health

There's one habit Sarah Harris wants to kick before having kids - and her husband's helping her do it.

Usually we’d roll our eyes at any man (well, anyone, really) who attempted to tell how a woman how she should or shouldn’t talk.

However, Sarah Harris says her husband Tom Ward discourages her from using certain language around the house — and we think he has the right idea.

RELATED: “What I say to my daughter when she asks me if she looks fat.”

“At home if I start using derogatory language about myself, whether I’m having a fat day or feel disgusting, Tom will pick me up on it and say, ‘Don’t use that sort of language’, because we don’t want to use that language around our kids when we have them,” Harris says, appearing on News.com.au‘s ‘On the Couch’ series.

Sarah Harris announced her pregnancy on Studio 10 last week

 

The Studio 10 co-host married Ward, her boyfriend of five years, last July. Now, she's pregnant with their first child, and it seems the issues of body image, confidence and positive talk are weighing on her mind now more than ever.

Harris says the maintenance and focus on image that comes with being a female TV personality is "awful".

“It’s constantly holding up a mirror and looking at yourself. It’s so narcissistic and can make you feel really insecure,’’ the 33-year-old tells reporter Melissa Hoyer.

RELATED: "My daughter asked me why I wear makeup. This is what I said."

“It’s one of those things, you have to start with change but you want to impress people with what comes out of your mouth and what is in your head, rather than the size of your bum." (Post continues after gallery.)

ADVERTISEMENT

Harris won't be the only mother consciously using body-positive language around her future child. Kate Winslet has said she talks "solely positive" about her body in front of her daughter, Mia, because children "orientate towards examples".

"As a child, I never heard one woman say to me, 'I love my body'. Not my mother, my elder sister, my best friend. No one woman has ever said, 'I am so proud of my body'," the actress explained.

RELATED: This mum is learning to love her post-baby body in a truly unexpected way.

"So I make sure to say it to Mia, because a positive physical outlook has to start at an early age."

Kate Winslet only says positive things about her body around her daughter.

 

Research suggests a mother's feelings about her body and appearance can significantly influence her daughter's. For instance, a 2007 study of 91 mother-daughter pairs found the daughters' body image were affected by their mums' attitudes regarding weight and eating habits.

So we reckon Harris and Winslet are onto a very good thing here. That's not to say it's easy to self-censor and adjust your language; negative thoughts and comments have a tendency to just announce themselves sometimes.

RELATED: Lena Dunham says exercise has helped her anxiety "in ways I never dreamed possible".

In her 'On the Couch' interview, Harris also talks about the positive impact exercise has on her wellbeing.

“Every day is a struggle for me to get up and do some exercise so I can feel better about myself. Lena Dunham is using this new phrase: ‘It’s not about the ass it’s about the brain.’ It’s so true — you should exercise for your mental health," she says. (Post continues after video.)

ADVERTISEMENT

The journalist also admits her off-screen life is a little less glamorous, high-excitement or even "together" than her Instagram posts might suggest. "We present these polished, picture perfect lives to people and it’s not true," Harris explains.

RELATED: Ricki Lee addresses her body critics: "A lot of people still hate on me for changing."

"I am like everyone else, I am trying to keep all the balls in the air. I’m not putting up [photos of] me sitting on the couch watching Law & Order, eating grated cheese out of the bag because that is pretty much what I am doing most days."

Just quietly, we think crime shows on the couch with a side of grated cheese sounds pretty great. Can we join you next time, Sarah?

Do you have children? How do you speak about your body when they're around?

ADVERTISEMENT