Positive Self Image

Objective: With this Family Home Evening Lesson I am wanting to help children understand just how special and wonderful they are! Satan will always try to encourage us to feel less than we are, and what we are capable of becoming. He is miserable, and wants us to be miserable too! By contrast Heavenly Father knows us... just think about that for a moment. He has known us for who knows how long! He knows what we are capable of becoming and He WANTS us to see, understand and become what we can! He sees the wonderful potential in ALL of us. This is what I want to help children understand. If children are able to have a positive self-image it will only benefit them in their future relationships in life. (I understand many mental illnesses are hereditary and are very real chemical imbalances; however, I do want to give them the best and strongest self esteem “muscle” so when hardships arise they will have the strength to endure and possibly overcome them.) 

Opening Song: I Am A Child of God (Hymn Book #301, Children’s Songbook #2) 

Closing Song: Every Star is Different (Children’s Songbook, #142)

Younger Children:

Lesson: 

• Preschool Age Children
• Sing Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes (Children’s Songbook #275A)
• While singing, make it fun (sing slow, then fast, etc). 
• Talk about how our bodies are all different and special, and that’s ok! 
• Have Children shout excitedly, “I am special, I love me!”
• School Age Children
• Complete above lesson for Preschool Age Children
• Sit in a circle, start with one person and go around telling that person 1 think that each individual likes about them. (If someone has said one thing, encourage not repeating the same answer.) Continue around the circle until everyone has had a chance to hear what other’s like about them.

Activity:

•   Coloring Page by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
•  Have each child draw a picture of themselves and write 3 things they like about themselves.

Older Children 

Lesson:

• Help your children to ponder how long you waited to come to Earth to have a body! It is special and Satan doesn’t want you do understand just how amazing you are, mind and body together! Talk about focusing on not just your positive features, but others as well. When our children hear us criticizing ourselves or others, it is more natural for them to be critical of themselves. 

Activity:

• How to Build Confidence and Self-Esteem, by the Dove Project (This might be geared more towards girls, but can be beneficial for boys as well!) Give everyone 10 sticky notes, have each person write 10 things they like about their body. Have them put them in their bedroom, bathroom, or anywhere where they will see them everyday. (See link for specific details.)

Additional Resources:

• A Parent's Guide to Building Body Confidence by Dove Project
• The Body, A Sacred Gift By Diane Spangler
• Scriptures:
• Matthew 5:16
• Psalm 82:6
• Mosiah 4:15
• Doctrine & Covenants 14:7

Useful Tips for All Lessons:

• I love to use the Sing-Along app on my ipad/phone. It contains all the church Hymns and Children's songs in sing-along format with words and a moving ball for the timing. There are pictures that go along with each song, or you can customize the songs with your own pictures. It's a wonderful, easy app that I LOVE! Another benefit is the ability to make a Playlist in the app. I will quickly make a Playlist of particular songs I am using for a lesson so I don’t have to waste time searching for them during the lesson. It’s great!

• I also frequently use the Sacred Music App on my devices. It’s nice to have the choice of sheet music, words, or both for each song. I also use the Playlist feature to make songs easily accessible during lessons, as mentioned for the app above. 

• Last, but definitely not least, is the Media App. I use this when I am searching for a particular picture or video to help emphasize my lesson topic. Probably my favorite feature of this app is the ability to edit videos. So if I just want to use part of a talk given by a General Authority, then I can cut out the rest and have the succinct clip I need for my lesson. It really is the best! I also like the ability to put together “Presentations” in the “My Media” section of the app. I can save any media I want to use for a particular lesson and it’s all right there ready for me during the lesson.