I remember promising myself when I was very young that I would never be one of those women when I grow up who wanted weight loss surgery or to change their bodies.

But then I became her.

So dear current moms and future moms of daughters, keep the following in mind next time you look in the mirror.

Your daughter sees you as a beautiful and amazing person who gave her life. You are her biggest role model. Yes, criticizing her body will tear down her self-confidence but criticizing your own body will do the same. Your daughter is looking to you for how to view and love herself. If you can't love your own body, she's going to have a hell of a time learning to love herself. Every time she hears you say "I'm fat" or "I need to work out" or "I need to go on a diet," she's being taught that its normal for women to hate their body, even that she should hate her body too.

There's a little girl always watching you. You can tell her she's beautiful as many times as you'd like but if she doesn't believe it, it'll go in one ear and out the other. Start by loving yourself and tearing yourself down less and maybe she'll start to hear your words.

You can tell her it was her choice to over eat, restrict her eating, or to over-workout but really she learned she needed these behaviors from you. Society and the media will have their way with her but teach her to be strong and love herself before they can make her think she is not enough.

Moms, you are the biggest role models for your daughters so next time you look in the mirror, catch yourself before you tear yourself down.

Sincerely,
A daughter just trying to love herself