Body Image for Girls in Sports
Kate T. Parker, a professional photographer and New York Times bestselling author of The Heart of a Boy and Strong is the New Pretty, says that in the youth sports world, girls grapple with body image challenges.
In an interview with Ultimate Sports Parent Radio, the ironman and former collegiate soccer player said that the photographs she sees of girls in sports rarely look like her daughters when they play soccer.
“I noticed when I started taking pictures, I’d look around, most of the images of little girls, their hair was done and they were smiling. They didn’t look like my girls. I wanted to capture images of what they look like, muddy, with crazy outfits, hair not done.” She worries that the pictures of girls in sports with their hair and face looking perfect create the wrong impression for girls.
Her message for sports parents and girls in sports: Girls are beautiful when they’re not all done up. They’re also beautiful if they develop big muscles.
“I remember growing up and being frustrated that my jeans didn’t fit right; I had soccer legs, my jeans fit my thighs, but gapped at the waist. I was frustrated and embarrassed by that.”
As she got older, she realized that if her legs weren’t so muscular, she couldn’t achieve the goals she wanted to achieve–becoming an ironman, for instance.
“It’s important for girls to recognize that your body looks a certain way because of what you’re demanding of it,” she tells girls in sports. “You shouldn’t be embarrassed.” Feeling proud of their bodies helps girls feel confident in sports–and life.
Parents can help boost confidence in girls in sports by refraining from commenting on their bodies in negative ways. Moms should avoid talking about their own bodies in negative ways. They shouldn’t talk about how they need to lose weight or diet.
“If you have a positive body image of yourself and are healthy, it trickles down to your kids,” Parker says.
The body image issue for girls is “pretty pervasive,” she says. At some point, most girls grapple with concerns about what their bodies look like, especially if they’re in gymnastics or swimming.
“Parents have to be careful about what they say. All you can do is feed their brains as much positivity as you can,” says Parker.
Parker tells her daughters every day that they’re beautiful, especially when they wake up in the morning and haven’t brushed their hair. “Beauty is who they are instead of what’s on the outside,” she says.
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Related Kids Sports Psychology Articles:
- Sports Parents, Watch Your Body Language with Your Young Athletes
- How to Care About Athletes’ Mental Health
- Parent: How to Support your Female Athlete
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The Confident Sports Kid
When kids lack confidence, they doubt themselves, stop taking risks, play tentatively, and are hard on themselves. As a result, kids often lose their motivation to improve. Ultimately, these barriers keep them from enjoying sports and making the most of their physical talent.
“The Confident Sports Kid” program is actually two programs: one that teaches sports parents how to boost their kids’ confidence, and another that teaches young athletes age 8 to 18 how to improve their self talk, avoid negative thinking, overcome expectations that limit confidence, and much more. The program will help kids boost their confidence in sports and life…and enjoy sports more.