Author, public speaker, and eating disorder survivor Emma Wright is coming to Masterton at the end of the month to give a presentation on ‘Body-Confidence in the Modern Age’, which aims to equip parents with the tools to tackle the often uneasy conversation with their children around food, their bodies, and social media.
Wright – originally from Wellington but now residing in Arrowtown with her husband and two kids – is an internationally recognised public speaker and has recently appeared on ‘The Project’ and Radio New Zealand.
Living with anorexia and bulimia from the age of 14, Wright’s talk will provide parents, caregivers, teachers, and coaches with strategies to help children and young people develop a healthy relationship with food and their bodies.
Wright said that eating disorders are most prevalent in teens, but children as young as eight are being diagnosed.
“Eating disorders are also very prevalent in menopausal women, but they can affect all people. All genders, all ages, all sizes,” she said.
Wright believes social media’s role in how children and young people perceive their body image can cut both ways.
“It can be negative or positive. Our job as parents is to do what we can to help them get a positive experience from social media.”
Wright has also written a thesis called ‘Playing with Beauty’ about how social expectations of appearance affect athletic performance.
Although discussing the topic of body image with a child can be challenging for parents, Wright said it is much easier to talk about it indirectly by framing the topic more neutrally.
For example, by saying, “I read somewhere that body image affects 90 per cent of teens”, and then asking what their child thinks.
“Ask more questions than you think is necessary. If you want to talk about their body image, make sure you get permission before you do and respect them if they say no,” Wright said.
Meanwhile, Wright has a new book on raising body-confident children coming out in February next year.
Wright’s talk is a free event open to all Wairarapa residents and will be held in St Matthew’s Collegiate Hall on Thursday, October 26
