Sheinelle Jones hopes her kids will love themselves unconditionally.
During the Today show’s third hour with her co-host Jenna Bush Hager, Jones shared the importance of positive body image.
“You know how you look in the mirror, and you go, ‘Ugh, I feel so fat today’? Or ‘Oh, my cheeks!’” Sheinelle asked Hager. “Our daughters—and guys, boys too—are listening and watching.”
“I noticed that she takes on a lot of my mannerisms,” she added about her daughter, Clara. “We even dress the same, or we wear headbands. And so it goes to show even when you’re not saying it, they’re watching our behavior.”
“The way I want her to live is how I’m trying to live, right?” Sheinelle shared. “So I don’t want to look in the mirror and disparage the body that’s kept me healthy.”
Both Jones and Hager take inspiration from Tracee Ellis Ross, “who has spoken about being a ‘chooser’ in her love life, instead of the notion of ‘waiting to be saved,” such as in fairytales. “
Hager said that the earlier we start with our children, the better they’ll be.
“I have told my girls that,” she explained. Because what it does is it empowers women to think about what they want, in everything, not just in romantic relationships. ‘This is up to you. You’re the chooser.’”
JONES CELEBRATED HER TWINS’ 14TH BIRTHDAY
Recently. Jones honored her twins on their 14th birthday, sharing a sweet tribute to Clara and Uche.
“14 years ago today … our lives were forever changed. A two-for-one special!” she wrote on Instagram carousel. The photos featured her and her late husband, Uche, with their kids.
“In this second picture … I remember placing the twins at the foot of my hospital bed… staring at them in awe … in their little onesies. In the 5th picture, my husband had native wear made for their baby dedication at church; in the 9th pic… I remember their preschool graduation just like it was yesterday.”