As Dove celebrates the 20-year anniversary of its Self-Esteem Project initiative, it’s partnering with the kids TV show Blippi to create content that will help “build body confidence” in preschoolers.
The skin care brand said that “self-esteem and body confidence are important for a child’s development, helping kids do better at school, at home, and with friends” and expressed concerns that its research has shown that “low body confidence is a growing issue with kids today.”
Dove highlighted that body image concerns start to manifest as early as four years old, with one in four girls aged between four and six years old saying that they disliked something about their appearance and one in three girls aged six years old saying they wanted to look thinner.
The beauty brand said that the pressure to look a certain way from a young age can lead to long-term anxiety and unrealistic beauty expectations.
“Almost half of young girls expect to worry more about their appearance as they get older,” it stated. “Over the past two decades, the Dove Self-Esteem Project has reached over 114 million young people in 153 countries with self-esteem and body confidence education.
In response, the Dove Self-Esteem Project has partnered with preschool TV show Blippi to provide “inclusive, upbeat content for kids to protect body confidence in kids as early as four years old and help empower caregivers to have conversations around this complex topic.”
Blippi will launch the new content focused on body confidence for young kids on Amazon and other streaming services, with additional episodes and exclusive music videos on Blippi’s YouTube channel in English and French.
“We needed to urgently intervene”
Chief growth officer at Dove, Marcela Melero, said: “We knew we needed to urgently intervene and extend our program to a younger audience to support a healthy and positive outlook on body image and protect the younger generation from experiencing low body confidence.”
She continued: “We want a future where young people feel empowered to confidently challenge beauty standards, advocate for themselves, and feel connected to and celebrate their bodies.”
Meanwhile VP for brand partnerships at Moonbug Entertainment, Dan’l Hewitt, said that partnering with Dove was “a dream come true and we are proud to help support Dove.”
“As children become aware of their appearance at an increasingly young age, it’s vital that we continue to offer positive, empowering messages that build self-confidence and a healthy body image,” he continued. “Together with Dove, we’re excited to create a world where kids feel empowered, confident, and ready to embrace who they are.”
