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

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

July 17, 2009

The Power of Fitness -- For Life

As I write this post, I'm sitting at my daughter's softball practice -- again. Watching her field ground balls, I'm struck by the ease with which she moves. She's fit and confident, and the physical effort involved is just part of a game she loves.

She's found her power on that ball field. And it's a beautiful thing to watch. Read More

July 10, 2009

A Day In My (Body Image) Shoes

We’ve been having a great conversation about whether confidence attracts bullies over at my You’d Be So Pretty If blog this week. The general consensus among my commenters seems to be that yes, it does. Read More

July 3, 2009

Body Image Lessons From My Daughter

As an author who writes frequently about mothers, daughters and body image, I'm forever preaching about the importance of teaching our girls to feel good about their bodies -- and about who they are. Read More

June 26, 2009

Proportion Distortion

Do you know what your body looks like?

It's a strange question, I know, but one that bears asking. Too many women walk around hating and berating the bodies they see, without ever knowing the beauty that others see. Read More

June 19, 2009

A Fresh Set of Eyes

My work as a writer and editor requires plenty of proofreading and if you've ever pored over a document, looking for mistakes, you know the value of seeing something with "fresh eyes." Too many looks at the same document can lead not only to missed mistakes, but also to a case of seeing the words our mind wants to see, rather than what's really there. Read More

June 12, 2009

How to Stop Hating Your Body

I do a lot of reading online about body image, and I always find the most telling bits of information in the comments section. It's there that women and girls (and sometimes men) really open up. Read More

June 5, 2009

Tween Girls and Their Bodies: What Can Moms Do?

I've been doing a ton of media interviews lately for my new book, You'd Be So Pretty If...: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies -- Even When We Don't Love Our Own, and one of the questions I'm often asked is, "How can I help my daughter feel good about her body?"

It's a tricky question, mainly because the key word in Read More

May 15, 2009

Do You Compete With Your Daughter?

Yesterday, I came across this article that delved into an ugly side of motherhood: moms who compete with their daughters in the appearance arena. Let me just say right from the start that this was never my own personal experience. Read More

May 8, 2009

Happy Guilt-Free Mother's Day

A woman emailed me recently about my new book, You'd Be So Pretty If...: Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies -- Even When We Don't Love Our Own. In her email she wrote, "I really want to read your book, but I'm afraid to. 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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