Girls as young as elementary school age are showing signs of disordered eating and a negative self-image when it comes to their bodies. Children as young as three pick up on cues from their parents about body image. When it comes to raising a child to have a healthy relationship with food and their own body, parents need to model positive behaviors.
Kids Need to Feel Valued: Value Your Children for Who They Are – Not Who You Need Them to Be
By Marta Fuchs, MLS, MFT
“I got everything I wanted except what I needed.”
It was a breakthrough moment. A therapy client suddenly discovered what he always knew and now could finally identify. By being able to name it, he became a witness to his experience, and could finally begin to feel compassion for himself. No wonder there were tears, in his eyes and mine.
Countless other successful people I’ve counseled have had that same sorrowful feeling that something basic was missing. They got everything they wanted from their parents except what they needed the most: to be seen and valued.
That is the essence of parenting – to see and value your children for who they are, rather than as an extension of yourself or as the means to fulfill your own needs.
