I think everyone has to be mindful and responsible for their words and actions. Just be kind.

Sometimes the comments made outside of the family circle are a lot more destructive than those made by family members. In a family circle improvements can be made after a bad comment. Who is going to reprimand a person outside of the family and make them see their error of their ways

This is such a big issue. I know I’m not a boy, but from a girl’s perspective, I didn’t even feel close enough to my mum to be able to tell her that I hated myself.

I think communication is key here.

My son grew out of his puppy fat into a tall, slim teenager. This was a natural progress as he reached puberty. What then became clear was people’s comments on his image and size and looks. It annoyed me every time someone commented on his appearance (and it happened everytime people saw hime) and it bothered my son too. He asked why everyone had something to say. Not to stop there, people now feel the need to comment on how short and chubby he was! He now attends gym regularly and often shows me his muscles and abs. I always repeat that he is not the sum of his boy and although he loves the process and how he is looking, that he is more than his body and looks. I remind him of this regularly. It’s other people’s perceptions and comments that seem really important to him now and he repeats the comments from everyone about how hot and trim and muscly he’s looking. It’s my job to then play that down and talk about all his other positive attributes. I must admit though, it has really shocked me.

I have always thought that boys would have body image issues too. The biggest problem is that they feel they can’t talk about it without being labelled as ‘girly’.

It is a concern I have a 14 yr old who is a little over weight but still I can’t get him to move it’s also a worry for parents

If the parents don’t have a body image problem then it is rare that the children will have one in my opinion.

Is this a new research ? Thought this was already studied and known for many years. There is still a lot of work to be done in the acceptance of different shapes, sizes and beauty standards for boys & girls. We as parents need to start with our own wrong perceptions and insecurities, if we want to give the right message to our children.