Page 39
A Teachers Impact on Body Confidence
Words Victoria Deborah
How children and young people think and feel about their body and the way they look can affect their mental health in both a positive and negative way.
Body image refers to how you think, feel, and see yourself. Negative body image — having an unreasonable perception of how other people regard your body – can jeopardise your emotional, physical, and social well-being.
Anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and eating disorders are more common in young individuals who have a negative body image. Body image issues can also affect how much sport and physical exercise young people engage in. Young individuals who are self-conscious about their bodies may avoid exercise and physical activity altogether, while others may over-exercise in an attempt to change their body shape and size.
Many young individuals who are unhappy with their bodies use diet and exercise to attempt to feel better about themselves. They typically try to obtain the sort of physique that society celebrates and values by changing their food and activity behaviours. This isn't a new concept. For decades, the media has influenced how young people feel about their bodies by praising and appreciating celebrity figures that are unachievable for the 'average' person to acquire. This ranged from Marilyn Monroe's hourglass curves in the 1950s to waif-like supermodels like Kate Moss in the 1990s. The Kim Kardashian aesthetic seems to be what is in right now, with rounded hips and a large buttocks.
We need to think about strategies to help young people to feel comfortable about the way their bodies appear, given the overabundance of pictures of 'ideal' bodies. Schools can play an essential role in promoting a favourable body image. While classroom-based activities that teach children and young people about the images they encounter on television and social media are vital, physical education (PE) would be a good fit for developing healthy body image. This may appear contentious because PE may be challenging for young people who are uncomfortable with their physique. As a result, introducing the concept of wearing clothes that are both comfortable and appropriate for each individual would be beneficial.
The continuous move from print to social media. Celebrities, reality TV stars, and the latest internet 'influencers' all have bodies that have been surgically improved and digitally filtered. Love Island, for example, is likely to have a scarcity of physical diversity among its candidates — and is also likely to be peppered with advertisements for cosmetic surgery. These subtle signals convince young people that their bodies aren't good enough and that they should modify them.
PE provides an educational experience unlike any other. It is the only topic that can teach young people to respect what their bodies can do rather than how they look. PE teachers may help youngsters gain confidence in their talents by working with them. This may be accomplished by dividing students into groups based on their abilities, allowing them to pick tasks, and providing positive feedback. Physically capable children have a more favourable body image, and vice versa.
It's never too early to enhance a girl's self-esteem, and PE classes are an excellent way to do it! Nutrition and exercise are the two topics to discuss, with a focus on what is healthy rather than being slim or losing weight.
Explain why nutrition is so important for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Ban the concepts of good and bad, right and wrong meals, and never allow body shaming - even as a joke.
If you have the resources, you could even bring the kitchen into the classroom and commit an entire session to creating a favourite nutritious meal that everyone can enjoy. Demonstrate to them that being healthy does not have to be boring.
HEALTH AND EXERCISE
You may also demonstrate the importance of exercise in sustaining one's health. Discuss the mechanics, such as how the body operates, the musculature, and how calories are turned to energy. The more children understand about their bodies, the better.
This is especially true for pubescent girls, who are undergoing a lot of change – understanding why these changes are occurring and that they are completely normal can reassure confused teens.
One of the most common worries among females is that sports are masculine and that working out would make them bulky. Look to female role models to address this. Take the opportunity as a school to call their favourite influencers and invite them to attend not just to speak, but also to participate in their sessions to dispel amazement and misunderstandings, because your favourite celebrity does not walk around with chiselled abs and flexed muscles.
You can also include hobbies that aren't as common. Dance is now quite popular, and you may utilise it to demonstrate that fitness can be enjoyable by introducing Zumba or street dancing. You may even invite professional or semi-professional dancers from the area to make a presentation.
Whatever it is, teachers must recognise the lasting impact that a one-hour lesson may have on a child's life. P.E. influenced my life because it was there that I discovered my passion for sports thanks to the great teachers who went above and beyond in their teaching. I now own a gym franchise and regularly talk about the significance of health and wellness.