You'd Be So Pretty If...

How to teach your daughter to love her body--even when you don't love your own.

Dara Chadwick is the author of You'd Be So Pretty If...:Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies--Even When We Don't Love Our Own. See full bio

September 25, 2009

Be Kind to Your Body Today

I've been displaced from my home office all week (thanks to the installation of a new floor), working remotely from the library and anywhere else I can find an Internet connection. It's been a frustrating, stressful week of trying to get things done without the comfort of my normal routines and usual workspace. Read More

September 18, 2009

What Do You Think? It's Your Choice.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in with a class of eighth-graders during a meeting with the state's commissioner of education. It was the usual "stay in school, do your best" sort of conversation until the commissioner brought up the implementation of certain policies. Read More

September 11, 2009

Self-acceptance versus self-improvement

What does "self-acceptance" mean to you?

It's a term that gets thrown around quite a bit. Read More

September 4, 2009

What Are You Looking At?

When I was a little girl, I loved to watch the television show, "Romper Room." Each week, I'd hold my breath as the hostess pulled out her Magic Mirror at the end of the show and named all the kids she saw. I was inevitably crushed as she never -- not once -- saw Dara. Read More

August 28, 2009

Find Your 'Normal' and Forget About Size

With school set to start in just a few days, I've been doing plenty of back-to-school shopping with my 13-year-old daughter. Pants, shirts, skirts...she needs it all, and each trip to the fitting room feels fraught with opportunities to make -- or break -- the positive feelings she currently has about her body.

Generally, she feels good about the way she looks. Read More

August 21, 2009

Answering the Tough Questions

I'm starting a long weekend today, so I'm pulling out a vintage post from my old Fit In Real Life blog. Read More

August 14, 2009

Helping Girls Avoid the 'Perfection Plague'

I am not perfect.

Whew...I'm glad we got that out of the way.

I'm being a little silly, I know, but there was a time when admitting I wasn't perfect was extremely difficult. It all started back in first grade, I'm told, when I used to throw away any spelling tests on which I didn't get 100. As an adult, I realize that no one else ever thought I was perfect anyway. Read More

August 7, 2009

Teaching Girls What Matters: Beauty and Success

There's an intriguing profile of Sharon Osbourne coming out in the September 2009 issue of the British magazine, Psychologies. Read More

July 31, 2009

Girls and Body Image: The Importance of Staying Connected

We all know that the afterschool hours and unsupervised summer days can be dangerous times for tweens and teens. Drug and alcohol use, sexual activity and other "troublesome" activities have all been shown to increase in the hours when kids are alone in an empty house. Read More

July 24, 2009

Body Changes: Love 'Em or Fight 'Em?

Coloring my hair used to be something I did totally for fun. Blond streaks, red highlights, dark brown -- my hair's been every color under the sun (including, once, an unfortunate shade of bright green after an ill-timed swim in the pool). These days, I rely on color less for fun and more for hiding those pesky grays that keep appearing. Read More

Books by Dara Chadwick

You'd Be So Pretty If . . .: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies--Even When We Don't Love Our Own

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