Nursery World - Do nursery children worry about what they look like?

Childcare and early education professionals are being asked to complete a body image survey to discover how soon children can develop anxiety about their appearance.

Early years organisation PACEY is asking all those who look after children aged two to ten years to take part.

The results will be published later in the summer.

It is hoped they will help determine at what age children can start showing signs of concern about their body and where professionals believes this stems from. The questions also ask for details on how any anxiety around this can affect children’s emotional and mental wellbeing.

Guidance on how to help positive attitudes to body image will accompany the results.

Liz Bayram, chief executive of PACEY, said, ‘PACEY knows that anxieties about body image at a young age can have a huge impact in adulthood. We are working with Be Real (The Campaign for Body Confidence) to highlight the importance of the early years in establishing the foundations of body confidence – and that this isn’t simply an issue that affects older children.

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