Ugh! Body image issues....

Posts: 773
3/28/11 2:48 P

Thanks for the article TAnya. I just read it and will pass it on to them. Hopefully it will reinforce what I've told them all along.

Monica

Posts: 17532
3/28/11 6:32 A

Sounds like you are doing great with how you are encouraging them! It is so hard to see what others have that you want and accepting that you can't have it. I remember the days well.

Here is an article from our sister site SparkTeens.com that might help each girl identify their own body type which might help them move forward in their acceptance of it.

A Teen's Guide to Weight and Body Confidence: What You Need to Know about Weight, Body Shape and More

Tanya

Posts: 773
3/26/11 1:20 A

I am so stressed out dealing with my two girls, Sophie (13) and Katie (10).

These girls are completely different body types. Sophie is WAY to grown up looking with her c-cup boobs, little waist, curvy hips and extra-long legs. She is gorgeous, curvy - not at all fat. And then there is my delicate Katie - so petite, 60lbs soaking wet - she floats like a butterfly.

Both my baby girls are so beautiful - and they each want what the other one has and hate their own shapes. Why in the world couldn't God give me similarly shaped girls so that this wouldn't be an issue????? I am tearing my hair out.

Sophie thinks she's fat because she compares herself to Katie (and several of her stick-thin girlfriends). Katie is CONVINCED that she will never develop and will look like a boy when she's grown because Sophie already had boobs at this age. She wants to gain weight and look curvy.

So I tell Sophie how wonderful her curves are - how she will LOVE her sexy figure when she is grown (I minimize the sex part but lets face it - it is a very desireable shape. Think about that Sophia Vergara on Modern Family - that's where my Sophie is headed.

then I have to turn around and tell Katie how petite, willowy girls can wear anything and that of course she'll get boobs one day and they will be the perfect size for her body.

I've always stressed that the outer is not what is important and that girls come in all shapes and sizes. Of course, both girls think I'm lying because I can praise BOTH body types. Calgon take me away!

Any advice that will make me the magical, brilliant mom that can make both girls love their bodies??

sigh.