Mom's Post About Trying On Bikinis With Her Daughter Goes Viral
Mom's Post About Trying On Bikinis With Her Daughter Goes Viral, Yesterday, Ashley Graham went on Good Morning American to say that parents are responsible for their kids' body image, but Brittney Johnson had already made that message go viral on Facebook on Monday.
The mom had taken her daughter out for a day of shopping, and when they were trying on bathing suits in the Target dressing room, what her daughter had to say shocked her. She posted about the experience on her personal Facebook page:
"I snapped pictures of them to send to my girlfriends and say "yes or no?!" because girls are wired weird and that's just what we do," she wrote. "And then I snapped this one. See that sweet baby girl in the corner? With half a dress on and one of the bikini tops I had picked out? I stopped for a second to see what she would say and when she turned to the mirror, she said "Wow I just love cheetah print! I think I look beautiful! Do you think I look beautiful too?!"
That made Johnson pause. "It hit me that she only says what she hears. What she sees," she wrote. "I tell her that she is beautiful every single day. She is kind walking through the mall, because I tell her she is kind everywhere else. She is polite at the order counter because she hears me when I'm polite to strangers everywhere. She gives compliments to people she doesn't know because she loves how it feels when she hears them. And when we are in a dressing room, with swimsuits of all God forsaken things, there is a split moment when I have the power to say 'wow I have really gotten fat this year' OR 'wow I love this coral color on me!' And those are the words burned into my daughters brain.'
The interaction made Johnson realize just how important the example she sets for her daughter is, and ended her post with a call to action for her fellow parents. "When it comes to manners, be an example. When it comes to kindness, be an example. And when it comes to body image, be an example. I am not a size zero. I never will be... But this body made a whole other body. I am strong. I am able. And I am happy. I don't have to be beautiful like you, because I am beautiful like me."
As her daughter grows up, Johnson knows those positive messages will become mixed with negative ones, but that won't stop her from promoting body positivity. "I will always remind her that the girls who look the prettiest in a two piece, or a body suit, or a freaking Snuggie, are the ones who are happy. Because that's ALL that matters. And I want her to look at herself every single day and say "Oh wow! I think I look beautiful!" because EVERY girl deserves to feel that."
Preach. It wasn't just her own friends who agreed - her photo has amassed than 216,000 likes and 123,000 shares since she posted it on Monday. Is that really a surprise? We could all use more reminders like this.
