Filters should be fun, not a warped perception of reality

How many times do you see a photo in a magazine or online of a beautiful woman (or man) who has the perfect skin, no wrinkles or bags under her eyes, not a stretch mark in sight, not a vein out of place and a body that doesn’t even know what cellulite is?

Do you then find yourself asking, ‘Is it real?’ ‘Can I believe what I’m actually seeing?’

I can also hear you asking why I’m posting about this.

Here’s why….

Last week homeschooling included a presentation about online safety. The internet has become such an integral part of our lives now, this is just as important as learning about road safety.

What I really liked was the inclusion of everything you see online isn’t always as it appears to be and the children really engaged in guessing if various pictures were of a pair of legs or hot dogs.

At the tender ages of 6 and 7, it is just a game, however it has a strong message and I think we should take stock from this in helping our children with their self esteem and mental health.

There is so much pressure in the media that we should look a certain way and that something must be wrong with us if we don’t. We all have our own individual beauty which makes us unique.

Our children want us to be who we are and not something that is fictional or filtered. They love us for being real.

When explaining to both my children about photographs being filtered, I used the example of my unicorn post on Facebook. I showed them it wasn’t real and I was just messing about and Livvy gave such an honest response with a feeling of, ‘but that’s not my mum’, and said ‘It’s not really you as your skin isn’t that smooth and you’re not that white.’

Children have a wonderful way of being so honest.

Helping our treasured little ones with their self esteem and confidence starts with yours.

I’m proud to say at nearly 45 and after two children, I have abs.However, I also have stretch marks, prominent veins and cellulite.

The latter comes and goes depending on how the light is. I can see myself from one angle in the bathroom mirror and my skin looks as smooth as a baby’s bottom, yet if I turn to a different angle, my backside looks like a crumpled piece of paper.

But, guess what? It’s real. It’s who I am and I’m good with that. I refuse to let the media make me feel bad about myself and you shouldn’t either.

Let’s keep it real for our children and be who we are, wart’s and all.