Page 74 - (DK) Help Your Kids with Growing Up: A No-Nonsense Guide to Puberty and Adolescence

72 HEALTH Y BOD Y

Body image SEE ALSO
‹
‹ 22–23 Self-expression
68–69 Healthy eating
A person becomes more aware of their body image during the ‹ 70–71 Eating disorders
teenage years when their appearance may start to become more Confidence and self-esteem 86–87 ›
important to their sense of identity. If a teen is unhappy about how
they look, it can affect their confidence and self-esteem.
Body image is not

Explaining body image about how teens look,
Body image is how a person perceives how they look, as well as the thoughts but how they feel about
and feelings associated with this perception. These feelings can be positive, or how they look.
negative, or a bit of both. How people perceive their body doesn’t necessarily
equate to how they really look.

Influencing body image
Puberty can be a turbulent time for a tween or teen and their body image. Throughout
adolescence, some young people feel constantly self-conscious. In addition to the physical
transformations experienced during puberty, other things can affect body image:

Media manipulation Body shaming Difficult life events

Teens are introduced to unrealistic Body shaming is when people criticize Facing any kind of upheaval, such
“ideal” body shapes or standards the appearance of others or themselves, as moving to a new school or going
of beauty through celebrity culture and directly, through gossip, online, or in through a break-up, can make teens
digitally manipulated images in the person. It is a type of bullying that feel vulnerable about how they look.
media. The pressure to conform to involves making people feel bad Teens might become very self-critical as
these standards can lead teens to adopt about the way they look, and can a way of channelling stress and coping
unhealthy behaviours, such as dieting. directly result in poor body image with a challenging situation.
and low self-esteem.

△ False “perfection” △ Teasing △ Upheaval
It is important to remember that Even for outwardly confident teens, Encountering people in new situations
images in the media are typically hurtful comments about their can also cause a teen to worry about
altered to give a false impression appearance can be humiliating how they are perceived.
of “perfection”. and upsetting.

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