How do you help teens with body confidence & social media? Share your tips for chance to win £300 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

As you may know the Dove Self-Esteem Project works to try and help "girls across the world overcome beauty related pressures, raise their self-esteem and in doing so, realise their full potential". They have lots of tips and advice around talking to teens about body confidence, especially in regards to social media. Now they want to hear your tips on talking to yours!

The team at the Dove Self-Esteem Project say that "1 in 2 girls say they are using social networks ‘all the time’, across an average of 4 different networks and taking 12 minutes at a time to prepare a selfie. The number of girls who say social networks make them feel worse about their appearance doubles between the age of 13yrs to 18yrs - 30% agree at 13yrs vs 60% at 18yrs".

The Dove Self-Esteem Project is campaigning to help young people find beauty confidence in themselves and realise the only like that counts is their own. Get involved using #NoLikesNeeded.

So, please share on this thread:

~ Your top tips for encouraging your teen, friend, relation or student to not rely on social media to boost their self-esteem
~ Any concerns you have about your teen's self-esteem - do you feel they are becoming dependent on social media to boost body confidence?
~ Any experiences of this issue
~ What does your teen teach you about social media and body confidence? Do you lead by example?
~ If your child is younger than a teen now, what advice do you think you would give about these issues when your child is older?

Add your comment to the thread and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £300 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck

Insight T&Cs apply

PS: we also asked 3 of our bloggers to blog about this topic:
You can read their posts here
#NoLikesNeeded

www.amothersramblings.com/2015/10/self-esteem-and-role-of-you-over-social.html
www.mummybarrow.com/no-likes-needed/
www.emmaand3.com/no-likes-needed-for-raising-confident-girls/

I believe this has to start at a young age. Ensuring that you are not hung up on your confidence will rub off on your kids. Even if you are not a confident person try show them that you are willing to push yourself and work at your confidence.

Avoid social media as much as they can. Show them how their own image can change drastically when photoshopped, and explain that's what all the pictures that they see in the media have had done to them

My friends daughter seems to have gone through a terrible time with bullying and yet seems like she has so much going for her. She comes across as intelligent and funny and great at conversation, something I find wonderfully refreshing in teenagers after my sons grunting years haha! I have tried to make very positive and encouraging comments, as well as sharing some of my own experiences with confidence as I've been through it too. I think its so much harder now and with social media its hard to escape it ever!

My DD is 12, and the girl's at her School have already started comparing body sizes. My Daughter has commented a few times that she thinks she has 'fat legs' (they're like twigs!). I do not allow my Daughter to use social media at the moment, and she's not that bothered about it yet. I don't buy celeb magazines, as I don't want her thinking she has to look like the Celebs or Models that grace the front covers..but I have shown her how images are photo shopped. I just hope She grows in to a healthy, happy and confident young lady and doesn't feel the need to compare herself to others.

As a parent I think it is important to be supportive through the teenage years, and let them make their own mistakes. It is also important to set and example and show them that it is OK to be different. Communication with them is very important - loving and listening to them no matter what.

I think that education is the key. It is useful to show them the power of photoshop and the unrealistic expectations that this causes. There are plenty of video clips showing how images are altered even on people that do not need a touch up. With everyday people now taking selfies and adding filters on them on editing them before posing them to social media it is even more important to educate children as they develop.

i have two teenage children aswell as much younger. I have told my children how beautiful they are and given them confidence in themselves throughout life and in what they do and have taught my children to see peoples personality not their looks. I believe giving children love and praise from a young age should help them be confident in their own skin

Wow jeee
I would have been FURIOUS. I hope you complained loud and long about that. I'd have been writing to the HT, the Governing body and the photo company, just for starters!

I had anorexia as a teenager, and know the pressures young girls are under to look 'thin'. I'll be encouraging both my children to actively pursue sports, eat healthily most of the time, but that it's also good to have a pizza or some chips when we go out.

As for social media, I'll be watching like a hawk for any signs of distress or loss of confidence and encouraging lots of family chats about the subject.

