If you ask almost any woman, finding self-love in a sea of photoshopped images is no small feat.
Every day, women and girls are bombarded with images of picture-perfect models with flat tummies and flawless skin. After a while, those images take their toll on someone’s self-esteem, making it hard for girls to grow up feeling confident.
And if you’re a parent, you know the heartbreak that comes with seeing your daughter grow into skin that feels uncomfortable–a body that doesn’t feel good enough or thin enough or pretty enough. One mother recently shared an exchange she had with her daughter and her message is something everyone needs to hear.
“It matters how we talk to our daughters about our bodies,” she writes. “They are listening. They are asking.”
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Today while I was laying at the pool with my daughter:
Her: “Why is your tummy big mama?”Me: “What do you mean baby?”Her: “These lines, mama.” (Pointing to stretch marks on my tummy)Me: “Oh those are my stretch marks!”Her: “Where do they come from?”Me: “Well when I was a little older than you, I got some stripes when I grew really fast! And some of these stripes are from when I had you growing in my tummy.”Her: looking inquisitivelyMe: “They are shiny and sparkly, aren’t they pretty?”Her: “Yes, I like this one the best, it’s so glittery. When can I get some?”Me: “Oh you will get your glitter stripes when you get a little bit older baby!”
IT MATTERS HOW WE TALK TO OUR DAUGHTERS ABOUT OUR BODIES! They are listening. They are asking. And it is up to YOU to help them shape how they will feel about these things! Will you continue the shame that society has placed on you? Or will you teach her a new way of love?
I choose love.