Instilling a Positive Body Image in Your Daughter

New to Mom Seriously? Welcome! You'll find tons of great parenting articles, homeschooling encouragement, and every day, a Mom's Tip of the Day. Enjoy!

*WIN A COPY OF 31 DAYS TO A YOUNGER YOU!*

You have another chance to win! Follow this blog to enter (If you already follow this blog, you are already entered!) OR leave a comment below. Be sure you leave me a way to contact you!

YESTERDAY'S WINNER: 2THINKS!

We've been talking about looking and feeling younger this week with my friend, author Arlene Pellicane. Arlene and I first teamed up several years ago with our friend Sue McRoberts (author,The Lifter of My Head: How God Sustained Me During Postpartum Depression) team-writing a blog called, Totally New Moms.  Arlene was our fitness guru, helping new moms lose weight after pregnancy. Now she's written a great book that's perfect for anytime, but especially now at the beginning of a new year. 31 Days to a Younger You: No Surgery, No Diets, No Kiddingis available now, and readers, it is a treasure! Arlene has a great writing style and loads of practical advice, with do-able strategies for making her tips work for you. Today, I'm concluding my series of posts with Arlene as we discuss daughters and body image!

Mom Seriously (MS): You and I are both moms of daughters, Arlene. Unfortunately, body image is something we gals have to deal with all our lives. What are you doing to instill positive body images in your daughters?

Arlene Pellicane with daughters Noelle (L) and Lucy (R)

Arlene: My sweet girls! My four-year-old doesn’t struggle with body image. In my book, I mention the time when we were at Sea World and she looked at herself in the mirror and announced, “Good!” She was two years old then. I’d love for her to have this same comfort and confidence about herself when she’s 20. To help her, my husband and I give her plenty of verbal affirmation, telling her she is beautiful, unique, and wonderfully made. I talk to her about caring for others and the importance of keeping a soft heart before God.

MS: What else, Arlene?

Arlene: We exercise together, and we enjoy eating healthy snacks together, like fruit. Modeling good habits will help her be healthy and energetic in the years ahead. As for Lucy, who’s one year old, we just keep kissing her and telling her she’s so cute. Actually that will work for older girls too!

MS: A lot of my readers are mothers of middle schoolers dealing with daughters who are looking at unhealthy, unrealistic examples of girlhood. What are some things that these moms can do to help their girls with their hormones, skin and hair issues, and the onset of puberty, that will help them feel good about themselves?

Arlene: There’s one thing that has surprised me about my book. I have had several moms tell me they are reading through the book with their teenage daughters. The same issues we have about the way we look and feel are being experienced by girls decades younger. Pour love and affirmation into your girl, telling her often about the beauty (visible and invisible) you see in her. Save money together and go shopping for a new outfit. Be involved in service projects so your middle schooler can get a break from being self-conscious and switch to being conscious of others. And of course, you can get a copy of my book and read it with your daughter. It will give her a prescription to touch her heart, mind, and body, just like yours!

MS: Arlene, thanks so much for being part of Mom Seriously this week! It's been so much fun reconnecting with you. Readers, you can connect with Arlene at her website and blog.

Readers: Any of you in the New Orleans area with daughters 7 - 12 years old, please join me at the Pure In Heart Conference on March 19th! Your daughter will learn who she is in Christ as well as how to confront the lies of the culture! More info is HERE.

Posts in this series:
31 Days to a Younger Me? Where Do I Sign Up?
Stock Up on Health at the Grocery Store
Instilling a Positive Body Image in Your Daughter



Don't miss any great parenting info: Subscribe to my daily email newsletter! Click HERE.

Stock Up on Health at the Grocery Store

New to Mom Seriously? WELCOME! Be sure to sign up for my daily email newsletter, full of practical tips for purposeful parenting!

*WIN A COPY OF 31 DAYS TO A YOUNGER YOU!*

A winner will be chosen today and tomorrow! Follow this blog to enter (and if you already follow this blog, you are already entered!) OR leave a comment below. Be sure you leave me a way to contact you!

Ever since my foray into couponing back in May of 2009, I've enjoyed blogging about saving money at the grocery store. But did you know that you can save your health, and your family's health, while you're there? It's all about what you put into the cart. Like all of life, the choices you make often carry long-term effects. And as moms, we're not just making individual, personal choices when we're food shopping. We're making decisions that affect our families. Join me now as I talk with my friend Arlene Pellicane, author of the new book, 31 Days to a Younger You: No Surgery, No Diets, No Kidding for some tips on smart grocery shopping!

Mom Seriously (MS): I talk about grocery shopping (and couponing) frequently on my blog--after all, it is where most moms spend a couple of hours each week! In your new book, you write, "One battle for your body's health is won at the grocery store." What do you mean by that, and why is it so important for moms, as the main grocery shoppers in the home, to be diligent in this area?

Arlene: That’s a great question! The battle is: “Will I put this bag of Oreos in my shopping cart? After all, they are on sale!” Once the food goes in the cart, it is inevitable that it will go on our hips! If we can be the gatekeeper at the grocery store, our families will have healthier options at home. When you are hungry, you just go for what looks best / is the easiest to eat. Will that food be grapes or Doritos? The decision is really made at the grocery store: What did you buy?


Arlene and husband James
Kids (L-R): Ethan, Noelle, Lucy 

MS: As the mom of a picky eater, I know that one hindrance that many moms face is in getting their kids to eat right. Is that a problem at your house, with your three little ones?

