Your attitude has a lasting impact on your children's body image; they are listening and when you self-hate, they absorb and internalize that. Watch clinical psychologist Ramani Durvasula, PhD, explain why it's important to monitor your "fat" talk.
I think that one of the big wake up calls for people around body image, never comes from themselves, but it comes from how their body image affects their children. So many mothers out there will struggle with constantly putting themselves down, I'm not going to have dessert tonight kids, I'm fat, I have nothing to wear to this party tonight, I'm fat.
You don't think your kids are paying attention, you better believe they do actually listen to everything you say. And when that day comes along when you hear your little girl put her own body down, you will then realize some of the damage that has done to your children and your family.
And so what I really, really stress to parents and in particular mothers is to monitor how you talk about yourself, not just for your well being but more importantly for the developing sense of body awareness that your children are having. We know that most of us can all think the actual time in our childhood where somebody commented on our body.
You're a little chunky, you're a little floppier. You're sure you want that second cupcake? And that stayed with us and that started a script for us we carried all the way into adulthood. Do you want your children to have those same scripts? I don't think so.
Ramani Durvasula, PhD, is professor of psychology at California State University, Los Angeles and a licensed clinical psychologist and author of You Are WHY You Eat: Change Your Food Attitude, Change Your Life.
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