A powerful video exploring the impact a mother's words can have on her daughter's self esteem has prompted an online discussion about whether we are always aware of the impact our words have on our children.
The video opens with a girl handing her mother a letter, which begins:
"Mama says you're a pretty girl.
"You're my angel, my baby, my star, my world.
"But if this is true mama, if this is fact, then why do you say such hurtful comments to me? How can you do me like that?"
The girl then lists the hurtful comments her mother has made to her about her body, weight and the the way she dresses, including:
"If you leave my house looking like that everyone will think you're just another loose girl."
The video, which was made by BuzzFeed, ends with the message:
"Women need to learn to live in harmony.
"Divide and conquer that's how they keep us down, that's how they hold us back.
"They make you feel shameful about the skin that you're in and make sure you pass it on to the next of kin, but that's got to stop mamma, we can't be about that life any more."
Posted on YouTube on 30 May with the caption "I need you to have my back", the video soon started attracting comments from moved viewers.
"This hit me right to the heart," wrote one.
Others added that the clip touched on their fears about becoming a parent:
"I'm scared that one day when I become a mum, what if I'm one of these mums," wrote another commenter.
"My mum supports me and calls me beautiful but what if I shame and criticise? That scares me."
And the video didn't only resonate with women, with one man requesting: "Could you do a male (dad and son) version of this please?"
