My body, my freedom. Why you should like and respect it?

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My body, my freedom. Why you should like and respect it?

We look in the mirror with curiosity, satisfaction, pride, reluctance, and, unfortunately, with fear at ourselves. Are we aware of how our approach to our own body influences how our children perceive theirs? What do we feel when we hear six-year-olds already complaining about their looks?

Peoples are constantly evaluating how we look. We compare ourselves with standards promoted in the media, once again we become dissatisfied with ourselves or feel relieved and proud that we don’t deviate from them. It was once done by Barbie dolls and models. Today influencers, due to Photoshop, are able to smooth out the deepest wrinkles and flatten every stomach and shape our image of what we should look like. Do we give in to it and let them rule our bodies? Or maybe we will become able to defend our autonomy?

A fit body, a healthy spirit

Being ourselves refers not only to our consciousness, but also to the form in which it is enclosed i.e. the body. It’s a home where life processes take place. The question is how well we feel in it and how much the way it works affects our overall condition. We treat the body as a tool. It takes us to different places, provides us with sensations and information and helps us achieve our goals. Consider how much its appearance and efficiency affect our capabilities in this area.

Body and freedom

Health, age, skin colour and gender. To what extent can these and other physical characteristics affect our freedom? We encourage you to talk and reflect on how many things, often beyond our control, limit or strengthen our freedom. The inspiration for raising this subject was a documentary entitled “Domino Effect. Sumba” showing the impact of a disease (malaria) on the lives of the inhabitants of the Indonesian island of Sumba. This scenario may be an inspiration for interesting conversations and activities.

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My body, my freedom. Why you should like and respect it?

A difficult topic – puberty

Health is now a dominant motif in our conversations and news. Perhaps many of you are now more sensitive to body signals. As adults, we are better acquainted with our bodies, we know quite well what is normal for us and what is worrying. But how do our adolescent children function in this situation? What is happening to their bodies worries them on a daily basis. So additional concerns may cause unnecessary stress. We encourage you (if you haven’t already) to talk to your children about puberty and about what happens to their bodies during that time. But also, about how important it is to take care of them and feel “at home” in them. Read the text prepared by a psychotherapist on why it’s worth raising this subject. Make use of the proposed activities. It’s also an opportunity to look at ourselves and the body acceptance patterns we pass on to our children.

All source materials are prepared by the team of Kulczyk Foundation’s Education Department in cooperation with teachers and experts – pedagogists, psychologists and cultural experts – and verified by an experienced family therapist Kamila Becker. Kinga Kuszak, PhD, Professor of Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Educational Studies, provides content-related supervision over Kulczyk Foundation’s educational materials. All materials are covered by the content patronage of the Faculty of Educational Studies of Adam Mickiewicz University.

The article was published on 28.05.2020 on the website of Instytut Dobrego Życia (Good Life Institute)

Authors: Anna Samsel (Kulczyk Foundation) and Anna Woźniak (Instytut Dobrego Życia)