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- Dove Self-Esteem Project
The importance of family relationships and friendships for young people
How do friendship problems and sibling relationships affect young people’s self-esteem? How will your own mother child or father child relationship help your child's confidence? Use our articles and activities to address their concerns and bring you closer together.
As your child grows up, their relationships with friends and family will influence their sense of self-worth enormously. As their parent, you'll be a huge influence on their ideas, values and beliefs, and play a crucial role in helping them develop healthy, positive behaviours.
Our articles and activities are perfect for any family with teenagers and pre-teens, helping you open up communication around body image and self-confidence. Use them to break a cycle of poor self-esteem or a preoccupation with appearance.
A secret code for your mother daughter relationship
How a codeword can improve communication with your teen daughter, helping you offer relationship advice & strengthening your mother daughter relationship.
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![Dove Talk To Young People in a Language They Understand]()
family
parenting
positive talk
talking topics
generation gap
body image
psychology
food and nutrition
teaching
parent
11 to 16 years
How to talk to young people in a language they understandWe all know the importance of communication, but talking to teenagers often leads to misunderstandings and raised voices. Use our teen talk tips to help you.Ever feel like you’re talking to your child in a different language? Then try using our action checklist – it might not teach you to be fluent in ‘teenager’, but it will definitely help you speak a language you can both understand.
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![Dove When Does Family Banter Become Bullying]()
family
parenting
positive talk
talking topics
body image
looks and appearance
self-esteem
parent
8 to 16 years
When does family banter become family bullying?When does family banter become harmful? Joking and teasing from family members can affect your child's confidence & self-image – learn how to nip it in the bud.Jokes and teasing are common in most close family relationships, but when they hit a nerve they can cause low self-esteem. We’ve put together a common-sense checklist to help you keep the family comedians under control and stop young people feeling picked on.
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![Sibling jealousy]()
For young people who often feel the whole world is against them, it’s easy to imagine that includes their own family. Innocent comments or actions from a parent may be misinterpreted as favouritism or disapproval. Feeling a need to compete with brothers and sisters – for affection, attention or just a bit of personal space – can strain even the most loving family relationships.
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![Dove How The Father Daughter Relationship Affects a Girl's Body Image]()
From changing her nappies and pushing her buggy to collecting her from school or teaching her how to cook, today’s fathers tend to be more involved than ever in their daughters' upbringing. Some dads, however, back off as their daughter grows up – but when it comes to encouraging positive body confidence, they may be needed at this stage more than ever.
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![Dove Family Dynamics and Your Child’s Self-Esteem]()
family
parenting
talking topics
role models
emotions and behaviour
parent
8 to 16 years
How family dynamics and relationships can affect your child’s self-esteemAdvice on resolving family tensions & improving parent-child and sibling relationships to boost young people's self-esteem and self-respect.In this Q&A with Terri Apter, psychologist and author of You Don’t Really Know Me: Why Mothers and Daughters Fight and How Both Can Win, we look at issues within family relationships that can have a big impact on your child's self-esteem.
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![Dove How To Have a Great Father Daughter Relationship]()
You may never have been a girl yourself, but that needn’t be a barrier to father daughter bonding. You want your daughter to grow into a self-confident young woman – and she’s going to need her dad on her side.
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![Dove Differing Points Of View]()
Convincing kids that it's worth devoting time and effort to schoolwork can be a major source of tension. Here, a mother, Jennifer, and her daughters, Emily and Samantha*, give their views on a typical mother-daughter struggle over homework – showing how understanding other people’s points of view in family disputes can reduce anger and upset on all sides.
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![Communicating with teens]()
parenting
mother-daughter relationships
positive talk
talking topics
psychology
behaviour change
parent
11 to 16 years
The Parent Translator: a tool to tackle communication skillsHow to improve your listening skills and verbal communication to talk effectively to your child & overcome teenage communication problems.Communicating with your child should be easy. But miscommunication is easier. You make a simple comment about what they’re wearing and they storm off, slamming the door. You ask what they had for lunch and they assume it’s an attack about their diet. While you’re just trying to show how much you care about them, their reactions suggest you’re speaking a different language.
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![Dove Words Of Encouragement]()
Life can feel lonely for teenagers. Have you considered writing a message of support to your son or daughter about being a teenager? Sharing your own experiences, words of wisdom and encouragement can help you empathise with them and improve your conversations.
