Body Image Issues in Teenagers

Teenage, the time of transition from childhood to adulthood. This period of transition is called as “Adolescence” period. A teenager or a teen is the girl or boy who is in the age group of 13-19. As soon as they step into the age of 20, they are no longer a teenager. This time is the most crucial period because a lot of physical, mental and biological changes happen towards one’s body. Thus this period has to be molded well; hence our children would fly out with colors.

This phase of life, as I told you before, has lot of changes over the body. A parent, especially the mom, has to be well knowledge, in coping up with the changes and making them understand the value of the life. Here in this space, I am going to give some hints on the body image issues faced by a teenager.

Body image issues are the most common issues, which are prevailing among the teenagers. A teenager is very well concerned about their own body. As soon as they enter their adolescent stage, they start admiring their body and start comparing them with others’. It may look awkward sometimes, but this is quite common. The parent should be very alert in identifying and correcting all the issues. You may be surprised to know that these issues when untreated have paved the way to build some mental or behavioral abnormalities among the people as they gets older.

What is a Body Image?

How we see ourselves and how we feel ourselves constitute the body image. This is an important factor of understanding how we define ourselves, and this has an effect on our self worth and building our social stigma. This includes the picture of our body that we have in our mind. As we get older, this thought is vanished due to holding of responsibilities and many other factors. But during our adolescent stage, this is the major criteria that every one of us is more concerned with. The teen’s body image can be classified into two types like positive and negative body image. The people with positive image are on the right track, but only require boosting the thoughts. A person with negative image is very difficult is in correcting track. A healthy image, is feeling positive about the body shape and structure. An unhealthy body image is that feeling unhappy about the body image and they are the one who needs to be changed.

This body image changes throughout your life and is strongly connected with self esteem and self worth.

Factors influencing Body image

There are several factors that influence the body image. They are as listed below

Family environment
Abilities and disabilities
The attitude among peers
Media
Cultural motivations
Fashion industry

Negative body image issues

The negative image is very worse and it creates a lot of disabilities in the teens. The image should be corrected immediately to make the child path in a right way. The negative body image is something that makes the people to feel about their body shape. This makes them degraded in their self esteem and unsatisfied self worth. They may feel isolated and starts comparing their body with others. Sometimes, they in the stage of developing friendship with people of same characteristics. This character among the negative body image people will likely to develop behavioral changes like eating disorder, mental disorders like depression. If left untreated or unnoticed is likely to be in danger.

How to notice the negative body image among children?

There are some indications that are shown, when a child develops a negative body image. It is normal for a child to look her body for a great look and lead a confident lifestyle. As I told you, there is nothing wrong in that. But when children starts focusing too much on their bodies, it may leads to anxiety and depression. While most of the changes, takes place inside the mind, there are some indications that makes everyone to notice, when the situation becomes peak. Your child may

Feel inadequate about or criticize the body continuously
She may say that her look is ugly
Continually compare her body with others.
Obsess about losing weight or about specific losing weight on specific parts.
Develop eating disorders and socially isolated from the group.
Feels guilt, shame or blame.

How to cope with the negative body image teenager

It is necessary to make the child more confident, and need to develop a person who should be well recognized in the society. It is the duty of every parent, to develop a healthy child. So how to develop a child who is out of negative body image? Let us see that.

Talk constantly with your kid about her body. It is very essential for a mother to talk about the bodily changes to her child. A boy or a girl, whoever may be, the mom has the duty to build up the self esteem and to make her understand their self worth.
Help her realize that she is so special. Make her talk to you about her body freely and without any hindrance. This would make her understand that there is someone who really admires her and accepts her as the way she looks.
Eat at least a meal of the day together with all the members of the family. While doing so, they have the healthier meals and also help to avoid the risk factors of developing isolation.
Encourage exercise that will help to feel better with the body shape. Drive the child to practice regularly, so that the physical stamina is also builds up along with the development of positive image on the way they look. They receive a good recognition in the society and thus they build up the self esteem and make them understand their self worth.
Guide her to mingle with her peer group. This would take a little time, because, the people with negative body image has some shy quality, that would make them isolated from the group. Constantly speaking good about the bodily change and the way it looks.
Give them responsibilities, to make them realize their standards. This would develop more confident among the teens. Thus making them, more sociable and come out with their negative body image issues.

Thus body images issues are common, but be aware about your child and make them understand their self worth more strong. Help them to pass this adolescent phase more happily and with more confident.