A positive body image is the familiar, pleasant feeling when dealing with one’s own body. It is an important prerequisite for strong self-confidence and develops in early childhood.
What is body image?
A positive body image means feeling comfortable in your own skin. The development of a good body feeling starts in infancy. A positive body image means feeling comfortable in one’s own skin. The development of a good body feeling starts with the infant. The more often physical closeness to the baby is sought and the resulting feeling of well-being is confirmed, the better this is for the child’s development. Physical contact in the form of cuddling and snuggling is particularly important here, although boundaries must also be maintained. Jumping, running, climbing, romping around, sports and movement of all kinds are engines for a healthy body feeling. People with poor body image are extremely critical of their body and hardly accept it. The positive, loving relationship with one’s own body is built up in early childhood and is independent of factors such as beauty, fitness, health and age. Ideally, children develop a good body image through play. Comparisons are poison for self-confidence and torpedo the healthy development of full acceptance.
Function and task
Our body makes experiencing the world possible in the first place. Who can convey this to his child, strengthens it and contributes to their good body image. Loving hugs, cuddling and tenderness are elementary for a good relationship with oneself. The body feeling is important for the momentary feeling of the child, but also for the later self-confidence. It is also the foundation for sexuality experienced with pleasure in adulthood. Children who have come to know their bodies as worthy of protection and love at an early age are less vulnerable to emotional and physical abuse and addiction. They can differentiate exactly which touch is pleasant and which is unpleasant, and they can express their own feelings. People with a good sense of their body have experienced that the social environment takes their wishes and feelings into consideration. This experience is the prerequisite for emotional and physical self-confidence. In order for children to develop a good body feeling, parents should address the child’s body perceptions. If these are accepted and not denied, this supports healthy development. If the child’s feelings are ignored or negated in the long run, the impression that he or she is “not right” will take root. There is a danger that the child will completely lose contact with his or her feelings. The more often a child is motivated to try new things, the more confidently he or she will master his or her body and the more natural the accompanying multifaceted feelings will become. Due to their own negative experiences, parents often try to ignore their children’s many bodily perceptions, talk them down or evaluate them negatively. Parents also often find it difficult to accept their children’s anger because they are afraid of it or of an angry child. Nevertheless, they should not portray negative feelings as inappropriate either. In order to develop its self-confidence, the child must learn that it has perfectly legitimate demands that do not always coincide with the parents’ wishes. However, this does not mean that children must generally assert their demands.
Illnesses and complaints
If body image is weak, there will be disorders in many areas. While a child with good self-esteem is able to reject exploitative, humiliating, or abusive behavior, a child with little body image is hardly able to do so. Children are interested in their physical changes, especially when they are pointed out with admiration. They are pleased and proud when acquaintances notice, for example, that they have grown taller. The incentive generates acceptance. Body image develops from the balance of affirming, accepting, but also frightening and disappointing experiences. At some point, the child begins to compare himself with others. If it previously received mostly positive feedback, it can for the most part value itself. If this was not the case, there are major cuts in self-esteem. Abuse takes many forms. The superior person exploits the trust, dependence, fear and ignorance of the inferior person.Mental abuse also has many facets and often even begins directly after birth. If the child is not wanted, it is perceived as a disturbing factor. Parents of unwanted children often leave the child alone, are indifferent, punish it with love withdrawal, devalue it, humiliate it, mock it or lock it up. In this way, self-esteem is destroyed. People who suffered emotional abuse at an early age often develop borderline personality disorder and often carry the feeling of guilt that they did not deserve better with them for the rest of their lives. Addictive disorders such as alcoholism or eating disorders also often develop from early emotional child abuse. Sexual and physical abuse in the form of hitting or using physical force against the child triggers severe trauma with devastating effects on health. The range of physical and psychological symptoms resulting from abuse is enormous. Psychosomatic complaints such as speech disorders, sleep disorders, lack of concentration, nightmares, skin disorders, allergies, abdominal pain, panic attacks, a disturbed sense of body up to neuroses, personality disorders and suicidal behavior occur. If children do not move enough, they do not get to know their bodies extensively. The result can be poor balance, slouched posture, and an overall lack of awareness of their own bodies. Listening to the needs of the body and the ability to control it is difficult for these people. For example, coordination and rhythmic ability may be poorly developed. Ultimately, this can also lead to severe postural deformities. Mild disorders such as reading and spelling difficulties and hyperactivity can be successfully treated with perception exercises to improve body awareness. Trauma resulting from mental or physical abuse requires prolonged psychotherapy and patience on the part of the patient, as setbacks must always be expected.
