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  • The biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life (aside from growing, birthing and raising two humans)

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The biggest thing I’ve ever done in my life (aside from growing, birthing and raising two humans)

February 7, 2021 Leave a Comment

This month marks ten years since I first started this blog. The place has become a bit dusty, there are a few cobwebs here and there and I’m not sure if anyone ever stops by these days considering I pretty much shut up shop nearly a year ago.

A lot can happen in a year.

But I’m back in the room because I wanted to mark this day on this blog, the first place where I started to write since becoming a mum.

I’ve written a book.

BODY HAPPY KIDS: How to Help Children and Teens Love the Skin They’re In, published by Vermilion, is being published on 1st April 2021 and is available to pre-order now.

It will hold your hand as you learn how to dismantle diet culture around kids, giving practical tools, expert insight and evidence-based advice to raise children and teens who are friends with their bodies. Accompanied with beautiful illustrations by Stacie Swift to highlight key concepts in the book. 

Featuring wisdom from more than thirty academics, educators, scientists, activists, nutritionists, doctors, therapists and health first fitness and movement experts from around the world, along with decades worth of academic research, Body Happy Kids brings a broad perspective to a vast and nuanced subject. 

From the impact of body ideals, self-objectification and gender stereotypes to social media, emotional literacy and the power of words when we speak about bodies, to the inevitable health question, to joyful movement, to happy eating, to TV, to clothes… and more, the book gets into it all. 

Diet culture is stealing our children’s childhoods and, with this book, you’ll be empowered to do something about it. 

Apparently pre-orders really matter because they give retailers the confidence to actually stock the book, so if you can, please do pre-order. The book’s available to pre-order everywhere including Amazon, Waterstones, Hive and Bookshop.org. 

It’s written for any adults who are ever around children – parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, teachers, youth leaders, dance teachers, Brownies, Scouts and Guides leaders… the lot. If you care about cancelling diet culture around kids and reversing the epidemic of body shame the current generation of children is growing up with, then this book is for you too. Everyone is welcome. 

And if you know someone who you think may benefit from the book then please do share the news. Over the next couple of months over on Instagram I’ll be sharing some previews from the book, we’ll have interviews with some of the people who’ve contributed to it, I’ll share some behind the scenes of how it all came to be (writing a book during a global pandemic wasn’t the original plan!). 

The world is a very different place from the one that I wrote the initial book proposal in. I got the book deal three weeks into lockdown when I was homeschooling my two children while working full time across multiple different projects – which I continued to do while I wrote the book. The alternative was for the book not to exist and that was never an option.

I probably won’t be here that much in the future. My purpose since starting the blog ten years ago has changed and I’m working on so many things away from this corner of the internet I can’t give it the love it deserves. But I might pop in from time to time to dust off the cobwebs, say hello and remember a time when I used to write about sleep deprivation and breastfeeding, motherhood guilt and post-baby relationships. This was the place where it all started.

For now though THANK YOU for being here and, if you’ve supported my work around body image over the past few years THANK YOU for that too. It often feels like pushing water up a hill but it’s a push worth doing because my kids – and yours – deserve better.

OK, let’s do this. 

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Hello and welcome! I'm Molly Forbes - podcaster, presenter and blogger with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat. Regularly writing and vlogging about empowering female issues from a motherhood angle, I also cover lifestyle and fashion topics for like-minded mums who want to rediscover themselves after having children. Thanks for stopping by! Read More…

