How has your child expressed feelings about their own body? How does it compare to your experience as a kid?

• Even though both my husband and I tried very hard to model acceptance of all body shapes and sizes, both our daughters still struggled with societies' image of what "beauty "had to look like in the female body. It made us both very sad to see that happen. I think they both worried about their bodies more than I did as a child. Our goal was for them to see their bodies as a healthy, energetic, and functioning tool to accomplishing what they wanted with their life, rather than as something to be compared to others. Our daughters had naturally very different body shapes, one very tall and thin, and one shorter and curvy. It seemed like there were times that they each wanted parts of what the other had rather than feeling comfortable in their skin. But overtime as they became adult adults, they have both been able to grow past that and appreciate their bodies for being the beautifully functioning vessels that they are.

• This is the part of motherhood I fear and struggle with the most. At ten years old, the same age my oldest daughter is now, I had no idea anything was ‘wrong’ with my body. But for her, she always seems to find something to criticize about herself, and it breaks my heart. I know this time is confusing for her, and I recognize I don’t always help. My responses can be stern and dismissive, and they fail to acknowledge what she’s truly feeling. Recently, after a little spat, I told her, "I'm not made AT you, I'm frustrated and angry that you see yourself in that way. I'm mad at myself for not ensuring that you know that you are beautiful, magnificent and kind, unworthy of such harsh words!" And I was crying, the cherry on top of this drama.

• "My body? I don't mind it. It's a little irritating when people make fun of me, but I like my body just fine." (He's the smallest in his class) As opposed to me thinking I was a freak of nature (nearly full grown before leaving Elementary school). He's WAY better prepared.

• The first time I heard him utter to me I'm ugly and fat I felt like I time traveled and was hearing myself at 13. The next time I heard him utter those words were to their medical provider when they were going over the questionnaire about his mental health. During that time, I was only his mom pained at his pain and started to cry. I wonder in both instances how much my body shame seeped into him and how could I have let that happen.

• My daughter seems secure in her body, and doesn't believe being thin is a requirement to be considered beautiful. my son is still finding his equilibrium with his body, as he compares himself to his more athletic friends.

• Already experiencing body comparison, "feeling fat", wanting a training bra just like her friends, thinking that she should eat less or more l vegetables. She also gets lots of compliments for being herself from friends and adults. It is a very human a experience and I think we have also picked well rounded friends that help her feel good about her body and who she is.

• My kids are very confident about their bodies. They express how strong, fast and capable they are. My three year old shows me her "moves" which is her jumping on one foot and slamming around on the bed. My 7-year-old has always been heavy on the gross motor skills and excels in physical activities. I haven't heard comparisons and anything negative about their own bodies. Both of my kids lean towards being naked rather than clothed, which is not how I roll personally. My own experience as a kid was riddled with self doubt and not good enough-ness. My mom scrutinized my body and told me stories like "when I was young, I said that if I ever had a daughter and she was fat, I'd starve her". So that was super helpful to my development.

• My daughter went through an intense phase of saying she was fat. It was right before puberty when the body seems to gather weight. Nothing I could say or do seemed to help. I had a similar experience as a kid and it was heartbreaking for me that it came around again for her. Talking about different body types or loving yourself as you are, isn't enough to offset the pressure from the over culture to look a certain way. Now her body has found its post puberty homeostasis and she is happier.

• My kids say things to me that I would never have dreamed of saying to my parents. I consider this my gift and my repair. 

• Our children have expressed positive communication about their bodies. They have also each mentioned small things they wish were different about themselves over the years, their height, skin, and weight. Likewise, in my youth I did not talk about how I felt about my body but my Mom took me to a doctor to discuss healthy eating and she always encouraged me to accept myself the way that I was born. This is how I tried to talked to my kids as well.