Raising Girls in Diet Culture

Tonight I was watching a Disney TV show with my girls and kept noticing how flawless the main character was. She's also likable, and highly talented. I felt sort of captivated by her.

My oldest daughter is starting to recognize body types, and I know that watching beautiful and fit actresses with perfect hair and makeup is not going unnoticed. Whether consciously or not, it's getting absorbed.

The interesting part was, as I watched, I started making comparisons, too. Because we all notice the way other people look. We don't talk about it, but we notice. And I started to compare myself to this actress, and the diet culture thoughts started creeping into my head.

I Googled her name later and read that she battles an eating disorder.

So if I'm sitting there comparing myself to a girl on a screen who has an eating disorder, what are my daughters doing? If it's not happening yet, it will happen soon.

I do my best to steer my girls away from diet culture, and I make sure to talk to them on their level about having a positive relationship with food and their bodies. These talks are simple now, but they will become more complex as the years go on.

At the end of the day, the the very best thing I can do to guide them through this messy journey of growing up female is to model it for them. To show up in my skin, no apologies. To understand that insecurities may come and go, but they don't have to take you down, and you don't have to buy into them. Kids will live in diet culture, but a mother's example is fierce and forever. I choose to accept myself and my body, so that one day they'll be able to do the same.