The other day my older children, were fooling around with the weighing scale at home, after weighing themselves my son who is nine exclaimed quite proudly that he had gained two kilos. Being quite large in stature this was no surprise to all of us. My daughter on the otherhand, the petite one even though the eldest at eleven, proudly exclaimed that she had lost a kilo. Though uttered in pure innocence I found this statement quite disturbing. What prompted her to celebrate a weight loss? Obviously loosing weight is the bane of my adult life. After bearing four children, gravity surely is no friend of mine, and I am in a constant battle to keep myself fit and healthy. Yes I moan about not having washboard stomach or those perfect killer pins and wouldn’t I kill for some slender hips that fit into any pair of jeans. Did I somehow pervert her way of thinking with my weight loss mutterings. Though my motto with eating is that the children should always eat healthy, they can occasionally have their treats but not to an excess.

My daughter being eleven, is entering that phase in her life, that taking care of her appearance is quite important to her. Gone are the frilly Mary Poppin dresses that I wore at that age, she chooses her own clothes and leaves me baffled by her staunch disgust at my choices for her. With the influence of school friends and other social mediums the concerns about her body image has also become a priority. Though being quite the athlete of the family, she doesn’t need to have any major hang ups about herself. Thus the above statement about her losing a kilo was obviously uttered in jest rather than anything more malicious. But I think in this day and age when human beauty is perceived in doctored images on magazines or stick thin models on catwalks. Where bullying exists when you’re over weight or a heavier individual is deemed an object of humor, it indeed a complicated world that we send our children into. Here are some ways in which we can, at a young age, instill a positive body image that can carry them through life:

1. Helping children understand that their bodies will change and grow.  Children are learning to adapt to sudden growth spurts, this can be confusing, as they grow into themselves, reassure them that they need not look like the skinny models in fashion magazines. They are who they are and that’s more than fine.

2. Helping children understand that there is not one "ideal" body shape, despite the glamorizing of being a size “0”, not everyone need to look like that to be happy and healthy. Infact being fit and healthy is more important.

3. Avoiding, prejudices, and words like ugly and fat. In society we tend to use these words quite freely and when you are not the receiver of such criticism you think it is all fun and laughter. Infact children who grow up with such ideas in their head are mentally traumatized, the stronger willed ones would probably make a change for the better, but those who are not will spiral out of control.

4. Helping children focus on their abilities and personalities rather than their physical appearance.

5. Promoting physical activity and exercise. Girls who play sports tend to have higher levels of self-esteem and healthier body images. "Be fit, not necessarily thin, and you will be healthy for life," is an excellent motto. It is important to show girls that strong is the new beautiful.

Creating a positive body image amongst children from a young ages very important, the views of  society and the perception of the world on how we should look, should not percolate into out homes and into our children heads. For as they grow older into teen years this might give rise to other ugly issues. Our children are too precious for such to happen, we can save them now. Promote positive body image.

By Mayuri Jayasinghe