Ladies, we need to stop criticizing our bodies so much. It's not exactly a novel thought, and definitely easier said than done, but a new video from Real Simple reminds us why it's so important — especially for moms.
The video features some familiar words. "I'm so bad, I ate a cupcake today." "My nose is so ugly." "I could never wear a dress without Spanx." But instead of hearing these phrases from the grown women who say them way too often, it's little girls who spout this negative rhetoric about their bodies.
Sure, it's a scripted video, and girls this young might not be thinking about Spanx or the shape of their nose. And we hope they just think cupcakes are delicious (because they are.) But the video makes an excellent point about how the way we talk about our bodies gets passed down from generation to generation. Because, if you really think about it, who did you learn it from?
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I'm not a mom, but I am a big sister. My sister is 7-years-old. She loves space and Frozen and can name dinosaurs I never even knew existed. She's not thinking about her weight or her hair or the double chin every single person in our family has — but someday, she probably will.
I try my best as her big sister, who she loves and looks up to, to be careful about what I say in front of her. But even though I consider myself a body-positive person and have spent a lot of time and energy working against negative body image in myself and others, sometimes I slip. And sometimes I slip in front of her.
I'd hate to think that my own insecurities could someday make my sister think negatively about her body. So I'm vowing now to do better. I hope you'll join me.