Enough. Beauty on the Inside = Beauty on the Outside

Today was school picture day for my kids. So, on top of the normal getting ready tasks, I took the time out to beautify my two older daughters. (Yes, there have been rare occasions when I notice them walking out of the front door with their hair looking less than brushed. Shameful since as a trade I am a hairstylist!)

As I was doing my youngest daughter's hair, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, it is such a good thing that we have a hairstylist for a mother! Because you know what to do!"

She is only 7 years old and already, she is talking about how important it is to look on the outside. I have the tools and techniques to make her beautiful. The fact is, she really is my fashion diva. To say she loves the way she looks is just touching the surface. I often times find her staring at herself in the mirror full of admiration.

My oldest daughter also commented on her looks as I was doing her hair. Now I didn't do anything fancy. I just straightened it so it looked neat and presentable. A far cry from what it looked like this morning after waking up with a bad case of bed head!

I am happy my daughters love the way they look, and even though I may be biased, I believe these two girls to be some of the most beautiful little people I have ever met! Yet, I also want them to realize that beauty radiates from the inside.

My daughters are getting to the age where they start looking at their outside looks. As a woman who has constantly struggled with my own self-image, I want to make sure they are on the right track. This is were the Enough. campaign has stepped in. I already knew the media was a big part of the problem for women loving who they are. So as a responsible parent, I want to teach my daughters what is right.

I want my daughters to know they are beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. That it doesn't matter if they are skinny or fat or whether their hair is curly or straight. I want them to love themselves for who they are. After all, they are starting to enter a very important time frame. A place when they start judging how they look on the outside, instead of what is truly important. The beauty on the inside.

Life Lessons

I know I am teaching my kids the right lessons just based off of our conversations. The other day, my daughter was talking about how her friend was getting teased at school. Her friend had been sick for a few days and when she came back, she had a fever blister on her lip. The other kids at school teased her about it and really made her feel self-conscious about how she looked. But my daughter told me not only did she stick up for her friend, but she also reassured her she was just as beautiful as she was the day before and will continue to be tomorrow.

My daughter is only 10 years old, and I found not only did this melt my heart, but it also showed how truly mature my daughter is for such a young age. She stuck up for her friend. And she also realizes beauty on the outside is only skin deep. It is what is on the inside that truly counts! Now that is a lesson some adults have yet to even learn!

Have you had Enough.

I stand by this campaign because I truly believe it is important. As adults, we too need to learn this lesson of standing up and loving ourselves for all of our imperfections. But mostly, if we learn this lesson, we can also teach it to our children. What does that mean? Our children will grow up stronger. They will learn to love themselves. And who knows, if we all learn to love ourselves a little more, it might even make it harder for bullies to attack us for our imperfections.

So I invite you to join us as we all stand up together and say Enough. They even have their very own Facebook Page so you can get in on all the action and show your support.

Together we can make a big difference. After all, one person standing in the middle of the room might be difficult to hear, but if we all start shouting together, we WILL be noticed! Are you ready to take the stand with us?