Arlene: I wish I could say my kids love to eat vegetables but they don’t. When they see a solitary pea on their plate, you would think I just asked them to eat a plate of dog food! We’ve found a few snacks that are a step in the right direction:

• Carrot and celery sticks
• Edamame soybeans
• Hummus and whole wheat pita bread
• Apple slices
• Frozen grapes or bananas
• Whole wheat pretzels

MS: Arlene, what about drinking right? Lots of moms are heavily dependent on sugary coffee, sweet tea, and sodas in their daily routines. Any tricks for getting more water in?

Arlene: In the new book, I’ve written a chapter about water called, “Drink and Grow Rich.” Water is so wonderful because it’s so healthy and FREE. When you go out, make sure you carry water bottles with you in the car--for you and the kids. That way you’re ready with something when you’re thirsty. Instead of stopping for a coke, your thirst will be quenched. Keep a glass of water on your desk and drink while you’re doing emails or working.

MS: I've found, too, that getting water in the very first thing in the morning, when I'm having my quiet time, also sets the tone for the day. So, what do you think is the biggest obstacle that moms must overcome when it comes to eating (and drinking) right? What's keeping us from getting serious about it, for ourselves and our children?

Arlene: I would have to say unhealthy self-talk. What do I mean by that? Too many moms believe, “I can’t really lose weight. Even if I eat right, I’ll just slip back to my old ways, so what’s the use of trying?” If we don’t believe we can do it, we won’t.

MS: And the great thing for us to remember as Christians is that we can put this concern straight into the arms of the Lord. He cares about our health, and He cares about our families. Where we are weak, He is strong! When it comes to making the right choices for good health, remember that you can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!

Readers, my friend Arlene loves speaking to women at moms groups, seminars, and retreats.  Arlene lives in Southern California with her husband James and their three children, Ethan, Noelle, and Lucy. Connect with Arlene at her website and blog.

Posts in this series:
31 Days to a Younger Me? Where Do I Sign Up?
Stock Up on Health at the Grocery Store
Instilling a Positive Body Image in Your Daughter

Don't miss any great parenting info: Subscribe to my daily email newsletter! Click HERE.

31 Days to a Younger Me? Where Do I Sign Up?

New to Mom Seriously? WELCOME! Be sure to sign up for my daily email newsletter, full of practical tips for purposeful parenting!

Danya
Photo courtesy: Rebecca Poole Images

Recently, my beautiful daughter turned 19. I really don't think of myself as "old" enough to have a 19-year-old. I'm not sure, in my mind, just how one is supposed to feel having a 19-year-old. I guess that I thought, years ago, that I would feel really old when she was an adult. But I don't. Not yet. I don't exactly feel young, either. LOL

Nineteen is really an odd sort of age. As one of her friends pointed out, it's not the big deal that turning 18 was, and it's not the big deal that turning 20 will be. It's just sort of in-between. Maybe that's how I'm feeling: Sort of in-between. At 44, I don't think of myself as "old," but when I'm at one of DANYA's shows (depending on the venue) I know that I don't fall into the category of young, hip, and happening. :) So I'm feeling in-between...middle aged, if you will, and in definite need of a pick-me-up!

Enter God's perfect timing, and the arrival of my friend Arlene Pellicane's new book: 31 Days to a Younger You: No Surgery, No Diets, No Kidding. Arlene is passionate about women's health: both physical and emotional aspects. "When we are healthy physically and emotionally, we have more to give to others," Arlene notes. "Physical health enables us to do so much more with our families and with the dreams God has given us. When we have a sound mind and body, we’re not limited to sitting on the sidelines. We get to play in the game of life!"

Recently, Arlene and I sat down for a virtual chat, and over the next few days, I'll be sharing some of her tips and tools for looking and feeling younger!

Mom Seriously (MS): Arlene, you've long been a fitness guru and an authority on eating right and living right. In your new book, you take women on a 31-day journey through lifestyle changes, challenges, and choices. Would you share some things that a 40-something mom like me can do to feel and look younger?

Arlene: Rebecca, there are three things you can do right now to get yourself out of this in-between feeling and on your way to looking and feeling younger!

1. Lose a few pounds. When your clothes get baggy and you have to go shopping for a size down, you feel young!
2. Go on a candlelight date night with your husband. Talk about memories from your courtship and early years of marriage. Hold hands. Smooch in the car.
3. Go through your closet and give away anything that says “old lady.” Things like baggy clothes that don’t fit you well or overly matchy outfits (flowered top and bottom). Shop for one outfit that makes you look younger. Try stores like Ross or TJMaxx to do this inexpensively and invite a hip friend to help you shop if you need some extra advice.

MS: Arlene, as Christian moms, what should be our motivation when it comes to taking care of ourselves?

Author Arlene Pellicane

Arlene: Look into the eyes of your child/children and you will find the answer. Whatever you do, your kids will do. When we eat junk and sit on the couch watching TV all day, guess what our kids grow up to do? The same thing! But if our kids watch us eat healthy and exercise regularly, they will follow suit.

MS: My friend Arlene loves speaking to women at moms groups, seminars, and retreats.  Arlene lives in Southern California with her husband James and their three children, Ethan, Noelle, and Lucy. Connect with Arlene at her website and blog.

Coming up in this series:
Stock Up On Health at the Grocery Store 

Instilling a Positive Body Image in Your Daughter

Don't miss any great parenting info: Subscribe to my daily email newsletter! Click HERE.