It’s often hard for a teen to feel good about themselves.  Media has portrayed some teens as thin, muscular, handsome and beautiful through movies and magazines. Teens look up to these actors, actresses and models and strive to become more like them, but they don’t realize what happens behind the scenes to make those famous people the way they are.

They don’t wake up one day to a perfectly unflawed face and a body with no fat on it.  No one has the ability to do that. Hard work has to be taken to get the results these famous people do. Trainers, surgery and altered pictures all have a hand in giving a teen idol the “look” that others scramble to achieve.

Those who look up to these idols will face certain letdown when they don’t achieve the same results. Those feelings fester and eat away at your teen’s self -esteem and confidence. If those negative feelings continue to have a stronghold with your teen, you may be faced with issues you never want to have face; like suicide.

As a parent, you will want to help your child to have a positive body image of themselves. It’s also important for your teen to keep their self pride up as well. They need to know that they may not be like those models and actors, but they have qualities about themselves that are just as special.

The teen years are an important time in your child’s life. This is where they will build and tune the self images they have. Here are some tips to help you support your teen in building a positive image of themselves:

Watch what you say- An offhand comment on your part that pertains to their weight, abilities or intelligence may seem inconsequential to you, but it could have more of an impact on your teen than you realize. It’s important to handle the situation at hand, but make sure your comments don’t have a direct effect on the child. They may be overweight, so you will want to focus on helping them eat better and exercise, not on pounding the point of them being overweight into their minds.

Watch what you do- Your behaviors should be a model for your teen. Most children look up to their parents, because their unaware of how to handle what life throws at them. If you’re hard on yourself, your teen will likely be the same. If you turn to food during stressful times, your ten probably will also. Practice positive behaviors on yourself and let your teen follow suit.

Don’t think your teen is immune- Some parents think that since their teen is a boy, they don’t have to worry about their child’s self image. Society has brought a girls’ poor self image out into the limelight, but in reality, boys suffer too. Gender makes no difference when it comes to a child’s confidence.

Encourage their abilities- The best thing you can do to improve how your child feels about themselves is to compliment their good attributes. If they’re good at sports or singing then encourage them to do things that show those talents off. It helps them to feel good and gives them some self-worth. When they can see that there’s something they can do well, they will have more confidence to try out new things.

Helping your teen to build and keep a positive self-image will not be an easy task, since they will still have peers and others within their community to deal with. The best thing you can do for them is focus on supporting them the best way you can and encourage them to talk to you anytime they’re feeling down and out. Your teen’s best defense against a poor self- esteem can be found right in their own home- with you.