Training and tips
“Success comes from preparation!”
Tips for Leaders
Here are some tips from the Free Being Me team to help you prepare.
“Get yourself ready first”
Body confidence issues are not only a problem for children and young people. Give yourself time to prepare yourself for the activities you’re about to run. It’s really important that you are a positive influence on the participants, but to be able to do this, you’ll need a support network. Get together with other leaders or peer educators beforehand and support each other!
“Involve parents/carers”
There’s a letter template in the Leader Guide to help. The more that girls and boys talk about their Free Being Me experience, the bigger its impact will be. Encouraging families to keep the conversations going at home will make a big difference – and participants will spread the Free Being Me message too!
“Follow the activities step by step”
The activities are all written with the input of body confidence experts, who have seen activities like these make a real and lasting difference to girls’ body confidence. The suggested order and length of the activities are there to give them as much impact as possible, so try and follow the order as best you can, giving time between sessions.
“Put girls (and boys) in the lead”
Give the participants the freedom to define the Image Myth the way they want, come up with their own creative ideas, and put together their own Take Action project; supporting them with further ideas and suggestions to help them on their way. This makes the activities more personal and meaningful, helping the Free Being Me message to stay with participants for a long time afterwards.