Lets talk about a boy's 'body image' - Information for teens

What?  Yes you read correctly... today we will look at how boys feel about themselves and how their bodies changes.  One would think that only girls worry about this, but being a teenager means going through puberty and changes, and not always in ways you like, no matter if you are a boy or a girl.

This can have an influence on how you see yourself and feel about your body.

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Once you enter your teenage years you will see a lot of changes happening with your body, things like more hair under your arms and on your legs, more sweating, you will grow more, your voice will become deeper etc, but you will get to a stage where you will feel all awkward and not to happy about yourself.  It will feel your legs are too long and your feet too big and your body too small etc.  This can create a low self esteem because you are not happy with your body.  

This is part of growing up and even if you develop slower than your friends, you will eventually get through puberty and become a man.

You can read more here about the changes that will take place in your body during 'puberty'.

Body image is a person's opinions, thoughts, and feelings about his or her body and physical appearance. Having a positive body image means feeling pretty satisfied with the way you look, appreciating your body for its capabilities, and accepting its imperfections. 

It can also work the other way around, where you are the boy who is developing faster than your friends.  This can also make you feel self conscious.

Believe it or not but some boys struggle with their body image and it can happen even before puberty.  You are shorter or smaller or taller than your friends.  You feel more 'goofy looking' than them.  

The fact of the matter is that some things will change, you may grow a bit, but some things will not, like your feet will stay big, so the best you can do is accept yourself the way you are.

It is difficult to do that, but if you do not accept and love yourself for who you are, how can you expect others to do it??

Not everyone's body changes at the same time or even at the same pace. It can be tough if all of your friends have already matured physically and are taller and more muscular. Most guys eventually catch up in terms of growth, although some will always be taller or more muscular than others — it's in their genes. 

So no matter if you stand on your head, some things are in your 'genes' and will not change, so stop wasting energy and time worrying about it, or making yourself unhappy or depressed.  You can be out there and be yourself and make sure people see your goodness of heart and kindness and great personality... yes we all would love a beautiful body, but what is a body without a good inside?

It is up to you to make sure that you have a good body image (that does not mean you think you are better than other, it just means that you accept yourself.)  Once you can get to that point, you will have less worries and enjoy life more.

• recognize that we are different from one another and have different talents - some run fast and are good at sport, others can make music or sing and others are funny or kind - embrace your talents
• not everybody is sporty, but everybody can move.  Maybe you like dancing, or walking the dog, or skating or surfing.  Find what you like and get moving - you will feel better, even if you do not have a muscular body
• treat your body well, it is the only one you have.  Do not 'trash' it with drugs and alcohol
• be true to yourself and accept that your body is just a part of you, not the whole you and not the only thing that matters.  Even though the girls will look at a well built guy, they would rather prefer a 'personality' than an empty shell

It's important to have a positive body image, but getting too focused on appearance can cause a guy to overlook the other positive parts of himself. If you're like most guys who take care of their bodies, you probably look great to others. You just might not be aware of that if you're too busy being self-critical.