#14: How do I effectively communicate body positivity to my kids?

with Analisa Arroyo, PhD

listen here

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In this episode we discuss…

  • how analisa became interested in the connection between body image and communication between mothers and daughters

  • the difference between preventing negative body image and promoting positive body image

  • what healthy behaviors by mothers were found to be statistically significant in promoting their daughters’ positive body image

  • supporting physical activity with your family - and why this looks different than just modeling going to the gym

  • offering a variety of foods and discussing nutrition

  • speaking positively about one’s body and modeling taking care of it

  • how “healthy” is defined in this research context

  • the impact of direct communication about body image vs. indirect communication

  • positive body talk - what it sounds like, and what parents can do if engaging in this is hard for them

  • what zoë and leslie have tried out to apply this research in their own families

Dr. Analisa Arroyo talks us through her research on how parental communication strategies can help promote positive body image in their children.

Get our guide to body-positive parenting, including the page for this podcast episode.

 

Dr. Analisa Arroyo earned a Ph.D. in Communication with a minor in Family Studies and Human Development from the University of Arizona in 2013. Her research interests are in health and interpersonal communication. Specifically, Analisa explores how individuals’, friends’, romantic partners’, and family members’ interpersonal communication processes (e.g., weight-related communication, social support, social skills, relational care/control) are associated with health/well-being outcomes (e.g., body image issues, psychosocial well-being, mental health) and relational quality (e.g., satisfaction, commitment). Her research can be found in some of the top peer-reviewed Communication journals, including Communication Monographs and Human Communication Research, and has yielded press coverage in media outlets such as Fox News, MSNBC, GoodMorning America, and Fitness Magazine. Additionally, Dr. Arroyo teaches graduate- and undergraduate-level classes in relational communication, family communication, interpersonal communication, communication and body image, and research methods.

Connect with Analisa on her website.

CJordan Best