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Mother's Always Right

Mum life, body image, style

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ABOUT

Molly Forbes

Hi, I’m Molly Forbes, the woman behind this blog. I’m also a mum, podcaster and presenter with a passion for positivity, confidence and body image chat, as well as one of the body confident hosts on Channel 4’s Naked Beach.

I regularly speak about body image and confidence at events and in the media, and have appeared talking about the subject on ITV’s This Morning, BBC Breakfast, Radio 1’s Newsbeat and various other radio stations and national newspapers and magazines. For more on all that check out my press page.

Here’s my story…

Disco queen, turned journalist, turned presenter, turned mum, I live in Devon with my husband and two daughters, Freya and Effie.

I like hot cups of tea, cold glasses of wine, pretty cushions and cheese. I’m also very partial to a kitchen disco.

Molly Forbes blog

This blog began as a mum journal back in 2011, after I had my first daughter (Freya). Back then I was a young new mum, a bit isolated and adrift, struggling to settle into this new identity.

I wrote about teething and sleep and breastfeeding and all the baby stuff, alongside presenting a breakfast show on Heart. Then I had another baby in 2014 (Effie) and wrote about it all over again. I also wrote about mum life for BabyCentre, Mother & Baby Magazine, The Green Parent Magazine and OK! Mum & Baby, along with various others.

Fast-forward to now and the baby days are behind me (for now – although never say never…). These days I write mainly about self-love, confidence and body image. I also write about family life, mum politics, fashion, travel, beauty and interiors (my other passion, aside from kitchen discos).

In April 2019 I was announced as one of eight body confident hosts on Channel 4’s new family-friendly show about body image: Naked Beach. It’s a subject close to my heart, mainly because I’ve been on a real journey myself. 

Before feeling happy and confident in my skin I was on the diet merry-go-round like many others. I’d starve myself to get “bikini ready” for a holiday and then starve myself afterwards to punish myself for all the stuff I’d eaten and drunk on holiday. Every January would be spent counting calories or starting some new scary fitness regime.

After having my second daughter, Effie, in 2014, my general confidence really plummeted. Although I had a huge respect for the fact my body had grown a human and was breastfeeding that human to keep her alive, I simultaneously felt a real pressure to “bounce back”.

new mum body

But when my eldest daughter (then six) asked why I was weighing spinach, and why I wasn’t eating the same as the rest of the family, I realised I had no explanation. WHY was I doing it?

From this point I started a real journey of self-acceptance, learning to see my worth for all the things I am instead of my body.

This video sums it up really…

I’m now one of the eight body confident hosts on Channel 4’s family-friendly body positive show, Naked Beach. I co-host and produce a podcast about body image called Body Cons, I host regular events to make people feel better in their bodies, and I work with a range of body positive brands to spread a message of self-love and body acceptance.

Me as one of Naked Beach’s eight body confident hosts

I’ve been lucky enough to work with a huge range of brands over the years, you can find out more about some of my favourite collaborations here. And you can find me on Instagram here and YouTube here.

Since this blog began in 2011 it’s been featured in various national magazines, including Gurgle, OK! Mum & Baby and Prima. I’ve also been invited as a guest to talk about everything mum life, from body image after babies to weaning and family travel, on various local BBC radio stations, as well as BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat and Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. Broadcasting has always been a passion, and I now co-host my own popular podcast on all things bodies called Body Cons.

Clearly the title of this blog is ironic. I have spent many days of motherhood so far thinking I am never going to know how to “do it”, let alone “do it right”. But on those days I just try to remember there is no right way to do it. No “right” way, that is, except my own way.

And if that doesn’t work, I ask my mum. Because if I’m not right, my mum almost always is.

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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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YOUTUBE

