own personal health and happiness. In order to fix this in any sense, we need to bring that focus back to general health and happiness. Doing this for children not only allows them to grow up with a healthy and happy mindset, but also helps us as adults to adapt this mindset for ourselves. Using the mentioned techniques will inspire confidence in all those participating: children, parents, and teachers. This confidence and positivity will encourage people to be more comfortable in their own skin and to be more accepting of others as well. Just as our children are the future, they are the best way to fight negative body image.

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Works Cited

Brody, Jane E. "When Your Looks Take Over Your Life.", March 22, 2010, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/health/23brody.html.

Coccia, Catherine, and Carol A. Darling. "Indulgent Parenting and Life Satisfaction of College Students: Examination of Eating, Weight, and Body Image." Journal of Family Issues, vol. 38, no. 9, 2017, pp. 1191-1214.

Fenton, Cath, et al. "Sustaining a Positive Body Image in Adolescence: An Assets-Based Analysis." Health & Social Care in the Community, vol. 18, no. 2, 2010, pp. 189-198.

Friedman, Sandra. "Everybody's Different: A Positive Approach to Teaching about Health, Puberty, Body Image, Nutrition, Self-Esteem and Obesity Prevention." Eating Disorders, vol. 16, no. 3, 2008, pp. 275-278.

Haynes, Dayle. "5 Ways to Promote a Positive Body Image for Kids.", May 18, 2015, http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/weight-loss/your-health-and-your- weight/promoting-positive-body-image-in-kids.

Hurley, Katie. "How to Help Girls Build a Positive Body Image.", April 8, 2016, http://nationalpost.com/life/how-to-help-girls-build-a-positive-body- image/wcm/cdc6343f-2280-48e6-a146-79aebfc8dad8.

Kater, Kathy J., John Rohwer, and Karen Londre. "Evaluation of an Upper Elementary School Program to Prevent Body Image, Eating, and Weight Concerns." Journal of School Health, vol. 72, no. 5, 2002, pp. 199.

McVey, Gail, et al. "A Controlled Evaluation of Web-Based Training for Teachers and Public Health Practitioners on the Prevention of Eating Disorders." Eating Disorders, vol. 17, no. 1, 2009, pp. 1-26.

Sajjad, Shahida, et al. "Effects of Television Viewing on Social Behavior of Elementary School Students: A Qualitative Study." New Horizons (1992-4399), vol. 11, no. 1, 2017, pp. 135-144.

Schell-Busey, Natalie, Nadine Connell, and Lindsay Kahle. "Weight, Perceptions, and Bullying: What Kind of Pounds Matter?" Journal of Child & Family Studies, vol. 26, no. 8, 2017, pp. 2101-2113.