Creating A Body-Positive Environment For Our Kids
It’s easy to miss the signs
When our daughter developed an eating disorder, it was a complete shock to me! I hadn’t seen how she had lost weight or noticed that she was taking less food to school. Eating disorders simply weren’t on my radar. I was concerned about raising healthy, happy kids, and honestly, life felt pretty good until the day it wasn’t.
I know I didn’t create her illness, but I now know there were lots of things that done differently may have led to a different outcome. I don’t blame myself, but I do want to help you not make the mistakes I did.
We have a serious problem
Eating disorders are on the rise; they aren’t always obvious, and they don’t discriminate who they impact. While there are many causes, body image can significantly affect their development. Avoiding the issue does not prevent it from happening or worsening.
Do you have a daughter who is becoming body-aware? What she looks like has started to matter. Perhaps she has complained that she is fat, needs to lose weight, or doesn’t like some or all of her body. She may be eating more or hiding food. You try to reassure her, but it is tricky, and you don’t know what to say.
Like me, you may be focused on eating good food and raising healthy children. Perhaps you have struggled with your weight, and you don’t want her to experience the same struggles. You may even have considered going on a diet together.
Perhaps your daughter has changed what she eats and started exercising more. She may have taken a new interest in food and spends more time cooking. These things seem like a good thing at first, but they have the potential to lead to eating disorders if you don’t know how to have healthy conversations about them.
Ideas around what constitutes the ideal body shape, size, and look are pervasive throughout our culture. You may not even notice it in your mum's comments or the diets your colleagues constantly discuss. Our children aren’t just receiving body image messages from social media; they show up in materials used for their lessons, every TV programme they watch, any image they see anywhere, and in their conversations with friends and family.
It is hard to know what to do.
Knowing what to say or do to help our kids feel good about themselves can be tricky. As your daughter heads into the raging hormones of the teenage years, you can sometimes feel you are walking on eggshells. You neither want to upset her nor put ideas in her head.
Ultimately, you want her and her friends to be happy and feel good about themselves.
Please don’t wait and see.
I didn’t know we had a problem. I really wish I had the information I will be sharing on this programme. It has improved my life since I learnt this stuff. If I had had this information sixteen years ago, it could have significantly changed our daughter's life. Please don’t wait and see what happens. Come and learn the things that can positively impact your whole family.
So what can you do?
The Body Project For Mums helps you fully understand the challenge of body image so that you are equipped to bolster your daughter's resilience and help her thrive regardless of her body size.
I will meet you online with a group of up to eight mums for an hour every week over six weeks.
You will learn about and discuss the challenges we face around body image, how it impacts us all, and what you can do about it.
Reflective exercises between sessions will allow you to integrate your learning.
You will learn how to have helpful and supportive conversations with your daughter about body image, appearance, and health.
You will be able to tackle problems and concerns rather than just crossing your fingers and hoping they will disappear.
How does it work?
FAQs
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Mums who have daughters between 10 and 14
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I'm sorry, but this is not currently open to Dads. This program is aimed at information for girls. The one for boys has slightly different content.
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This will be perfect if you or your daughter have concerns about body image, want to diet, or if she has become overly interested in food.
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The combination of my lived experience with our own daughter's eating disorder, extensive coaching, work with parents who have a child with an eating disorder, and professional training place me in an ideal position to understand how it is for you whilst bringing knowledge and expertise to the programme. As importantly, I am down to earth, and I care.
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£197 payment options are available
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You can book a place here by following this link.
Common concerns
I feel slightly nervous about doing this sort of thing…
It is perfectly normal to feel slightly uncomfortable meeting new people. Other people will feel the same, and you will quickly get to know others on the course. You won’t be expected to share anything you are uncomfortable with and everyone in the group will understand that all conversations are completely confidential.
I am not sure if I need this…
This is a win-win situation. If your concerns that your daughter has a problem are unfounded, you will simply go away more confident in having great conversations with her. If there is potential for her to develop problematic thinking about herself, you will have skills that can nip it in the bud.
What if I can’t make all the sessions…
These sessions are not recorded for everyone's comfort and privacy. I recommend that the whole programme is a priority for your time. If you have to miss one session, I can provide a brief catch-up call to explain what you missed.