by Sterling Jones – September 13, 2026
Body Positivity During Puberty: A Guide for Tweens, Teens, and Parents
Your body is doing a lot right now. Growth spurts, new curves, skin that breaks out when it never used to, and a shape that looks different every few months. Some days that feels exciting. Other days it feels like your body changed without asking you first. Both of those feelings are normal. Neither one means something is wrong with you. At Scarlet by RedDrop, we believe body positivity during puberty is not about loving every single thing about your body every single day. It is about knowing your body is healthy, normal, and worth respecting, even on the days it feels unfamiliar. What's Actually Happening to Your Body Puberty does not happen on a schedule, and it does not happen to everyone the same way. You might get your period before your best friend does, or years after. Your growth spurt might hit your legs first, then the rest of you catches up months later. None of that is wrong. Bodies do not grow in a straight line. Along with the physical changes, your hormones are shifting too. Estrogen and progesterone, the hormones behind your period, also affect your mood, your sleep, your appetite, and how you feel about yourself on any given day. If you feel more emotional around certain times of your cycle, that is not you being dramatic. That is biology. It passes. Where the Pressure Comes From You are figuring out your changing body at the exact moment you are also becoming more aware of what other people expect bodies to look like. Social media, comments from classmates, even offhand things adults say about their own bodies, all of it adds up. You did not choose that pressure. It is fair to feel it anyway. Talking to a Parent About It If a parent or trusted adult brings this up, it helps to know they are figuring it out too. If they say something that lands wrong, awkward comments about how "grown up" you look, or comparisons that do not feel great, it is okay to tell them. Try something like: "I know you mean well, but can we talk about how my body works instead of how it looks?" Most parents want to get this right. They just need the actual ask. For the Parent Reading This With Them Your teen is listening to how you talk about bodies, including your own. A passing comment like "I feel so fat today" teaches more than any planned conversation will. The shift that helps most is talking about what bodies do instead of how they look: "Your body is strong enough to get through practice" lands differently than a comment about appearance ever could. Skip the appearance-based compliments too, even the well-meaning ones. "I love how confident you seem today" builds something a compliment about looks never will. You do not need to love everything about your own body to model something useful. Noticing what your body has carried you through, without a value judgment attached, teaches your teen that bodies change over a lifetime, and that is simply true, not something to fix. Small Things That Actually Help A body-neutral affirmation works better than a forced "I'm beautiful" that does not feel true yet. Something like "My body is growing exactly as it should" holds up better because it does not ask you to feel a certain way. It just states a fact. If mirrors feel like a lot some days, try picking one specific thing to notice instead of taking in the whole picture: strong legs, clear focus, a smile that shows up easily. The goal is not to force love for everything. It is just to notice something true. When It's More Than a Hard Day Most days of body frustration are just that: hard days that pass. But if you notice extreme food restriction, obsessive exercise, avoiding things you used to enjoy because of how your body looks, or persistent negative self-talk that does not let up, that is worth a conversation with a doctor, school counselor, or another trusted adult. Asking for support is not a bigger deal than it needs to be. It is just the right next step. The Real Point You are not required to love your body every single day to have a healthy relationship with it. Some days will feel confident. Others will not. Both are part of growing into a body that is still figuring itself out. Your worth was never about how well you accept the way you look. It was always about who you are, and that has not changed, even while everything else is. Sterling P. Jones is a wellness writer and beauty expert who believes in empowering women through education. As the founder of The Beauté Study, she teaches women how beauty and wellness practices can be tools of personal power. Sterling specializes in cycle-conscious living and writes about the intersection of beauty, wellness, and feminine health.
