Parents who can‘t help but tell their children they are beautiful may actually be harming their confidence， according to women’s minister Jo Swinson.

The senior Lib Dem warned mothers and fathers who repeatedly praise the looks of their child could be fuelling insecurities about their looks.

Ms Swinson says seemingly innocuous comments about the hair， looks or outfit of one of their children could be reinforcing the negative message that looks are the most important thing in life.

The 33-year-old， who does not have any children， said mothers should also be wary of moaning or boasting about their looks in front of their children for the same reason.

Instead， Ms Swinson MP for East Dunbartonshire， said parents should

praise their children‘s intelligence and other positive attributes to help them succeed in life.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph， the Liberal Democrat said： ‘I know as an aunt， you fall into the trap of turning to your neice and saying， “you look beautiful” - because of course all children do look beautiful - but if the message they get is that is what is important and that is what gets the most praise， then that’s necessarily the most positive message you want them to hear.‘

She added that instead praising them for skills like an ability to do a jigsaw， or positively commenting on their inquisitive nature was a healthier way to bolster their self-esteem.

She was speaking ahead of the launch of the Government‘s campaign on body confidence. She quoted statistics that show a quarter of all children aged 10 to 15 are unahppy about their appearance， while more than 70 per cent of girls feel that there is too much of a focus on the attractiveness of female celebrities.’

She added： ‘It’s not like saying looks don‘t matter at all. If you’re going for an interview， you will dress smartly and look the part， that is absolutely fine， but its just the level to which this becomes the ultimate focus of everything.‘

She added that when children see their parents bemoaning their weight or asking their children‘s opinion on their appearance it teaches them that appearance is disproportionately important.

據(jù)英國(guó)《每日郵報(bào)》5月28日?qǐng)?bào)道，英國(guó)女議員喬·斯文森稱，父母一味夸贊孩子長(zhǎng)得漂亮可能在傷害孩子們的自信心。

她說(shuō)，那些關(guān)于頭發(fā)、長(zhǎng)相或者穿著的貌似無(wú)關(guān)痛癢的評(píng)論，可能在給孩子強(qiáng)調(diào)一種負(fù)面信息，即長(zhǎng)相是一生中最重要的東西。

她還說(shuō)，媽媽們也應(yīng)該小心點(diǎn)，少當(dāng)著孩子的面抱怨或者炫耀自己的長(zhǎng)相。相反，父母應(yīng)當(dāng)表?yè)P(yáng)孩子的聰明或其他一些積極的有助于孩子成功的品質(zhì)。比如，贊揚(yáng)孩子們玩拼圖的能力，或者對(duì)他們的好奇心給予積極評(píng)價(jià)。這些都是增強(qiáng)孩子自尊心的好方式。

數(shù)據(jù)顯示，10到15歲的孩子中，四分之一對(duì)自己的長(zhǎng)相不滿意，而超過(guò)70%的女孩認(rèn)為對(duì)女明星的外表關(guān)注過(guò)多。

喬·斯文森補(bǔ)充說(shuō)：“長(zhǎng)相并不是不重要。比如你接受采訪，得穿得漂亮點(diǎn)，看上去要得體，這當(dāng)然好，但是要有度，長(zhǎng)相不能成為唯一的關(guān)注點(diǎn)?！?/p>