Did you know that according to Dove’s latest global report, 80 percent of women in Australia have low self-esteem? Or that only four percent of women around the globe consider themselves beautiful?
What if we told you that anxiety surrounding body image and self esteem begins at an early age, with 8 in 10 girls participating less in every day activities because they’re concerned with the way they look?
These are incredibly troubling statistics, and ones that are particularly concerning to Network Ten newsreader, Natarsha Belling.
As a mum to two boys, Harrison, 10, and Hugo, 8, Natarsha is conscious of doing her bit to stop the numbers climbing as an ambassador to Dove’s Self-Esteem Project and host to their upcoming event in Sydney on August 2nd.
“More than ever I think it’s important that we nourish and protect our future generations, and give them the best professional advice possible,” Natarsha tells Kidspot.
“I’m thrilled to be involved in such a fantastic seminar, that is focusing on the importance of positive body image, and looking at how we can offer young people the best possible guidance and support.”
Natarsha with sons, Harrison and Hugo. Source: Getty Images.
Tackling self-esteem as a child
For Natarsha, now 41, looking back at her teen years brings back a lot of positive memories. Thanks to her wonderful parents and the friends she surrounded herself with, Tarsh, as she likes to be called, never struggled with self-esteem issues.
“I feel incredibly blessed that I was never obsessed about how I looked. I grew up in a family where I was taught it is what is inside that counts,” Tarsh reveals.
“I was very lucky that I grew up in a house where beauty was never mentioned – it was more about how you treated others.”
Teaching our children how to love themselves
Tarsh reveals some of the most beautiful people she has encountered in her television career, and life in general, are the ones that have shown kindness. Which is why she and husband Glen, try all they can to teach their boys to do the same.
“My husband and I are adamant about teaching our boys about having respect for themselves and respect for other people,” she says.
“The world can be a wonderful place if we had more kindness, compassion and consideration for others.”
And while self esteem is a particular struggle for teenage girls, Tarsh urges parents to not ignore their sons, with boys who struggle with their self worth often doing so in silence.
“I think self esteem is also a big issue – and just as big for young boys as it is for young girls,” she says.
Natarsha, pregnant and glowing. Source: Getty Images.
When I felt most beautiful…
Kindness aside, we do have our good and bad days when looking in the mirror. And for Tarsh, the time she loved herself the most was when she was pregnant.
“I’ll be honest… I felt so beautiful when I was pregnant! I just thought: ‘Wow!’ I kept thinking about the extraordinary gift we’re given as women to be able to grow another human and give someone life,” she says.
“It’s the biggest blessing I have ever experienced. I felt incredibly beautiful, strong and confident in those days.”
Help make a difference
The Dove Self Esteem Project is an initiative aimed to help children develop a positive relationship with their bodies and inner selves. Since it’s launch in 2004, the project has helped 19 million young people in 138 countries.
Natarsha joins a panel of experts at the Dove Self-Esteem Project in Sydney on Tuesday August 2nd, including Sarah Spence (from the Butterfly Foundation), Psychologist Dr Justin Coulson, and Dove’s Mariebelle Malo.
