Yesterday I went live with Anna Maltby of the fabulous, body-neutral fitness Substack, How to Move.
We talked about movement, exercise, and body image—and how to bring body-positive values and vibes into how we move through all of it with our kids. We explored how to approach conversations about movement in ways that center embodiment and well-being, while strengthening the protective factors that shield against body shame and inevitable cultural messaging.
Today’s post is free, and I’m sharing a few of Anna’s beautifully distilled takeaways from our recent conversation down below.
But first—an exciting announcement for those looking to take this work deeper and receive personalized support in a small, supportive group setting:
✨ Our Bodies / Their Bodies: Group Coaching for Parents
If the complexities of raising body-confident kids resonate with you, I’d love to invite you to Our Bodies / Their Bodies—my small group coaching program for parents that’s been going strong for over a year.
This fall, we’ll go even deeper. I’ll be teaching the 10 Core Beliefs of a Body-Positive Home (formerly 8)—my signature framework for weaving eating disorder prevention into how you live, parent, and relate to food and bodies at home.
Each session offers practical guidance, real talk, and compassionate support to help you put these beliefs into action.
You’ll also have space to bring your own questions and connect around all the big (and small) issues—feeding, movement, inclusive healthcare, body talk, and what it means to raise a child in an appearance obsessed culture.
✨ Details:
🗓️ Wednesdays, 12–1pm EST: Sept 10 & 24 · Oct 8 & 22 · Nov 5 & 19 · Dec 3 & 17
👥 Small group (max 8)
💛 $600 for the full 8-part series (payment plans available)
🎉 Paid Substack subscribers get 15% off
This group is for any parent ready to break the cycle of food and body shame—and nurture children (and inner children) who feel at home in their bodies.
👉 Apply here to reserve your spot
Have a question? Feel free to send me a message.
Anna’s key takeaways from our conversation:
Movement for appearance does not improve body image:
“Any effort to exercise as a means of shaping the way you look... that will not help your body image. … Body image is here [gestures to head]. It’s actually not something we can improve by the way we physically look.”
Modeling movement to our kids is powerful, but the approach matters:
“If we’re modeling movement in a non-disordered, non-diet culture-y way, we’re doing a lot of very positive things... Provided that we’re not overly identified—my worth is measured by how fit I am—as opposed to ‘I’m passionate about my career as a fitness instructor.’”
Framing movement around function helps kids (and adults too!):
“The function of the body... speaks to that embodiment piece: ‘I have a body, I live in it.’... This has nothing to do with what it looks like.”
A helpful way to encourage activity is by asking kids what kinds of movement they enjoy:
“My favorite question to ask kids: ‘What’s your favorite way to move your body?’ And make it clear there’s no right or wrong... climbing monkey bars is just as valid as running or stretching.”
Using family values to encourage movement without singling out a child:
“As a family, we move together. That’s just what we do. It’s not about you and your body. This is just what we do as a family.”
Social media literacy starts at home, casually and early:
“Hopefully [kids] feel this cognitive dissonance: ‘The world says this, but at home—which is a place I trust—we do it differently.’... We talk about things like steroid use casually. Like, ‘Wow, you can’t trust anything you see on social media.’”
If you’re looking for a truly safe, body-positive, values-aligned space to explore your own movement, I highly recommend Anna Maltby How to Move. It’s so much more than a newsletter—it’s a full resource hub, complete with on-demand workouts, thoughtful reflections, and genuinely supportive guidance for ways to reconnect with movement on your own terms.
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