For many families, summer brings more opportunities for children to swim, participate in sports, attend camp, and spend time with friends. It can also be a time when kids become more aware of their appearance. Wearing swimsuits, seeing vacation photos, and comparing themselves to peers may cause some children or teens to feel self-conscious about their bodies.
These feelings are common and often reflect the many physical, emotional, and social changes that occur throughout childhood and adolescence. Body image develops over time, influenced by experiences at home, at school, among peers, and increasingly, through social media.
Because body image is closely connected to self-esteem and emotional well-being, it can also impact a child’s willingness to participate in activities, form relationships, and develop healthy habits. Children who feel comfortable in their own bodies are more likely to engage fully in school, sports, friendships, and other experiences that support healthy development.
What Is Body Image?
Body image is the way we think, feel, and behave in relation to our bodies. It includes how we perceive our appearance, how we believe others see us, and how those thoughts influence our confidence and daily lives.
A child with a healthy body image understands that bodies come in many different shapes and sizes, recognizes that appearance is only one part of who they are, and values their body for what it allows them to do. Developing this perspective helps children build self-esteem rooted in their abilities, relationships, character, and interests—not just their appearance.
If you’re looking for a deeper dive into how body image develops throughout childhood and adolescence, we encourage you to read our companion article, Supporting Healthy Body Image in Kids and Teens: A Guide for Parents. It explores the many influences on body image at different ages and offers practical, age-specific strategies to help children build confidence and self-esteem.
Why Summer Can Bring Body Image Into Focus
Summer doesn’t create body image concerns, but it can make them more noticeable.
Children may spend more time:
- Wearing swimsuits or athletic clothing
- Swimming or participating in sports
- Seeing themselves in photos
- Comparing themselves to friends or siblings
- Viewing idealized images on social media
At the same time, many children are navigating growth spurts and puberty. It is completely normal for peers to develop at different rates, yet children often notice these differences long before adults do. Some may worry they are growing too quickly, too slowly, are too tall, too short, too thin, or too heavy, even when their growth and development are perfectly healthy.
Body Image Matters for Every Child
Body image concerns are often associated with girls, but they affect children of all genders.
Girls may feel pressure to be thinner or look a certain way, while boys often feel pressure to be taller, leaner, or more muscular. As children move through puberty, it is natural to compare themselves to peers who are developing at a different pace. Some may worry they are not athletic enough, don’t have enough muscle, or simply don’t look like everyone else.
These concerns are not always obvious. Some children openly express dissatisfaction with their appearance, while others may withdraw from activities they once enjoyed, avoid swimming, spend excessive time focusing on their appearance, or become preoccupied with exercise or changing their eating habits.
Regardless of gender, every child benefits from hearing the same message: their worth is never determined by their appearance.
What Parents Say Matters
Children remember the words they hear at home. As Dr. Dina shares in this short video, even comments intended as compliments—such as praising someone for losing weight—can unintentionally teach children that appearance is closely tied to self-worth. Instead, we can help build lasting confidence by recognizing qualities like kindness, perseverance, creativity, and character, while encouraging healthy habits for the way they make us feel rather than how they make us look.
Try to avoid statements like:
- “I feel so fat.”
- “You don’t need seconds.”
- “You’ll have to work that off.”
- “She looks amazing—she’s lost so much weight.”
Instead, reinforce messages that focus on health, strength, kindness, and confidence:
- “Bodies come in all different shapes and sizes.”
- “What’s most important is taking good care of your body.”
- “Your body helps you do amazing things every day.”
- “I’m proud of how hard you worked.”
- “You should be proud of yourself.”
The goal isn’t to avoid talking about bodies altogether. It’s to make sure children hear, early and often, that their value extends far beyond their appearance.
Celebrate Who They Are, Not Just How They Look
Children naturally enjoy hearing compliments, but when praise centers primarily on appearance, they may begin to believe that how they look is what matters most.
Balance appearance-based compliments with recognition of qualities such as:
- Kindness
- Creativity
- Curiosity
- Determination
- Empathy
- Sense of humor
- Perseverance
Likewise, celebrate what their bodies can do.
Instead of commenting on how a child looks in a swimsuit, try saying:
- “You looked like you were having so much fun jumping into the pool.”
- “You’ve gotten so much stronger on your bike.”
- “I love watching how determined you were to make it to the top of that climbing wall.”
- “You must be proud of how much you’ve improved at swimming this summer.”
These conversations help children appreciate their bodies as tools for experiencing life rather than objects to be evaluated.
