Let’s Talk.
Lets talk about the one thing that affects all of us…our self esteem.
As mothers, we want so badly, and with such desperation, to never consider that our children could ever think of themselves as anything but perfect. And while self esteem absolutely shows no boundaries between boys or girls, girls undoubtedly feel an incredible amount of pressure to be considered outwardly beautiful.
Everything affects them.
From TV, to music, magazines, and especially their friends, that sometimes it can be really hard to make sure that what we, as parents, have the last word with reinforcing that beauty is something deeper than skin.
Facial beauty is subjective.
Inward beauty...that is forever.
So I sat Charlotte down to find out how she defines beautyand to see how she feels about herself and others.
This is candid, so I did no cuts and she was totally unprepared for the questions.
That was the first conversation I have ever had with her about beauty.
Of course I tell her she is beautiful, I try to remind her to be kind, to be a good person, to help, to love and respect, but I know she doesn’t always make the right decisions. I have watched the interaction between all the girls on my street and honestly girls can be downright catty.
Make sure that you keep talking to your children and help them to grow up to be beautiful where it counts.
And it all starts with one conversation.
“Let’s Talk” is the theme of this year’s Dove® Self-Esteem Weekend, because you can help a girl develop a positive relationship with beauty by simply having a conversation. To kick-off the Weekend, on October 5th Dove® is hosting a self-esteem building rally and then will “Walk the Talk” with mentors and girls from their partner organizations (Girls, Inc., Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and Girl Scouts of the U.S.A), by marching in silence to the heart of Times Square. They’re marching in silence to represent all the conversations about beauty anxiety that haven’t taken place. You can stay tuned to the walk by following the conversation on Oct 5 via Twitter by following @Dove and the hashtag #DoveInspired.
There are multiple ways you can get involved – including replicating a “Let’s Talk” rally in your neighborhood! Below is a list of assets & ideas you can use as inspiration to post about the Weekend and get your readers excited to participate:
Visit Facebook.com/Dove to access free tools and resources to motivate and inspire a girl in your life, including the “Let’s Talk” toolkit, available starting on 9/18
- The “Let’s Talk Toolkit will allow you to discover how to talk to a girl in your life about self-esteem and find out how to overcome conversation obstacles
- You can search through real-life scenarios of when you could have a talk with a girl in your life
- Inspire women everywhere by sharing your stories and photos of how you talked to a girl in your life about self-esteem
- Send a “Let’s Talk” post card to a girl in your life to share with her how you overcame beauty anxiety to reach your full potential
You can also visit Dove.com to learn more about our partners – Girl Scouts, Girls Inc., and Boys & Girls Clubs of America – as well access our full self-esteem curriculum
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What do you do to help your children cope with the pressures of society and beauty?
~Trisha
She is so sweet, I need to have a talk like this with my girls. Good job.
It can be so hard for girls to remember that they are beautiful inside and out with all of the images they see on television and movies! Charlotte had some wonderful answers, good job! I often find myself reminding my daughter (and me!) that beauty is not what’s on the outside, when you feel beautiful inside, it will show to others
Sounds l like Charlotte’s on her way to being a happy, self assured adult.
I remember when I was a teen I read an article where they interviewed Barbara Streisand (yes that was MANY YEARS AGO). She talked about beauty and how our thoughts can make us pretty or ugly. She then had them take a picture of her where she thought of beautiful good things. Then they took a picture where she thought mean, ugly things. The difference in those photos was noticeable.
I think it is amazing what Dove is doing for girls. As a mom of boys we need a company to do something like this for them.
Thats so awesome that she doesn’t think she has to be pretty for people to like her! She is such a cutie! You are doing a good job raising her to be pretty on the inside and out!
You are good parents. Charlotte seems like a beautiful girl both inside and out. We always tell Cadence that she’s beautiful. I need to have a talk like this with her,though. (Not saying she’s a bad girl!)