Laurieton clinical psychologist Shirley Liffman says it’s important for children to be given positive messages about their bodies, as they tend to internalise their parents' perceptions of them.
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“Kids and adults with perfectionist tendencies in their personality are also often more susceptible to body image problems,” she said.
“If kids are under too much pressure from a strict home or school environment the stress can also sometimes trigger these sorts of problems.”
Shirley has worked with some local children who have experienced body image issues.
“Some of the issues can include feelings of disliking one's body or oneself, becoming over-focused on our bodies as a measure of our worth, or placing too much value on our bodies as defining who we are as people,” she said.
“It's important to remember other parts of us that make us who we are, such as our hobbies, likes and dislikes and our relationships with our friends, family and community.
Shirley said many people do experience concerns about their bodies from time to time, but sometimes these concerns can reach a level where they are causing significant distress or impairment.
Unfortunately Shirley said body image problems can be brought on by negative comments from peers, parents, or other important people in kids' lives.
“When kids observe others commenting negatively about their bodies it can also trigger body image problems,” she said.
“If kids observe adults speaking negatively about their own bodies, it can lead to the "normalisation" of these sorts of feelings and comments and kids are then more likely to try out these behaviours for themselves.
Shirley said dieting behaviours such as food or calorie restriction should not be discussed around children as this has been shown to cause eating disorders later on.
“Kids need to learn about and enjoy healthy eating and exercise,” she said.
“Using our bodies to exercise, play, climb, run or do yoga teaches kids to be comfortable and love their bodies.
“Adults can further encourage this by displaying ‘body-positive’ attitudes to set a good example.”
Shirley said there have always been young children with body image problems and this can lead to eating disorders later in life.
“So if a child is showing these early signs it's important to give them plenty of positive messages about their body, to remove any negative messages they are receiving about their bodies and consider some counselling with a child psychologist if it doesn't improve,” she said.
“If you would like to seek help for your child with body image issue, many health professionals can help including child and family health nurses, school counsellors, GPs, child psychologists and paediatricians.”
Shirley’s top tips
- Give your child positive feedback about their body, such as talking about the things our bodies help us do (eg., running, jumping, hugging, playing, tickling).
- Praise their strengths (eg ‘you have strong arms and legs for climbing’, or ‘your body is nice to cuddle.’)
- Try not to focus on appearances as this can teach kids to measure their worth in unhealthy ways.
- Avoid talking about dieting around children as this can lead to eating disorders later on.
- Don't allow kids to diet, just encourage healthy eating in general. Talk about ‘sometimes foods’, instead of ‘naughty’ or ‘bad’ foods.
- Try not to talk about your own weight and size around your kids.