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Self-esteem! Yup, we’re going to talk about this little monster today! Thanks to Dove and their Girls Unstoppable event for sponsoring this conversation!Â
“Hey mom! Look at this! Come take a picture of me!!”
My kids love having their picture taken. Pictures of them doing what they love. Silly pictures. Pictures of every day life. I’m not shoving the camera in their face at every turn, but they are definitely used to mom wanting to capture life through film. And they love it!
But the feeling is not reciprocated. The minute they turn the camera on me, I find myself shooing them away, asking them not to take my picture. Covering my face or instantly deleting the picture they do take.
That had me thinking….when did that change occur? My mom tells me I was a ham in front of the camera as a kid (just like my kids). So, at what point did I decide the camera was no longer my friend? Or maybe I decided I was no longer camera worthy??
Sadly, this happens a lot in girls. We go through those awkward preteen/teen years, our bodies change, or somebody in our life makes an off-comment about our body or face or hair or clothes. Or we begin to compare ourselves to the girls and women staring back at us from the pages of magazines, websites, and the tv screen.
It’s everywhere! So many opportunities to knock-down the self-esteem of our girls. And so little to bring them back up. That’s why, as a mom of two girls, I’m so happy to see companies like Dove really have a desire to build girls’ self-esteem!
As a mom, I want my girls to know that their worth in this world is not measured by the size of their jeans or how they “compare” to the latest teen superstar (or girl sitting next to them in school). But how do we start that conversation with our daughters? Well, it’s not always an easy one. And often times, it’s going to start with you and how YOU talk about YOUR body! Remember, I said it wasn’t easy, but Dove has put together a great “Discussion Starter” Guide with some really great tips to help!
This Saturday, October 5, Dove is teaming up with select Walmart stores across the country to really kick off this movement with their Girls Unstoppable event! What a great way to start those conversations with your daughter! Make it a mom & daughter day and take a little time to stop by the Girls Unstoppable event at your local Walmart! And then keep that conversation going at home. In the car on the way to school. Waiting for her soccer game to start. In line at the grocery store. Take every opportunity to celebrate those things that make your daughter unique! Because uniqueness is worth celebrating!
It’s not an easy fight, ladies. Because we need to reboot our own brains and remember that our uniqueness is also worth celebrating. Those little lines around our eyes? The stretch marks? All those “imperfections”? They are our stripes. We’ve earned them. It’s time we embrace them. Celebrate each one of them and show our next generation that it’s pretty awesome to be us! Feels good, doesn’t it?
Don’t forget to check out Dove’s Girls Unstoppable event this Saturday and the great tools they have on their website!
Blogging at StaceySays.com about life as a mother to 3 young kids, Stacey dreams big through her life list and is currently shopping two of her children’s books to publishers.
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