How to Help Kids Have a Positive Relationship With Their Bodies
Meet Your Body with Jessica Valant, MSPTShow Notes
How can we help kids grow up feeling safe, confident and connected to their bodies in a world that constantly tells them that looks and size determine their value?
In this episode of Meet Your Body, physical therapist and women’s health expert Jessica Valant shares eight practical ways parents, grandparents, teachers, caregivers and other trusted adults can help children develop a healthy relationship with their bodies.
Jessica explores why the goal doesn't have to be teaching kids to always love their body as it grows and changes. Instead, we can help them build something deeper: a lifelong partnership with a body they can trust, believe in and enjoy.
You'll learn:
How to teach kids that their body is their partner—not something they need to fight, fix or control
Why focusing on what bodies can do can be more powerful than focusing on appearance
How the way adults talk about their own bodies influences the children around them
What to say when kids notice body differences, experience changes or compare themselves to others
Why using correct anatomical language matters for confidence, communication and safety
The importance of social media boundaries for kids
Why giving kids autonomy, respect and ownership of their bodies matters
Jessica also shares how messages from her own childhood shaped her relationship with her body and how raising her own children has challenged her to examine the words, habits and beliefs she models for them.
We can't protect kids from every message they'll hear about their bodies. But we can give them something powerful to carry with them: the understanding that their body deserves respect, care and partnership through every season of life.
If you're raising, teaching, coaching or caring for kids, this episode offers practical tools for helping them build a relationship with their bodies that can last a lifetime.
Sponsors:
➡️ Get up to 20% off Beam Minerals with code MEETYOURBODY: http://www.beamminerals.com/meetyourbody
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⚫︎ THREE DAY FREE TRIAL of Jessica’s UNLIMITED community and app with daily workouts: http://www.jessicavalant.com/unlimited
⚫︎Watch our podcast episodes on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@meetyourbodypodcast
⚫︎ YouTube workouts: https://www.youtube.com/c/JessicaValantPilates
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Jessica Valant and Jessica Valant Pilates, LLC, recommend you consult with a physician before starting any new exercise program. The information given here is not meant to treat or diagnose any medical condition. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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