BRAIN GYM MOVEMENTS FOR TEENS SKIN

Still, even her classmates who were thin and White, the ones who more closely resembled celebrities, struggled with self-acceptance. The idea of accepting, let alone loving, herself seemed inconceivable. She has rolls on her stomach and, as a South Asian, said she is darker and hairier than many of her former classmates at her high school in Palo Alto, California.

Nair had struggled with an eating disorder at ages 14 and 15. People can love their bodies,” Nair said about the podcast. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is a thing! Fatness doesn’t have to be bad. She listened to an episode of “This American Life” called “Tell Me I’m Fat,” in which writer Lindy West talks about her journey toward self-acceptance. Courtesy Athena NairĪthena Nair first came across body positivity three years ago, at age 16. Putting this concept into practice can help them find a way to speak freely about their insecurities without stigma and consider the possibility of liking themselves the way they are.Īthena Nair spent most of her high school years advocating for body positivity on campus. The onset of puberty and surge in sex hormones make even the least physically aware kids consider themselves as fleshy, potentially attractive human beings.Ī lifetime of being inundated with airbrushed and, for most, unrealistic faces and bodies makes self-hatred all but inevitable at some point during the adolescent journey – if not, sadly, the whole time.īody positivity, when done well, helps today’s tweens and teens create a new language and understanding around their changing bodies and self-image. Nature makes it hard to avoid thinking about one’s body during adolescence. Adolescents will need help sorting through which expressions of body positivity are a marketing or clickbait tool, which might make them overly focused on their body, which are thinly disguised products to “improve” themselves, and which will authentically lift them up. There is a lot to celebrate in the body positivity movement, which gives today’s teens a new and better way to think about and talk about their bodies. The rise of social media, particularly TikTok and Instagram, has allowed these radical messages to spread far and wide – now reaching teens where they are at: their phones.

This movement is known as body positivity, and it has been brewing for decades, among mental health professionals and women of color. Klaus Vedfelt/Digital Vision/Getty Imagesīetter ways to talk with your tween or teen when they go silent

BRAIN GYM MOVEMENTS FOR TEENS SKIN

Feeling good in one’s skin should be possible for all. One’s hair, body type, disability, acne, gender identity and more should not preclude you from feeling at home and alive in your body, they explain. Yes, that’s even if they don’t conform to the impossible beauty standards that long claimed the “best looking” title in popular culture.

Through them, girls – and boys and gender-nonconforming kids – learn that it’s OK to love themselves as they are. Then there is a whole other variety of messages, ones that might shock unsuspecting parents. There is the familiar content, the diet advice, exercise plans and makeup tips, all of which encourage young women to shape-shift into what they are told is a more palatable version of themselves. Today’s adolescent girls are bombarded with messages about their bodies just like previous generations. “I try to follow, and encourage others to follow, accounts that promote self-love and self-acceptance.” “She posts a lot about her body and her confidence, and she interacts with her fans a lot,” said Zerr, who lives in San Diego. But then there are accounts like Lizzo’s TikTok, which let her know that feeling OK about the body you’re in is not just possible but can also be pretty fun. Yes, there is plenty of content on theses social platforms that could make a 16-year-old like her feel worse, including manipulated images that make bodies slimmer and faces more symmetrical. Some of Ellie Zerr’s go-to spots for a confidence boost are Instagram and TikTok.

Brain gym movements for teens