Although both children and adults responded positively to the film, adults did so to a much higher degree than children. This is encouraging as it means that the adults can continue to reinforce the positive messaging from the film in the home in ongoing ways. For example, one of the adults who saw the film said: “I felt motivated to accept myself as I am, I felt empathy for the rest of the people that are living in this world, more importantly I feel that I have to be careful about what I talk about in front of my boy.” In terms of the impact on young people, kids said things like this after watching the film: “I think that it was a very interesting film and will help viewers of all ages all around the world be kinder, more aware and more understanding.”
After watching the film, the majority (87.3%) of children agreed/strongly agreed to spread kindness on social media, and 89.1% agreed that they intended to ‘accept themselves as they are’. These findings indicate that young people have intentions to be kind to themselves and others, particularly on social media, which is critical for ensuring positive body image, mental health and wellbeing.
So what does that mean?
These findings point to EMBRACE KIDS being a safe, effective body image resource that can be used to help young people–and grown ups too! As researchers who are interested in helping people around the world at scale, we get pretty excited about the fact that this resource seems to be effective, especially because the film is easy to access, easy to deliver and engaging for young people. Here’s what this could mean for you…
At home: Parents, you might like to cosy up with the family for an EMBRACE KIDS movie night at home. This presents an opportunity to start conversations and instil values about positive body image that your kids will carry with them for the rest of their lives. Recommended for 9+ year olds, watching the film together can be the catalyst of many conversations to come. You can access EMBRACE KIDS on Apple TV, Prime Video and YouTube.
In schools and community groups: Although our research has confirmed the benefits of EMBRACE KIDS for young people at an individual level, there is likely to be even more benefit from young people watching this film in their peer or community groups. One of the key messages in the film is that we need to celebrate diversity, and this is reinforced by storytelling that builds empathy for young people who have been teased about who they are, what they do and how they look. Watching EMBRACE KIDS as a group may reduce the amount of teasing and body shaming, and improve inclusion, which can lead to longer term positive impact.
To enquire about obtaining a screening license to show the film in group settings, please email hello@theembracecollective.org
Where to from here?
Watching EMBRACE KIDS is a simple step that you can take to promote better body image among the young people you care for, and the communities in which they live, learn and play. As Taryn Brumfitt, co-founder of The Embrace Collective and director of EMBRACE KIDS says, “This is about giving children the tools to love and appreciate themselves, exactly as they are.”
Thank you to Breakthrough Mental Health Research Foundation for supporting this trial.
