"Don't Tell Your Kids They're Beautiful"

If you've been anywhere near Twitter, Facebook, a TV or the radio so far today, you will have probably heard the story of MP, Jo Swinson telling parents not to tell children that they're beautiful. Apparently this leads to 'body confidence issues' in later life, and makes kids think that appearance is the be all and end all in life.

I was told I was beautiful all the time by my parents, not because they wanted to feed my young ego, not because they are shallow, but because they loved me. They were proud of me, they brought me up to have self confidence, a high self esteem and to hold myself in high regard. And what's wrong with that?! Nothing. I admit, I love fashion as much as the next girl, isn't it engrained into our DNA to love fashion? But, I'm not some egotistical, image-obsessed bimbo that thinks with one flutter of my mascara-clad lashes and I'll get whatever I want. I'm sorry to tell you, the notion that "wearing a pretty outfit or having nice hair are the most important thing to succeed in life" must not have rubbed off on me Miss Swinson. In fact, I'm quite sure that the exact opposite happened. I learned to dress appropriately in a variety of situations, formal occasions, job interviews, even something as mundane as walking down the street. But it appears that many weren't. Perhaps if those girls that strut down the street in next to nothing, or the lads that saunter around with their trousers by their ankles, or in mucky old tracksuits, were put in a nice outfit and told that they were beautiful when they were younger, then they'd also have some pride in their appearance now?

As for this rubbish on it somehow being detrimental to self-esteem and encouraging a negative body image, I again must disagree. For anyone who knows me, you'll know that promoting body image diversity is a great passion of mine. A couple of my idols include Caryn Franklin (of All Walks Beyond the Catwalk) and Yasmina Rossi (the 50-something model featured in the M&S ad), and I 100% back their goals and ideals that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes, ages and ethnicities. This diversity is sadly not celebrated in the media mainstream yet, but doesn't it make more sense to tackle this problem than to neglect complementing our little ones?

 

I was also taught as a youngster (as I'm sure most youngsters are) that beauty comes from the inside too. It's a bit 'cheese on toast' I know, but bare with me. So many things come together to make a person beautiful, and we should be teaching and praising the children of today about all of these. I completely agree that we should be praising our children for their 'curiosity in asking questions", and their ability "to complete a jigsaw puzzle", but don't you think it's taking a step backwards to not celebrate their beauty?!

Surely the way to celebrate body confidence is to teach children that they are beautiful no matter how they look, and that their kindness and joie de vivre do nothing but add to that beauty?

What do you think? I'd love to hear your opinions in the comments box below!