It's something I am deep down dreading but I have started with my daughter from a young age around her own confidence and esteem

Get them off the computer and mobiles! its a virtual world on there and the more time they spend on it the more time they get sucked into the trolls comments. I think the best tip for the self-esteem issue is that all of that should come from family and friends, talk to your teenagers (i know its hard, mine is 14 and right grumpy sometimes but the more you talk to them and keep them as your best friend as well as your child the more they will open up and talk about things that upset them, and also what makes them happy! Try to keep things positive (i know easier said with a teenager)!

Lets face it Jesus himself would be trolled on facebook if he was here now and he had a profile - so even a perfect person will have negative comments. Teens should be taught that the world is full of comments but its the comments of the people who are the closest to you in the real world who's comments matter the most.

I think our son is not very confident with his body confidence, but he is a boy turning into a man, there are a lot of hormones and a lot of growing! I have myself recently lost 2 stone so body confidence has been in the forefront of my mind and I try to boost his when I can with little positive comments. I wonder though, is it not just the natural way, not to be confident when you are a teenager, to me its like part of the process of growing older, and lets face it during your lifetime body confidence seems to roller coaster a little in time with your emotions in life. Hopefully as he accepts the changes that are happening he will become more happy as he gets older.

As long as they are happy with who they are and how they treat others nothing should get to them in life or on social media, confidence and self believe comes from inside and as long as parents praise and boost them when they need reassurance they should have good self esteem

trying to understand that what we see is the "ideal" and what people want us to see. The reality is often a lot different

i tell my neice if it looks to good to be true it probably is ! thats what i tell myself too lol a lot of celebs have had surgery or are Photoshoped or even have padded bottoms and bras etc nobodys perfect and everyones beautiful in there own way it seems to have helped my niece we just say photo shopped ! to celebs unrealistic body pics.

Encourage not to post photos. Explain that celebrities / models are not exactly as they seem in their very posed selfies, after being photoshopped etc.

(Ignore this if it does not apply to you!) However.

The best thing we can do is stop doing it ourselves.

My daughter once said "Oh I look fat" to which I obviously said "No you don't you look lovely, there is no fat on you.
Oh and Where have you got that idea from."

She then said "Well you say it about yourself when you look at yourself"....Which I do sometimes.

We all have days when we say This or That about ourselves and well, our kids hear that and take it on board.

So for me personally I had to stop saying stuff about myself and get more self confident first and then I think it filters down anyway.

Also we embrace, "Being different" I say who wants to be like everyone else, how boring is that. We like different!

We do silly stuff and we don't care, what people say or think.

I read once "What you think of me is none of my business."

I reassure them a lot that they are beautiful inside and out. That a persons worth is measured in what they do and who they are and NOT in looks or selfies. I also try and discourage the over-use of social media - which is hard as its so ingrained in their lives!

My oldest is a girl but this isnt just a girl issue as I know my friends with teen boys have had similar concerns and issues with body image. I wish there was a way to curb the social media obsession :-/

I tell my nieces how good they look all the time and try and keep them away from social media. It's so hard nowadays but somethings being there for them to talk to is the best way to help them.

teenagers pick up body issues from their parents, so I try and be realistic aboout my body. Also if you complement for the sake of it they wontbelieve you so give constructive honest complements where possible. the blue scarf suits you better / your eyes are very sparkly tonight / I love it when you smile / your hair looks good down etc

I work with teens in care so they're more vulnerable as it is, so to promote body confidence is so important. I've dealt with a lot of eating disorders as a result of media portrayal of body image and it's about reality, showing them that what is seen on Facebook/TV etc isn't real life, not generally. And just telling them that they are perfect the way they are.

Letting them learn self worth and values through doing sport. My niece's confidence and general outlook in life has changed so much since she became successful in a not so common sport. It's all through her own hard work and she is so proud of herself.

I think it's just so important to boost their self confidence and self worth from when they are tiny so they have self belief before the teenage years

Regular chats of reassurance and explaining that not all you see is as it seems...i.e. photoshopped pictures!

I do worry about my son when he is a teenager, he's very tall and well built but I hope he doesn't have any issues with his body. I grew up with a mother who was obsessed with her weight and mine & even though I have a boy not a girl I will make a very strong effort not to make him think about body types and weight in a negative way.

I tell my son that there is no right or wrong body image and what is portrayed on social media isn't true to life