Body Image: 3 Ways to Set a Solid Foundation About Body Image
EMAIL 1
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Subject Line: New Parent Video! Your Child’s Body Image Matters and What To Do About It
Dear Parents,
Even as adults, waking up and looking in the mirror can be a struggle. Sometimes we can be our own worst critics when it comes to body image and how we feel about the way we look. If that’s a challenge for us as adults, imagine what must be going through your older child’s mind.
We believe it’s possible to help build a solid foundation at this age, and parents are an essential component to doing so. Therefore, we want to equip you with how to set a solid foundation for your child’s body image in our new parent video. Here are three simple and easy tips you can do today!
To view the quick video, click the link below.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/579862379/04d92308a3
Thank you for the privilege to partner with your family. If you have any questions or thoughts, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
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EMAIL 2
Copy/ Paste this email in a browser and send to parents.Â
Subject Line: 3 Ways to Set a Solid Foundation About Body Image
Dear Parents,
As children receive messages about body image from endless sources, we want to ensure they receive a positive, solid message from the most influential one of them all…their parents! In our quick and encouraging video, we give you three ways you can set a solid foundation for body image. They are so simple that you can start today!
To view the video, click the link below.
https://vimeo.com/parentministry/review/579862379/04d92308a3
We are thankful for the privilege to partner with you. If you have any questions or thoughts, please don’t hesitate to reach out.
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VIDEO
SOCIAL MEDIA SWAG
We have a new parent video for you! Sometimes we can be our own worst critics when it comes to body image and how we feel about the way we look. So we want to help you learn how to set a solid foundation on body image *early!* Check your inbox for more!
It’s that time! We have a new parent video for you that is encouraging and inspiring. Check your inbox for more.
Even as adults, waking up and looking in the mirror can be a struggle. So how can we set a solid foundation around body image with our children? In our new parent video, we give you three easy and practical ways. Check your inbox for more information!
Want to learn how to set a solid foundation around body image with your child? Check your inbox for more information on our new parent video… 3 Ways to Set a Solid Foundation About Body Image.
VIDEO SCRIPT
Even as adults, waking up and looking in the mirror can be a struggle. Sometimes we can be our own worst critics when it comes to body image and how we feel about the way we look. If that’s a challenge for us as adults, imagine what must be going through your older child’s mind. As their mind and body prepare to transition from childhood to young adulthood, it’s easy for your child to begin to feel negatively about their body.
Having a good body image helps kids feel confident. It adds to their self-esteem. Children with a poor body image don’t feel good about their bodies or looks. A poor body image can take away from a child’s self-image and can lower self-esteem.
This is incredibly stressful for parents who want nothing more than for their kids to love how they look and walk through the world feeling secure in their body image. So how can we as parents help our kids feel good about the way they look? In today’s video, we give you three tips on setting a solid foundation about body image.
First, tell them about their value. The Bible has a lot to say about our values. And that value can directly inform body image. Just listen to what the Scriptures say in Psalm 139:
For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well!
The truth of God’s Word continues to speak positively of our value in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Second, focus on health. It’s easy to obsess over a scale or think in terms of being “fat” or “skinny,” but experts consistently encourage parents to focus on promoting health. Please don’t focus on how much your child weighs or how they look, but instead encourage them to be active daily and continue to practice a healthy diet. Help them understand that these are keys to living a healthy life. When this is the focus, children are free to develop habits without the stigma of manipulating the way they look.
Consider your body image….Like everything else we do in parenting, the most powerful way we can help our children in this area is to be willing to face it ourselves. Practicing a healthy body image and talk about how we’re doing that with our kids will help them see an example to follow. It doesn’t have to be a perfect example. In fact, it’s even better for you to share your authentic journey that includes mistakes and your response to the mistakes. This lets them know that they don’t have to be perfect to keep making progress.
Third, speak positive encouragement to them. When you are consistent with encouragement about how your child looks and how much you enjoy them, you set a foundation in their heart that what you’re saying is true. Children, by nature, believe what we say about them. This tool is powerful when it comes to our role in helping develop their body image.
For those who are families of faith, our values are established by God (including body image). In Genesis, it’s made clear…we were made in God’s image. So our body image can and should be founded in that truth. He made us, He loves us, and because of Him, we can walk confidently in this world, trusting that He created us to be “good” in every way.
Remember these three tips…tell them about their value, focus on health, and speak positive encouragement. Use them to start and continue a healthy conversation around body image to set a stage for what comes next in adolescence.