Body Image: How It Affects Us (and Our Kids)

What do we do when we see our kids disparaging their bodies, especially when we're struggling with our own body images? As Margaret says, "this can't be fixed," but there are definitely things we can try.

Show Notes

50% of preadolescent girls and 30% of boys report disliking their bodies. Those numbers go up in adults— 60% of women and 40% of men report the same dissatisfaction.

How do we help our kids when they struggle with their body images—especially when some of those struggles are our own? Especially when unrealistic images of bodies are everywhere on social media? Especially when dieting and weight loss are normalized, along with the assumption that all of us would change something about our appearances if we could?

We may not be able to fix the messaging that surrounds us and our kids, but there are ways we can start to subvert it.

In this episode Amy and Margaret discuss:

why body image issues and eating disorders are related but separate issues
how "media internalization" makes things worse
why TikTok's "body positivity" movement isn't the perfect answer, either

Here are links to some of the writing on the topic that we discuss in this episode:

Susan Cowden for VeryWell Mind: "Body Dysmorphic Disorder and Eating Disorders"
Lauren Muhlheim for VeryWell Mind: "The Connection Between Body Image and Eating Disorders"
Bobbie Eisenstock, Ph.D: "Media and Your Body Image: What You Need to Know"
Jean M. Twenge for The Atlantic: "Have Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?"
Jill Di Donato for HuffPost: "Gen Z Has A Body Positivity Problem, And It's Lurking On TikTok"
Quittkat Hannah, et; al: Body dissatisfaction, importance of appearance, and body appreciation in men and women over the lifespan

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