Healthy Body Image - Wasatch Pediatrics

Jun 12, 2025 / Healthy Living
By Lauren Fratto, BSW / Southpoint
& Carly Sorenson, DO

Body image is the way you think and feel about your physical appearance. Kids and teens often face pressure to meet strict and unrealistic ideals around beauty, their body, and weight. Whether images in the media, going through body changes with puberty, competing in sports, or receiving unwanted comments from others about their appearance, it can be especially challenging for kids to maintain a healthy body image.

Why is Body Image Important?

Having a healthy body image is important for both physical and mental health. Kids and teens who have negative thoughts about their bodies are at an increased risk of developing low self-esteem, unhealthy body weight, and mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, and disordered eating.

Helping your child build a healthy body image and positive relationship with food and exercise can help them establish life-long healthy habits. It can be helpful to work together with your pediatric doctor or mental health professional in identifying unhealthy habits and practicing new, healthy habits.

How Can I Help My Child Build a Healthy Body Image?

Tips for Parents

Model a healthy body image by showing your child body acceptance. Allow your child to hear you express things you appreciate about your body.
Compliment and praise your child’s qualities, efforts, and personal values unrelated to appearance. Examples include, “I feel loved when I’m around you” or “I’ve noticed how thoughtful you are of other people” or “I’m proud of how hard you worked on that assignment.”
Explain the effects of puberty and normal body changes. Help your child understand that body changes, including weight gain, are natural and that everyone’s body develops at its own pace. Having open communication about this helps reduce confusion, insecurities, and comparison to others. It also builds resilience against negative messages from peers and social media.
Promote media literacy. Talk with your child about how media images are often edited and unrealistic. Set social media limits or help them follow accounts that promote body positivity and unfollow those that make them feel bad about their appearance.
Avoid commenting about the appearance of your child’s body and other people’s bodies. What you consider a compliment may impact your child’s body image.
Use neutral language when talking about food. Avoid labeling foods as “good” or “bad.” Talk about how food fuels the body and focus on having a variety of nutrient dense foods available for your child. Avoid making critical comments about what and how much others eat.
Listen and support. Create a safe space for your child to talk about their feelings. Avoid dismissing their concerns.

What Are Healthy Body Image Tips for My Teen?

Below are some tips to share with your teen to help them build a healthy self-esteem and perceive their body in a healthy way:

Find your passion! Spend time thinking about your interests outside of your appearance. Find ways to spend time pursuing these interests.
Challenge cultural body “norms.” When you notice a feeling of dissatisfaction with your body after viewing media, take a moment to examine that feeling. Notice that oftentimes media does not show a diverse range of body types.
Write down personal values that are important to you outside of your appearance. Examples include kindness, fairness, honesty, friendship. How can you incorporate these values in your daily life?
Appreciate aspects of your body that have nothing to do with your appearance. Examples include an appreciation for your voice for laughing, your mind for dreaming. What else can you think of?
Remember, human bodies come in all shapes, sizes, and abilities. Encourage inclusivity for all bodies. You can do this for yourself by identifying your own strengths, talents, & things you do well. Consider the same for your family & friends and appreciate how they differ. Isn’t it great that we all have unique abilities? Celebrate those differences!

What Should I Do If My Child is Struggling With a Negative Body Image?

Building a healthy body image takes time, practice, and patience. The goal for kids and teens is progress over perfection. Here are some things you can do if they are struggling with their body image and self-esteem:

Identify and practice healthy coping skills. Examples include talking to a friend, going for a walk, playing with a pet, hobbies or creative activities, asking for a hug, doing a kind deed. Help your teen find out what works for them.
Encourage your teen to write down personal values that are important to them outside of their appearance. Examples include compassion, hard work, honesty, and generosity. How can they incorporate these values in their daily life?
Limit social media exposure. Encourage taking breaks from social media. Help your teen to follow body-positive content creators and unfollow accounts that make them feel bad about their appearance.
Work on getting enough sleep. Stick to a regular bedtime and turn off screens 1-2 hours before. Sleep helps regulate stress hormones, mood, and improves self-regulation & focus. For kids ages 6-12, nine to twelve hours of sleep per night is recommended. Teens over age 13, need eight to ten hours of sleep.
Practice mindfulness. Mindfulness is focusing one’s awareness of the present moment. This includes noticing thoughts, emotions, and senses – what you see, hear, smell, etc. Encourage your teen to practice observing these things without judgment. Consider using a mindfulness app to help.
Practice deep breathing & stretching. These reduce stress and help with body relaxation. Remind your child to focus on how their body feels as tension in their muscles releases. Do they notice a sense of calm or change in mood?

Sometimes body image or self-esteem problems are too much to handle alone. Getting extra support can help give kids and teens tools they need to feel good about their body. If negative body image is affecting your teen’s daily life, contact your child’s pediatrician, counselor, or therapist and ask for help.

Other Resources

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline – if your teen needs emotional support, they can dial or text 988 to speak with a counselor. It’s free, confidential, and available 24/7.

“Promoting Healthy Body Image in Children, Teens.” Mayo Clinic Health System, 21 Aug. 2021, www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/promoting-healthy-body-image-in-children-teens.