{"id":10065,"date":"2018-04-18T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2018-04-18T10:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=10065"},"modified":"2018-04-15T14:37:54","modified_gmt":"2018-04-15T18:37:54","slug":"dont-say-hate-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Say, \u201cI Hate My Body!\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pretty-woman-635258_1280\"\u201cI hate my body.\u201d \u201cMy thighs are too big; my hair is too thin and I don\u2019t like what I see in the mirror.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you ever think or say that? Do you obsess over your appearance? Those imperfections you see in the mirror\u2014do they define your view of self? If so, keep those thoughts to yourself if you have children near you.<\/p>\n

So much of a child\u2019s attitude about his or her body comes from listening to how parents and other people talk about their bodies. If a parent is constantly dieting, making negative remarks, obsessing on fat and talking about the way other people look, children pick up on these themes and may feel they don\u2019t measure up to perceived ideals. You set the stage for a child\u2019s healthy view of self, early on in life.<\/p>\n

Because we are all made in the image of God, God values us for who we are, not based on our physical appearance. The unconditional love of God is a message you want to give your children no matter what their flaws or imperfections. But first, you have to believe this message or it won\u2019t be convincing. Do you accept God\u2019s unconditional love for you? Or does His love and everyone else\u2019s have to do with how you look? Parents, check your attitudes about your body. The messages you tell yourself often get passed on to your kids and young adults unknowingly.<\/p>\n

Often, the emotional pain that comes from being teased or overweight can create self-hatred and lead to depression, anxiety and social isolation. \u00a0Children are faced with an unsympathetic culture when it comes to body image and feel pressure to conform to ideas of beauty and thinness that are not always healthy. Don\u2019t add to their uncertainty about whether they look \u201cgood enough\u201d with your own self-doubt. Instead, emphasize your love for them no matter what, and be kind to your own body in front of them.<\/p>\n

Now, be healthy, don\u2019t overeat due to stress and model unhealthy habits. But when it comes to how you talk<\/em> about your body, be accepting. The goal is to teach children to eat well and develop healthy habits and be accepting of how they are designed.<\/p>\n

When you refuse to measure up to some cultural ideal, you are winning the battle for self-acceptance. Don\u2019t compare yourselves to others. God didn\u2019t make a mistake when he put His image in you. Believe this and then reinforce this message to your kids! Help them develop a healthy self-image.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI hate my body.\u201d \u201cMy thighs are too big; my hair is too thin and I don\u2019t like what I see in the mirror.\u201d \u00a0 Do you ever think or say that? Do you obsess over your appearance? Those imperfections you see in the mirror\u2014do they define your view of self? If so, keep those…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[2179,459,4192,85,1123],"class_list":["post-10065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-body-acceptance","tag-body-dissatisfaction","tag-body-hatred","tag-body-image","tag-self-image"],"yoast_head":"\nDon\u2019t Say, \u201cI Hate My Body!\u201d<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Don\u2019t Say, \u201cI Hate My Body!\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u201cI hate my body.\u201d \u201cMy thighs are too big; my hair is too thin and I don\u2019t like what I see in the mirror.\u201d \u00a0 Do you ever think or say that? Do you obsess over your appearance? Those imperfections you see in the mirror\u2014do they define your view of self? If so, keep those…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Doing Life Together\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-04-18T10:00:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-04-15T18:37:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/04\/pretty-woman-635258_1280-300x200.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Linda Mintle\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@drlindamintle\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Don\u2019t Say, \u201cI Hate My Body!\u201d","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Don\u2019t Say, \u201cI Hate My Body!\u201d","og_description":"\u201cI hate my body.\u201d \u201cMy thighs are too big; my hair is too thin and I don\u2019t like what I see in the mirror.\u201d \u00a0 Do you ever think or say that? Do you obsess over your appearance? Those imperfections you see in the mirror\u2014do they define your view of self? If so, keep those…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html","og_site_name":"Doing Life Together","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","article_published_time":"2018-04-18T10:00:28+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-04-15T18:37:54+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/04\/pretty-woman-635258_1280-300x200.jpg"}],"author":"Linda Mintle","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@drlindamintle","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html","name":"Don\u2019t Say, \u201cI Hate My Body!\u201d","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/04\/pretty-woman-635258_1280-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2018-04-18T10:00:28+00:00","dateModified":"2018-04-15T18:37:54+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/04\/pretty-woman-635258_1280-300x200.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/files\/2018\/04\/pretty-woman-635258_1280-300x200.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2018\/04\/dont-say-hate-body.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Don\u2019t Say, \u201cI Hate My Body!\u201d"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/","name":"Doing Life Together","description":"Relationship Doctor, Mental Health, Emotional Wellness, Relationship Advice & Entertainment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/#\/schema\/person\/1e16a9c7332cfcc5b5d89e4ba3a36142","name":"Linda Mintle","description":"It is rare that a trained academic who speaks passionately to the heart of people providing real answers to real life problems is so relatable. Dr. Linda\u2019s fun personality and expertise comes through whether she\u2019s helping her audience stress less or make peace with their thighs! Dr. Linda has her Ph.D. in Urban Health and Clinical Psychology and is a national expert on mental health. She has specialized in the treatment of eating disorders, anxiety, depression and pain management. With 30 years of clinical experience working with couples, families and individuals, she brings her common-sense approach to people who want to live in positive mental health. Dr. Linda is also a bestselling author with 21 book titles to her credit, a radio host of the Dr. Linda Mintle show, professor, national speaker, winner of the Mom\u2019s Choice Award, a national news consultant, featured writer for Beliefnet and hosts her own website. Her academic appointments keep her abreast of current research in her areas of expertise. Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. Check out her latest book Hope and Healing for Anxiety, a whole-person approach to eliminate anxiety. .","sameAs":["https:\/\/drlindamintle.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/drlindamintle\/","https:\/\/x.com\/drlindamintle"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/author\/lmintle"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/419"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10065"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10069,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10065\/revisions\/10069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}