How to Promote Body Positivity in Teens

Promoting body positivity in teens can be challenging with all of the social influences, but it is so incredibly important. Body positivity is the belief that all body types and sizes are both valid and beautiful. This can be hard to instill in teens who are constantly bombarded with unrealistic standards of beauty through social media, advertisements, and other media outlets.

Here are some tips on how to help teens develop body positivity:

1. Introduce Affirmations- Helping teens become comfortable with body affirmations is an important step in fostering body positivity. Ask them to write down positive affirmations about their body and encourage them to repeat them aloud to themselves frequently. This can be a great way to build self-esteem and prevent negative self-talk. We have some amazing teen affirmation cards you can find HERE

2. Celebrate Achievements- Celebrate milestones like learning a new skill. These types of achievements have nothing to do with how a teen looks, but are accomplishments to be proud of and celebrate. This positive reinforcement will help teens develop a healthier relationship with their body.

3. Engage in Activism- Get involved in initiatives and activities that focus on body positivity. This could include attending events, joining online groups, or advocating for body positivity yourself. Encouraging your teen to stand up for their beliefs is a huge mindset shifter when they can start to show influence over others as well.

4. Expand the Definition of Beauty - Remind teens that beauty isn’t one size fits all and can look different for everyone. Encourage teens to explore various types of beauty, including atypical representations like people with disabilities or those of different sizes and shapes. This can challenge the norms teens may see in the media and broaden their idea of “beauty.”

5. Have your teen practice daily gratitude and journaling. We have created a body positivity workbook that includes activities and worksheets to help guide this mindset shift.

Promoting body positivity in teens can take some time and effort, but it’s an invaluable lesson that will help them throughout their lives. With the tips listed above, it’s possible to help teens develop more positive self-esteem and learn how to accept and appreciate their bodies for all that they are.

Ready for next steps or need more? Here is our workbook that we created just for teens on body positivity. You can find it HERE

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