Does your teenage daughter come back from college and complain that she looks ugly? Does she often say that her friends looked better than she did? Does she complain about her appearance very often? If you have answered to any of these questions (there could be many more such mind boggling questions though) in the affirmative, then your teenage daughter might be having an image problem.
We live in a physically conscious world where people know us more from our outward appearance than our inward qualities. Many people take an extra step to enhance their image. This specially applies to the teenagers who want to outwit the world by their innocent, yet elegant charms and attract many by their image.
The image problem is often associated with teenage girls.Teenage is a time when girls pay a lot of attention to their appearance. They feel a need to be recognized and appreciated which boosts their self esteem. All these, they feel, depend on their outward appearance. This feeling is so strong that it is deep rooted in their minds and it can make or break their futuristic goals.
If this psychological behavior is tackled well by parents, their teenage daughters would find themselves easier to interact with the crowd. The solution lies not in helping a teenage girl improve her outward appearance, but in enabling her to accept herself. Your teenage daughter must learn to live happily with what she possesses and not sow an unfulfilled and unrealistic dream about her appearance. As parent, you must make your daughter aware of her strengths to make her more confident. Here are a few tips to help your teenage daughter develop a positive healthy body image:
1. Involve her into a lot of physical activities
It has been scientifically established that physical activity in any form (such as sports or exercise) can boost morale and self-esteem. Not only will your teenage daughter feel fresh and relaxed from these activities, but it would also give her a chance to tone her body and cut down the extra flabby skin.
2. Counsel her on her focus
A teenage girl first needs to realize that the very focus on physical appearance may yield disappointments later. You need to talk to your daughter that physical appearance, while desirable, is not essential for obtaining success in life. In fact, you can show examples of famous personalities who have succeeded in life in spite of being not-so-good-looking. If you are unable to counsel your daughter, then it might be a good point to take her to a professional counselor. It is important that a teenage girl realizes that harnessing one’s inner strengths matters more than anything in this world.
3. Encourage her to stay healthy
Encourage your daughter to pick up healthy habits. Explain to her that once she picks up healthy habits (such as regular exercise, healthy eating, and meditation), good appearance will automatically follow. Encourage her to hit the gym in the locality. Better still, take her to a qualified trainer who can help her guide through the correct exercises and fitness regime. She will have goals to pursue and when starts fulfilling her goals, she will be a different person. She needs to change her lifestyle apart from physical activities.
4. Give compliments on her achievements
It is very important for your daughter to have a positive self-esteem. A positive self-esteem is the direct result of appreciation of recognition. Make it a point to praise her on even the smallest of achievements. This will not only ensure that she has a positive self-esteem, but also will encourage her to perform tasks of greater difficulty.
5. Prevent her from mixing with negative people
This is not easy because your daughter is a teenager and she will want to assert her independence of opinion. She will most likely not accept your advise on the kind of people she should mix around with. However, if she frequently feels bad about her appearance, you can ask her about the kind of people she mixes with. You can convince her that she needs to mix with positive people who make her feel good about herself. She will realize over time that she needs to have good company in order to become a positive person.
6. Allow her to voice her opinion
Give her the impression that her opinion is important. Whenever you want to make an important decision about something, you can go up to her and ask her about her opinion. Do not forget to tell her that while her suggestions are extremely important, it is not necessary to implement them. When she is asked for her opinion, she will feel that she is an important member of the house.
7. Give her responsibilities to fulfill
You may ask your daughter to plan the grocery budget for a month. Ask her to prepare the list of grocery items to be purchased. The idea behind this is to convey the message that she is a grown up and is deemed capable of fulfilling important responsibilities.
