Make sure children grow up with a ‘healthy attitude’ towards their bodies, Bristol expert calls

 

 

Teachers and parents have a vital role to play in helping children grow up with a healthy attitude to their bodies, a Bristol behaviour expert calls.

Nicky Hutchinson warns that parents should avoid focusing on perceived negative body parts – such as a big bum – to help put a stop to young children worrying about their appearance.

Nicky says: “Although there are initiatives to address body image with adolescents, we were aware that there was very little available to support younger children.

“Primary schools have a critical role in helping them develop a healthy body image through positive intervention.”

Qualified teachers and independent educational consultants Nicky and Chris Calland have written a book – Body Image in The Primary School – to help guide parents and teachers through those difficult times when young school children worry about their appearance, with girls as young as seven years wanting to look ‘skinny’ and ‘hot’.

The new book takes readers step-by-step through the best ways to address the issue both at primary and secondary level, with tips, advice and guidance for parents.

Co-author Chris Calland says: “We should reassure our children about their appearance and talk positively about them. It’s important not to make negative comments about their weight or over-emphasise the importance of looks.

“We shouldn’t make negative comments about other people’s physical appearance or complain about ‘fat’ or ugly’ parts of our body in their hearing. At this young age children’s ideas about themselves, their bodies and their place in society are forming and developing. The lessons in the book focus on self esteem and aim to raise children’s awareness of the pressures they are exposed to on a daily basis.  They are encouraged to think about their qualities and skills, to recognise and celebrate the unique nature of human beings and ultimately to question how they see themselves and others and how that might be influenced by the world around them.”