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CHAMPAIGN — Hey Mom, think twice before you call yourself fat.
Kids are developing awareness of body image as young as age 2, and picking up cues about weight and size from mom and dad. But some parents are missing chances to communicate more positive body image messages to their preschoolers on the belief they're too young to be interested, according to a new University of Illinois study.
The lead author Janet Liechty, a UI professor in both the School of Social Work and College of Medicine, said parents view early childhood as an "age of innocence," a time when kids are too young to be concerned with body image.
"Participants discussed a desire to shield their children from body image awareness as though it were a negative but unavoidable cultural misfortune that will occur much later, usually during adolescence," the authors wrote. "Many asserted that young children should not be thinking about their bodies at their age."
For their study, released in the journal Body Image, Liechty and co-authors interviewed 30 parents, 29 mothers and one dad, who care for kids ages 2-4, to learn more about how parents perceive and potentially help influence body image in preschoolers.
While most of the parents thought their kids were too young to think about body image, 40 percent of them had observed their kids comment on weight, weight concerns and thinness preferences, or seek praise for clothes and appearance, the study found.
When it comes to what parents think about body image, Liechty said, "what we found even before we talk about kids is most parents tend to think about something negative," she said.
For nearly half, that had to do with comments about weight status and frustration with unrealistic media portrayals of women and oppressive body ideals.
A majority of parents, 63 percent, said they don't do anything to teach or influence their kids' body image, though messages are sent in the family, "perhaps not consciously," according to the study.
For example, one woman said she tells her kids they "look fine," and another said she tells her daughter "she's pretty, she's smart and she's beautiful."
What's wrong with that?
A positive body image is about accepting your body and feeling strong and joyful about what it can do rather than how your body looks, according to Liechty.
The study suggests a good first step is helping teach parents to cultivate a more positive body image for themselves.
"Theoretically, a mother who experiences and manifests positive embodiment in interactions with her children can be a powerful agent in fostering positive body image and resilience in her children," the authors wrote. "There may also be value in the act of simply raising awareness among mothers and fathers."
Liechty said parents can help build a healthier body image in their kids by helping build body competence and body confidence and expressing appreciation.
One way to help build body competence is through promoting ball skills, she said. This doesn't necessarily mean signing up preschoolers for team sports, but by letting them get out and run, jump, play and stretch their limits while tossing balls in their own back yards.
For preschoolers, this can have positive implications down the road, too, because a sense of body competence carries forward, Liechty said.
So many sports involve ball skills, she said, "and if you feel comfortable, you're likely to join in."
One way to help build body confidence is through encouragement, Liechty said.
Rather than saying something negative such as "don't slip and fall" when your kids are climbing a jungle gym, say something encouraging, such as "be steady," she suggested.
Parents can also help by expressing appreciation about their own bodies in front of their children.
Moms, do you say things such as "Oh, I shouldn't have eaten that," or, "Oh, I've gained two pounds," or "Oh, I feel so fat?"
Liechty said she sees a good opportunity for moms to be good body image role models for their children by expressing more confidence in and love for their own bodies based on what their bodies can do rather than what they look like.
"If we can just say something positive about our bodies in front of our own children," she said.
For example, she said, "If you can look in the mirror and say, 'I love my body. I'm healthy and strong.'"