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This was taken at the start of half term, when the This was taken at the start of half term, when the kids were still enthusiastic about going for a walk. 1,705 walks around the same bit of countryside later... not so much 😬 
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If you’re struggling to get your kids motivated to move their body at the moment, go gentle. You’re not alone. Bad weather coupled with boredom coupled with the lure of screens is a heady recipe for lethargy - and that’s just me! 
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Seriously though, remember: all movement is valid. Even if it’s just a ten minute @cosmickids sesh or a little kitchen disco, it all counts. And if it comes from a place of enjoyment and fun, kids (and adults!) are going to be far more likely to want to get involved.
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What joyful movement activities are your kids enjoying right now (if any?!)?
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[Image description: Molly and her two daughters are standing in a field. They’re wearing colourful wellies, holding hands and smiling.]
I founded a social enterprise 😵 . Introducing: I founded a social enterprise 😵
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Introducing: @bodyhappyorg 🎉
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We are a Community Interest Company dedicated to promoting positive body image in children. We help adults help the kids in their care be friends with their bodies 🥰. 
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Through workshops and classes, digital and physical resources (both free and paid) we help parents, carers, teachers, youth leaders - and any adults who are ever around children - create body happy settings for kids to thrive in. 
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We launch officially next month with a beautiful new website and lots of resources which we’ll continually be adding to. In the meantime give us a follow at @bodyhappyorg - we start posting from today and our page has been designed as a free resource on its own! 
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I’m privileged to work alongside an incredible team of people on this. Shout-out to the original dream team @chelseacoxstrategist @amysnellingpt @effinitupfaye @lottie_storey @bodyconfidencecards_db @rachel_hobnobs & @aceandping 💕 LOVE YOU ALL! 💕
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[Image description: A blue square with yellow and white text which reads “the body happy org”. This is the logo for The Body Happy Organisation CIC]
Proof that I did wear clothes other than a tea-sta Proof that I did wear clothes other than a tea-stained hoodie and tracksuit bottoms at least once in the past month 😐
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[Image description: Molly is wearing pink dungarees with yellow buttons over a black rollneck long-sleeved top. She has a monochrome striped hairband on and her hair is pink. She is also wearing earrings with boobs on them. She looks very pleased, both with her earrings, the pink hair and the fact she’s not wearing sleepwear, for a change.]
A new report from the Education Policy Institute h A new report from the Education Policy Institute has concluded an obvious gender divide in the well-being of young adults. If you’d like to read more check out this article by Eleanor Peake in @newstatesman (I’ve linked to it in my Stories).
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Every week I get messages from parents and teachers concerned about the impact of social media on their kids’ body image. And of course, I couldn’t write a book about body image in kids and teens without covering social media - there’s a whole chapter in Body Happy Kids dedicated to the subject. 
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The thing is, social media isn’t going anywhere. And just like it can be a force for anxiety, shame and general angst it can be a force for good too. The trick is in knowing how to use it positively (and in holding the platforms to account for not moderating the spread of harmful viral trends and online abuse, and creating algorithms that deliberately create division and harm mental health... but that’s a story for another day). 
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But how can we expect our kids to have a handle on it when we, as adults, don’t ourselves? 
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I don’t believe the answer is to ban social media, but I don’t think kids should be given unfettered access to it either. 
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They need help navigating this stuff, learning about boundaries, developing media literacy skills so they can think critically about the content they’re consuming (just like many adults).
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And we also need to explore how we might be inadvertently contributing to the problem, perpetuating appearance ideals and creating a culture where kids learn it’s ok to body shame under the guise of health and to value each other based on the way they look.
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As ever, it’s complicated. I’d love to know what you think? What are some of the boundaries you have around social media in your house - both for yourself and your kids?
#BodyHappyKids 
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When I was pregnant with Effie I went to a pregnan When I was pregnant with Effie I went to a pregnancy yoga class every week. It was the highlight of my week. I left each session feeling like I was floating on a cloud, and I used the poses and breath work to guide me through labour too. But then I had my baby and found that, as a knackered new mum of two, I couldn’t find the time for yoga. I no longer had the excuse of doing it “for the bump” or “to prepare for labour”, so what was the point?
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It wasn’t until I started reinvesting in myself and unravelling the diet culture perspective on exercise that I found it again, along with running, which turned to hiking, and swimming. 
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It wasn’t about preparing my body for someone or something else. It was about the process itself, the time to unwind my mind and move my body for joy, just for me. I’ve lost a bit of that this past year with lockdowns, and I feel it.
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I recently signed up to @theunderbellyyoga with @mynameisjessamyn and feel like I’m finding it again. I love that my kids can see me taking time for myself, and enjoying movement, and that they sometimes want to join in too. Even if it is a bit annoying sometimes (swipe 👀). 
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#BodyHappyMum 
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[Image description: Molly and her 6 year old daughter Effie sit on yoga and gymnastics mats with their legs crossed and arms in the air. They have their backs to the camera. In the second image they are sitting crossed legged while twisting round to the side, and in the third image Molly is lying on the mat with her eyes closed while Effie leans over her, being a bit annoying.]
Health is complicated, yet it’s so often over-si Health is complicated, yet it’s so often over-simplified on social media. “Just eat less and move more!” etc are packaged up as empowering motivational quotes, but when we look into what health actually is, and the many things that impact it, we realise that this view isn’t empowering at all. 
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Any conversation about health that doesn’t acknowledge the fact of body diversity, social determinants of health and the impact of weight stigma and all forms of discrimination on health, is not a full conversation.
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When it comes to how this makes children feel about their bodies, the impact is huge. From appearance based bullying (both online and in the playground) to confusion over how best to look after their own health, we’re not equipping kids with the tools to feel good in their bodies or be accepting of other children in bodies that may not look the way we teach kids “healthy” looks. 
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Consider this as a “starter post”, an introduction to the “But what about health?” question if you’ve not come across a weight inclusive approach to health before. If it’s useful bookmark and come back to it. And maybe even share it if you think your friends and family might benefit from it too. 
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On the last slide you’ll find a short list of further reading. This is by no means an exhaustive list! Again, just a starting point. 
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There are professors, researchers, activists, educators, doctors, public health policy makers doing important work in this area (who have been leading the charge on this for decades, before social media was even a thing), but still the mainstream view on health always seems to come down to personal responsibility arguments and the “eat less, move more” approach. Just remember, it’s complicated. ❤️
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EDIT: On the last slide I recommend the book Burn Out - apologies for a typo to author name: it is written by Emily & AMELIA Nagoski 
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