This video had me in tears.....
After conducting a self-esteem study, Dove found that 9 out of 10 girls have qualms with their appearance and want to change at least one thing about their physical appearance, beginning at as young as 10 years old. The brand is working to change all of that by bringing awareness to the issue through its Change One Thing. You can support a positive-body message by participating in Dove's Self-Esteem Project. The Self-Esteem Project is a Pinterest page that provides free self-esteem exercises, activities, and workshop guides to inspire women to embrace the opportunity to help the girls in their lives reach their full potential.
Many of us have young girls in our lives that look to us for guidance. Here are some tips to encourage a positive self-image.
1. Be a good example
Avoid judging or criticizing our own and others' appearances. It's as simple as that. Do not speak negatively about weight, outfits, hair or anything else for that matter. This only promotes shaming and causes comparisons to made between ourselves and others.
2. Use positive language
For example, rather than talking about "fat" and "thin," encourage young girls to focus on eating a healthy diet and staying physically active. Talk about food, weight and health without mentioning physical appearance.
3. Discuss what is really important
Encourage young girls to spend less time worrying about how they look and more time on their real self. It sounds lame but it is absolutely true that who we are on the inside, as people, is what matters most. Talk about how being a good person, a strong person, compassionate, creative, etc far exceeds the importance of physical appearance.
4. Talk about the media
Talk to young ones about what they see on television, in magazines and online. Help them understand that the pictures of models they see in ads have been retouched or otherwise manipulated to appear a certain way.
5. Affirm that happiness is non-related to physical appearance.
6. Encourage kids to focus on what they love about themselves- their personality, their appearance and their talents. Remind them that being unique is what sets them apart and that one day they will appreciated this.
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