Body Image and Your Kids: Your body image plays a role in theirs

Get more Body Image information for your daughter from girlshealth.gov

Body Image: Loving Yourself Inside and Out Home > Body Image and Your Kids

"On a diet, you can't eat." This is what one five year-old girl had to say in a study on girls' ideas about dieting. This and other research has shown that daughters are more likely to have ideas about dieting when their mothers diet. Children pick up on comments about dieting concepts that may seem harmless, such as limiting high-fat foods or eating less. Yet, as girls enter their teen years, having ideas about dieting can lead to problems. Many things can spark weight concerns for girls and impact their eating habits in potentially unhealthy ways:

• having mothers concerned about their own weight
• having mothers who are overly concerned about their daughters' weight and looks
• natural weight gain and other body changes during puberty
• peer pressure to look a certain way
• struggles with self-esteem
• media images showing the ideal female body as thin

Many teenage girls of average weight think they are overweight and are not satisfied with their bodies. Having extreme weight concerns — and acting on those concerns — can harm girls' social, physical and emotional growth. Actions such as skipping meals or taking diet pills can lead to poor nutrition and difficulty learning. For some, extreme efforts to lose weight can lead to eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. For others, the pressure to be thin can actually lead to binge eating disorder: overeating that is followed by extreme guilt. What's more, girls are more likely to further risk their health by trying to lose weight in unhealthy ways, such as smoking.

While not as common, boys are also at risk of developing unhealthy eating habits and eating disorders. Body image becomes an important issue for teenage boys as they struggle with body changes and pay more attention to media images of the "ideal" muscular male.

What you can do

Your children pay attention to what you say and do — even if it doesn't seem like it sometimes. If you are always complaining about your weight or feel pressure to change your body shape, your children may learn that these are important concerns. If you are attracted to new "miracle" diets, they may learn that restrictive dieting is better than making healthy lifestyle choices. If you tell your daughter that she would be prettier if she lost weight, she will learn that the goals of weight loss are to be attractive and accepted by others.

Parents are role models and should try to follow the healthy eating and physical activity patterns that you would like your children to follow — for your health and theirs. Extreme weight concerns and eating disorders, as well as obesity, are hard to treat. Yet, you can play an important role in preventing these problems for your children.

Additional Information on Body Image and Your Kids:

Publications

1.   BodyWorks: A Toolkit for Healthy Girls and Strong Women - This program is used by trainers to help parents serve as role models for their children. The toolkit provides parents with hands-on tools to make small, specific behavior changes to prevent obesity and help maintain a healthy weight. The BodyWorks Toolkit is distributed through community-based organizations, state health agencies, non-profit organizations, health clinics, hospitals and health care systems.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/bodyworks/

2.   Caring for Your Child - This article provides a few suggestions that can help parents provide for their children's physical safety and emotional well-being.

   http://www.mentalhealth.org/publications/allpubs/Ca-0034/default.asp

3.   Girls and Body Image - This fact sheet explains the influence of the media on girls' body image, the influence of parents, and what you can do to positively influence your daughter's body image.

   http://www.family.samhsa.gov/be/gnb_image.aspx

4.   Girlshealth.gov: For Parents and Caregivers - We have created the girlshealth.gov site to help adolescent girls (ages 10-16) learn more about some of the unique health issues and social situations they will encounter during the teen years. The Parent/Caregiver section provides resources and links to helpful information for you, to help you prepare to deal with some of the issues your girls will likely face.

   www.girlshealth.gov/parents/

5.   Helping Your Overweight Child - This publication provides information on how to be supportive and help your child lose weight and become healthier and more active.

   http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/over_child.htm

6. Binge Eating Disorder (Copyright © Nemours Foundation) - This publication explains to parents what binge eating disorder is, the symptoms, and what complications can arise because of this disorder.

   http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/binge_eating.html

7. Body Image: How Parents Can Help (Copyright © Boston Women's Health Book Collective) - This web site lists tips to keep in mind for parents who want to boost their daughters body image and promote a healthy self-image.

   http://www.ourbodiesourselves.org/book/companion.asp?id=1&compID=5

8. Eating Disorders (Copyright © Nemours Foundation) - This on-line publication written for parents or caregivers explains what the warning signs of eating disorders are and what you should do if you suspect your child may have an eating disorder.

   http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/nutrition_fit/nutrition/eating_disorders.html

9. Eating Disorders Prevention: Parents are Key Players (Copyright © ANRED) - This on-line publication provides guidelines and suggestions for parents to help create a healthy environment for the growth of their child's self-esteem.

   http://www.anred.com/prev.html

10. For Parents: Your Role in Eating Disorders Prevention (Copyright © A Chance to Heal) - Learn how to prevent eating disorders and foster healthy eating habits in your children on this site.

    http://achancetoheal.org/forparents/prevention.html

11.   Healthy Body Image: Being an Advocate for Your Child or Grandchild (Copyright © Purdue University) - This publication helps parents understand weight-related concerns their kids might have, teaches them how to be a role model of health body image, how to provide a health environment, and how to recognize the signs of an eating disorder.

    http://www.ces.purdue.edu/new/CFS-735-W.pdf

12. Healthy Lifestyle Tip Sheets: Families and Body Image (Copyright © NASW) - This article explains how the media and the family can have a big impact on a child’s body image. It lists ways parents can foster a healthy body image.

    http://www.helpstartshere.org/Default.aspx?PageID=1277

13. Report of the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls (Copyright © APA) - The proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harming girls' self-image and healthy development. This report explores the cognitive and emotional consequences, consequences for mental and physical health, and impact on development of a healthy sexual self-image.

    http://www.apa.org/pi/wpo/sexualization.html

14. Ten Things Parents Can Do to Prevent Eating Disorders (Copyright © NEDA) - This fact sheet lists ten things parents should consider about the effects of over-emphasizing physical beauty and body shape with their children. It also lists helpful tips to help you educate your children about eating disorders and teach them to accept all body shapes and sizes, including their own.

    http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/p.asp?WebPage_ID=286&Profile_ID=41171

15. Ten Tips for Raising Kids with a Healthy Body Image (Copyright © Advocates for Youth) - Learn the dos and don’ts of raising kids with a healthy body image in this fact sheet.

    http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/parents/experts/kelly.htm

Organizations

1.   National Mental Health Information Center, SAMHSA, HHS
2. Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc.
3. Just Think Foundation
4. Kids Health
5. National Eating Disorders Association

= Indicates Federal Resources

Content last updated March 19, 2008.