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Have you ever thought about your child's body image? Do they think about themselves in a positive or negative light? How do you talk about body image?
"Is my bum too big in this?" "I've been so bad today, tomorrow I'll be living on lettuce." "That girl is so pretty - look how skinny she is." "I can't eat that… I don't eat carbs." Magazines, music videos, TV advertising, TV weight loss shows, mums, dads… Early Years Educators?… On and on it goes… Does any of this sound familiar? 'Fat talk', 'fat shaming' and idealising the thin body for women and the muscular body for men is so common in Western culture we might not even be aware we are doing it. In fact, studies have shown that even children as young of three years of age are not immune - they prefer thin playmates over larger ones and believe they can't live up to the beauty ideals set by Disney Princesses. We used to think that body image concerns began around puberty, but increasingly, research with younger children has shown that body image worries are beginning much earlier than this (1). Click here to read the rest of this thought provoking article about the development of body image in young children. On Monday 23rd March and Friday 27th March Aspley East Kindy will be hosting a visitor from Circular Rhythm to celebrate Harmony Day. Lucas Proudfoot is a member of the Minjungbal-Bundjalung/South Sea Islander Community with a background in surfing, contemporary music and traditional Aboriginal dance. Through his business, Circular Rhythm, Lucas has been able to merge his many talents into a one-man performance that is highly interactive and informative about Australian Indigenous cultures.
We have been lucky to have Lucas visit us at AEK for Harmony Day for the last two years. He puts on a fantastic show for the children and sends a beautiful message about cultural diversity and celebration of difference. Harmony Day is a chance to celebrate Australia's cultural diversity and its message is all about inclusiveness, respect and a sense of belonging for everyone. Most people would have already heard in the media about the release of the Productivity Commission's final report into Childcare and Early Learning. While there is much speculation about which recommendations will be followed through with by government, C&K have released a media statement which outlines ongoing concerns regarding funding for the kindergarten sector in Queensland. You can find a copy of the statement here.
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October 2018
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Aspley East Kindergarten
