Self-esteem

My friend from college recently posted about Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty. Lisa is going to have her first girl soon, and is concerned about transferring negative messages about body image to her. I have worried about the same things, myself having body image issues since I was about 12. Looking back at pictures of myself before four kids and country life in a trailer and knowing what I thought about myself then, I could KICK myself for being so stupid. I seriously thought I was fat... whatever. I'm not sure exactly how my body image changed for the positive, I'm going to contribute it to Ryan, who introduced me to the joys of mayonnaise, cheese, and full fat ice-cream, and also to having children. Having children has made me realize that they don't care how big my butt is, as long as I am a good person. They do like me to run around with them, and if I couldn't run, Ed would have been lost long ago in some store... and I want to be healthy and active. I still worry about the shape of my body, and I don't want to pass that on to Kacy or Jessie. Kacy is already concerned about what she looks like. I know from both my own experience and that of others that your family shapes the way you view yourself. I don't want to pass on a lifestyle of worry- I want my girls to be confident in who they are as a person, and not have that confidence rooted in their pants size. Dove's Campaign for Real Beauty has workbooks for moms and daughters, videos, and other great information. I want to encourage you to check it out- for yourself, for your daughters, or both.