Lisa Ling discusses new motherhood

By NICOLE EVATT

Associated Press

SANTA MONICA, Calif.

Lisa Ling is feeling unstoppable.

The only thing standing in her way at the moment is an elusive battery cover on a Fisher-Price mobile gym. Three screwdrivers later and she still can’t figure out how to insert the batteries.

But everything else in Ling’s zenlike home, a stone’s throw from the beach in Santa Monica, is perfectly in order — including Ling, who appears completely at ease with new motherhood. The 39-year-old journalist and husband Paul Song welcomed their first child March 8.

Q. Why did you decide to get involved with Dove’s “Let’s Make Girls Unstoppable” initiative?

A. This campaign in particular really struck a chord with me, given the fact that I just gave birth to a baby girl. And even before I had her, I started to get concerned about this world that she’s growing up in, the kinds of images, the kinds of role models that she will be exposed to and that she will have.

Q. Did you ever struggle with self-esteem issues?

A. I started working in TV quite young, and I definitely felt very insecure about what I looked like. ... My first job in TV was hosting this young teen magazine show, and all these high-schoolers showed up from all over Sacramento, Calif., and they chose four of us to host the show, two boys and two girls. And of the two girls, I was kind of the perky smart one and the other girl was the pretty one. It made me feel insecure, and I had to work though that.

Q. How do you plan to raise a confident daughter?

A. My husband, for example, with our daughter, he tells her every time he sees her, ‘you’re beautiful, you’re beautiful.’ He wants her to hear from the most important man in her life that she’s beautiful so she doesn’t have to seek validation anywhere else. ... I’m determined to shower her with as much love as I can and expose her to as much diversity as I can.

Q. You say you’re ready to get back on the road for your Oprah Winfrey Network series “Our America with Lisa Ling.” Was returning to work ever a question?

A. I’ve always known that I wanted to go back to work because I’m confident and I’m certain that my daughter will have a better mother in me if I’m doing the things that I’m excited about and that I’m passionate about.