I volunteer with a grade 6 class through Peace by PEACE – University of Toronto and this week we discussed self-talk. I was impressed with the courage the students had when they volunteered to share their own negative self-talk which included comments about their body and appearance.
I know with my experience around eating disorders and my advocacy work that it’s an issue at a young age, but seeing it play out in a classroom is a reminder of how prevalent it is.
The activity though was changing their negative self-talk to positive self-talk which gave them all a chance to rewrite the narrative they tell themselves about their body. The messaging around body image is so ingrained in society at such a young age that we need to continue reinforcing that change to positive self-talk when we’re around young people (and even with adult friends).
