My One-of-a-Kind Body
Lessons on Body Confidence and Care For CHILDREN AGES 7 to 12
Lessons on Body Confidence and Care
My One-of-a-Kind Body is kid-friendly guide to body confidence and self-care for children ages 7 to 12. These lessons were created for elementary school classrooms, but can be used at home, too! There are links to the My One-of-a-Kind Body guidebook, accompanying videos, lesson plans, and worksheets below.
Elementary school is a time when body awareness intensifies, social comparison increases, and early puberty-related changes begin. My One-of-a-Kind Body teaches young children how to care for their body in harmony with what research knows about fostering body confidence and age appropriate self-care.
Background, Inclusivity & Expertise
Today’s children encounter harmful body image messages earlier than ever before. My One-of-a-Kind Body was created to offer kids a grounded, practical, and compassionate way to understand and care for their bodies at a time when they need it most.
The lessons are designed for all kids. It is explicitly inclusive of children with a wide range of experiences and identities, including neurodivergent children, children with physical disabilities or chronic health conditions, children from diverse racial and cultural backgrounds, and children of all body sizes and gender identities. Representation matters throughout — in the characters, the foods, the movement options, and the language used
Written by Dr. Whitney Casares, MD, MPH, FAAP — a board-certified pediatrician, public health expert, and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) spokesperson — the curriculum is published by the AAP and built on evidence-based guidance across nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and mental health. Every lesson is designed around the proven insight that children who develop body literacy — the knowledge, skills, and self-compassion to understand and care for their own bodies — build more lasting healthy habits than those who receive appearance-focused messages alone.
My One of a Kind Body Lessons – 8 Lessons
The My One-of-a-Kind Body lessons pairs the book with eight video episodes created by Dr. Casares in collaboration with the American School Health Association. It has eight structured lesson plans, and a full set of student worksheets. Each lesson follows the same engaging format: watch a video episode, read from the book, work through interactive worksheets, complete a creative activity, and share with peers. The lessons progressively build on each other across physical health, emotional wellbeing, and social skills.
Lesson 1: Natalia Needs a Friend:
Body confidence messaging and recognizing the body-related messages children already receive
Lesson 2: My Amazing Body:
Body appreciation, body facts, and becoming a body positivity advocate
Lesson 3: Taking Care of My Body:
Sleep, hydration, hygiene, and building self-care habits with kindness
Lesson 4: Body Types, Body Size & Body Bullying:
Distinguishing teasing from bullying, and building the skills to stand up for themselves and others
Lesson 5: Fueling My Body:
Nutrition as fuel, emotional eating, superfoods, and celebrating foods from diverse cultures
Lesson 6: Moving My Body:
Finding joyful, individualized movement; exercise safety; avoiding over-training
Lesson 7: I Am What I Watch:
Media literacy, filtered images, influencer culture, and healthy screen habits
Lesson 8: My Mental Health Matters:
The 7 C’s resilience framework, mindful self-compassion, and body autonomy
What the Lessons Cover
The eight lessons address six interconnected areas:
Body Literacy & Self-Understanding:
Children learn how their bodies work, how they change, and why that’s something to appreciate rather than fear.
Nutrition & Movement
Food is framed as fuel instead of a weight-control tool. Movement is joyful and inclusive, with options for every body and ability level. Cultural food traditions are celebrated throughout.
Self-Compassion & Self-Esteem:
Structured activities help children practice self-kindness, recognize that struggle is shared, and develop a mindful awareness of how they talk to themselves about their bodies.
Media Literacy
Children learn to critically evaluate the images and messages they consume online, and to understand the difference between real and filtered bodies.
Mental Health & Resilience:
The 7 C’s framework (Competence, Confidence, Connection, Character, Contribution, Coping, and Control) gives children concrete tools for managing stress, big feelings, and social pressure.
Inclusive Body Image:
Every lesson actively challenges beauty ideals rooted in racism and ableism, affirms that health looks different in every body, and celebrates diversity in food, movement, family, and identity.
Body Confident Schools Training for My One-of-a-Kind Body
Watch BE REAL’s Body Confident Schools presentation for the adults in young people’s lives. Presented by Denise Hamburger, Executive Director of Be Real USA, the training is a version of a presentation she has given to over 10,000 teachers and parents about how and why body image lessons are so necessary in today’s culture.
Denise gives advice on helpful and unhelpful things to do and say in homes and schools to foster body confidence. It is based on what the research has learned about body image and eating disorder prevention in the last quarter century. This presentation helps to shift people out of “diet culture” beliefs into what research knows is helpful for young people to grow up confident in their bodies.
My One-of-a-Kind Body Materials
The lessons include the My One of a Kind Body Guide, Lesson Plans, Worksheets, and Videos. You can buy the book on Amazon or the American Academy of Pediatrics website. You can download the Lesson Plans and Worksheets with the blue button below. You can watch the 8 videos with the orange buttons below.