INSTAGRAM

THANK YOU ❤️ I’ve felt a bit flat the last w THANK YOU ❤️ I’ve felt a bit flat the last week, but after steeling myself to take a look at some reviews that flatness is easing. 
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Maybe this feeling is normal? A post-publication day flatness... it’s familiar and kind of expected, I’ve felt it after any big thing. A kind of anti-climax, mixture of exhaustion and overwhelm maybe?
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Publishing in a pandemic is tough and the fact I haven’t even been able to see my book in a bookshop doesn’t help. There’s been no celebration with friends and family, no fun launch event, no way to officially mark it as such - that’s all on hold. And self-promotion always feels a bit cringe, but I know it’s important - not just to get the book out in the world but also to show my daughters that as women we must be proud of our achievements. Particularly when we’re so often told to be quiet. 
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So here I am sharing this bloody wonderful review for Body Happy Kids: How to help children and teens love the skin they’re in. It speaks for itself. And while I’m here I’m going to be super direct and get over myself, to ask YOU to please leave a review if you’ve read the book too. It really does make a difference. Apparently Good Reads is also important (thank you to my buddy and book cheer leader @giraffemilklady for that nugget of advice).
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I’ve got a few cool bits of press coming up about the book but you can’t rely on media coverage of books - particularly when you’re not a celeb or have hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers. So word of mouth really is more important than ever. THANK YOU ✨
#BodyHappyKids 
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#bodyacceptance #bodyimage 
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[Image description: a screenshot of a five star Amazon review of the book Body Happy Kids. Full text in Alt Text.]
Body Happy Kids has been out in the world for just Body Happy Kids has been out in the world for just over a week 🎉 It’s been wonderful and overwhelming to see people reading it all over the world. I’m so grateful for everyone tagging me in their posts and Stories, particularly as I haven’t been able to see the book in a real life book shop yet 😭 (publishing in a pandemic is tough 💔). 
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If you’ve read the book I would be ever so grateful if you could leave it a review on Amazon. I’m told it makes a difference and can help some people decide whether to read it or not!
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This is a tiny thread taken from the chapter about toys. There’s some fascinating research into the impact of toys on body image in kids, showing that what children plays with matters. It’s not a straightforward case of banning Barbie (my 6yo loves her Barbies) but more a case of being mindful of the impact of these toys, talking about them and making sure kids have a range of different types of toys to play with. There’s a toolkit at the end of the chapter to help with this.
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As well as the research you’ll hear about in that chapter you’ll also hear from brilliant academics @christiaspearsbrown and @kopanoratele about the impact that gender stereotypes in toys have on the body image of children.
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In the meantime, swipe through to read a bit more about Barbie (including Slumber Party Barbie from 1960s 😱)
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I want to see more B roll photos. I want to see th I want to see more B roll photos. I want to see the deleted photos, lying forgotten deep at the bottom of the trash folder. The discarded selfies. The ones taken and hastily replaced with ten “better” ones. I want the perfect imperfection, the unglossy, unfiltered, messy, grainy slightly out of focus frazzled photos. 
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Not because we’re making a point about Insta versus reality, or to show that “even the girl in the photo doesn’t look like the girl in the photo”, or as the punchline to a joke about angles and what other people see versus what our phone sees when we swipe up. Just because. 
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I want my daughters (when they’re old enough to have phones), to feel able to show up with a make-up free, unfiltered face without feeling like they need to do so with a caveat or an apology. I want them to be able to exist online just as they are, without being hailed as “so brave” just for putting up an image of them living their life that hasn’t been taken under perfect lighting or with on-fleek brows or posed just-so. 
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We live in an age where we are all judging others and ourselves based on our appearance more than ever. Defining other peoples’ bodies. Deciding who is worthy or not worthy, who gets to speak, who gets our attention, based on what they look like. And looking at ourselves through the glare of a camera phone or zoom filter for hours every day. Living outside of our bodies and our faces. It’s. So. Boring.
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Talk to me about what you saw today, what you read, who you spoke to, what made you laugh, what made you think, that TV show that made you sob, the art that gave you tingles, the chat with your mate that left you aching to hug them. 
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Show me the B roll photos, the messy, accidental, fuzzy, real moments of unposed, unselfconscious LIFE. I’m here for it. Here’s mine.
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[Image description in comments.]
Today the Women and Equalities Commission released Today the Women and Equalities Commission released a big report into body image, with a whole raft of recommendations for the government to implement. The report included the findings of a large survey they did last year which found 66% of children suffer with negative feelings about their bodies most of the time. 
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There are a number of recommendations in the report, including scrapping the use of BMI as a measurement of health, getting rid of the National Child Measurement Programme (NCMP) that sees children being weighed in school, and encouraging the Department of Education to take a whole school approach to body image (as well as regularly reviewing the RSHE curriculum). 
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Doing this job often feels like pushing water up a hill. It’s frustrating, anxiety inducing and regularly leaves me burned out. But there is no alternative because we MUST have change. Our children deserve better. We ALL deserve better. Today’s report is some welcome news and now it’s on all of us to continue the work and show we care about these issues. The more the government realises it’s an issue that people want prioritised, the more seriously they will take the findings and recommendations in the report. 
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They have eight weeks to respond. We mustn’t stop talking about this. 
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Parents, teachers, youth leaders: follow @bodyhappyorg (the social enterprise I founded to promote positive body image in children and teens) for more support in this area. 
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I’m sharing what we offer here on my own account as I know there are some new people following me since the publication of my book last week and I want to let you know what resources and support we can offer in this area. I work with a brilliant team of people at @bodyhappyorg who are all equally committed to these issues. Hopefully this post will be useful - if you’re a parent we have support for you too. Check out the links in my bio or the @bodyhappyorg bio ❤️
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Last night I posted a reel about saying no to diet Last night I posted a reel about saying no to diet culture and someone commented that it wasn’t so dramatic as a straight-sized white woman. They were right, it’s not. Hopefully this post explains why, but I want to make it super clear where I stand because this stuff is important. 
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Also, a gentle reminder: it’s never OK to comment on or define someone else’s body without their consent. Holding people to account is important and appreciated. But piling in with comments about someone’s body as if they’re not there is rude and crosses a boundary I hold for my own body, and the bodies of others. 
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Thank you for being here ❤️
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No you’re crying. Can’t express how much this No you’re crying. Can’t express how much this means to me. 😭 #BodyHappyKids
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[Image description: A yellow square with a screenshot of a DM overlaid which reads “I’ve only read one chapter and I’m finding it so moving. There is not a moment of the day when I don’t worry about my 9 year old and how as a bigger child he may be stigmatised. I feel so empowered to have this book. We did the affirmations this morning and even the 2.5 year old joined in. Both my boys demeanour changed and when discussing ways in which the eldest thought his body was amazing was incredibly empowering. Thank you.”]
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