“why fit in when you were born to stand out? -Dr. Suess
It has been a busy week and even though I have a beautiful new laptop and plenty to say on a multitude of subjects, I took a little hiatus to catch up with friends and hang out with my daughters. It may seem a little lazy but below is a quote taken directly from Facebook, it is advice I gave to my daughters thirteen year old friend after a post she made about society and it’s ugliness. So many teens feel that they are not good enough, not skinny enough, not pretty enough, unloved and unwanted.
Why is this? Are we as parents letting our kids know how loved, beautiful and important they are. Are we teaching them the true meaning of beautiful?
I think of my children when they were first born, as pure as the mountain air. All of our children were born that way. Who taught them to hate themselves, dislike their bodies, feel they weren’t good enough? Who taught them to judge themselves and others by an unrealistic version of perfect?
Every single person that notices that something is wrong in society has a responsibility to help change it, man, woman or child. We will never right all the wrongs in the world but we can begin by loving ourselves and showing our children how important that is. If a person truly loves themselves they will love others, not for the clothes they wear, their body type or the way they wear their hair.
Self love is the most important kind of love. When a child loves themselves they make healthy decisions that are in their best interests as an expression of how they feel about themselves. People with no self worth make bad choices inviting people into their lives that can do them harm.
I could rant on about this for hours. I have a teenage daughter that I have to constantly prepare for the big bad world. I have found that the two best ways to teach my daughter how to love herself are:
A) Love myself. Show her I love who I am, with all my quirks and flaws, I embrace all that I am.
B) Love her. Love her enough to say no to her and have her dislike me, show her boundaries and teach her right from wrong. Love her even when I don’t like her much. Focus on the qualities that make her beautiful, her kindness, her enthusiasm, her compassion, her desire to help others. Teach her that happiness is beautiful and that true beauty shines through perceived flaws.
“Wherever you are in life be the soul of that place. The first step in changing society is changing yourself and realizing that imperfect is perfect. Beauty is everywhere and it can’t often be seen with your eyes but it sure can be felt with the heart. Be the light in a world of darkness…that will be amazing. ♥”
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Dancing in the rain! 
As a stepfather of 2 teens, 1 boy and 1 girl, I really appreciate this. Thank you.
I appreciate your comments and I want you to know as a parent of a teen I struggle all the time. I try, I cry, I regroup. They will one day thank us for the boundaries and for teaching them to love themselves. One day at a time….
Currently, I am at the regroup stage. My wife and I are learning and teaching together.
Good for you. My husband works out of town and the hardest thing for us was learning to co-parent respectably. We have learned the not so subtle art of communication!
Reblogged this on Icanbeatit.
Reblogged this on On the light side of gamification and commented:
Hey Michelle,
so true, thank you very much for sharing this beacon of hope 🙂
Have a great day,
Chris