Help Children Become Critical Thinkers About Social Media
Today’s children are growing up in a world where edited images, filters, and carefully curated content are everywhere.
Talk openly about:
- Filters and photo editing
- Unrealistic beauty standards
- Why influencers often post only their “best” moments
- How social media encourages comparison rather than authenticity
Helping children understand that much of what they see online is carefully selected—and often digitally altered—can reduce the pressure to measure themselves against unrealistic expectations.
Parents can also model healthy technology habits by limiting their own focus on appearance-based content and encouraging activities that build confidence through real-world experiences, relationships, and accomplishments.
The American Academy of Pediatrics Center of Excellence on Social Media and Youth Mental Health offers practical guidance for families navigating social media and its effects on children’s emotional well-being.
Encouraging a Healthy Relationship with Their Bodies
A healthy relationship with the body begins by helping children recognize that their bodies deserve care, respect, and appreciation—regardless of their size, shape, or stage of development.
Parents can reinforce that message in simple, everyday ways:
- Teach children to trust their bodies. Encourage them to recognize and respond to natural cues like hunger, fullness, fatigue, and the need for rest. Learning to listen to their bodies builds confidence and supports lifelong well-being.
- Practice body gratitude. Regularly talk about what their bodies helped them do that day—whether it was swimming across the pool, climbing a tree, creating artwork, or hugging someone they love. This shifts the focus from appearance to experience.
- Normalize change. Remind children that healthy bodies grow and develop at different rates. Puberty, growth spurts, and physical changes are a normal part of growing up, not something to fear or compare.
- Keep the conversation open. If your child expresses concerns about their appearance, listen with curiosity rather than immediately trying to “fix” the feeling. Creating a safe space for these conversations helps children feel supported and understood.
Over time, these small moments help children develop a relationship with their bodies that is grounded in trust, respect, and appreciation rather than comparison or criticism.
Fostering Healthy Habits Without Focusing on Weight
Healthy habits should be about feeling well, not looking a certain way.
Encourage your child to:
- Eat a variety of nutritious foods.
- Stay active through activities they genuinely enjoy.
- Get enough sleep each night.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Make time for rest and recovery.
Avoid using exercise as punishment or food as a reward. Instead, help children understand that caring for their bodies allows them to feel stronger, healthier, and ready to participate in the activities they love.
Healthy growth involves more than numbers on a growth chart. It also includes developing a healthy relationship with food, movement, and one’s own body. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to read our companion article, Navigating Eating and Weight Concerns in Children and Teens, which focuses on healthy growth, nutrition, and weight-related concerns.
When Should Parents Be Concerned?
Some self-consciousness is a normal part of growing up, particularly during puberty. However, it’s worth discussing your concerns with your pediatrician if your child:
- Frequently criticizes their appearance
- Avoids swimming, sports, or social activities because of how they look
- Becomes preoccupied with calories, dieting, or exercise
- Skips meals or significantly changes eating habits
- Expresses shame or distress about their body
- Withdraws from friends or activities they once enjoyed
- Frequently compares themselves to others or says they aren’t “good enough”
Early conversations can help identify concerns before they develop into more serious eating disorders, anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem.
If you’re concerned that body image issues may be affecting your child’s eating habits or emotional health, please reach out to your pediatrician. The National Alliance for Eating Disorders provides educational resources and information about recognizing warning signs and seeking support.
Raising Children Who Value Themselves
No child should miss out on the joys of summer because they’re worried about how they look in a swimsuit or how they compare to others.
Parents can’t protect children from every unrealistic image, social media trend, or unkind comment they may encounter. What they can do is create an environment where children know they are loved, respected, and valued for far more than their appearance.
By modeling healthy attitudes toward food and exercise, speaking kindly about their own bodies, recognizing character over appearance, and encouraging children to appreciate what their bodies allow them to do, parents can help lay the foundation for lifelong confidence.
At South Riding and Farrell Pediatrics, we believe a healthy body image isn’t about loving every part of your appearance every day. It’s about developing respect for your body: caring for it through healthy habits, appreciating all it allows you to do, and understanding that your worth has never been defined by a number on the scale, a clothing size, or your reflection in the mirror.
When children learn to value themselves for their kindness, curiosity, perseverance, creativity, and character—not simply their appearance—they develop the confidence and self-esteem to navigate childhood, adolescence, and adulthood with resilience.
If you have concerns about your child’s growth, eating habits, or body image, we encourage you to schedule an appointment with your child’s pediatrician. These conversations are an important part of pediatric care, and we’re here to partner with you in supporting your child’s physical and emotional well-being every step of the way.
