Today many girls struggle with the issue of their body image leading to eating disorders including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. Girls are facing this issue very early on in their lives, it is starting to take over their entire life. “At the age of 6, girls are starting to show concern for their weight and 40-60% of elementary school girls are expressing their concern of being too fat” (Get The Facts On Eating Disorders). There are numerous reasons girls develop eating disorders including; mothers having concern about their own weight and their daughters weight, pressure from friends, self-esteem issues, and most importantly pressure from the media. The media portrays an “ideal” body, but in reality those women
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It is harder to track what your daughter is looking up on the Internet when they are older than it is when they are younger. This is why it is important to filter what they are watching on T.V. at a young age, before they get cell phones and body image becomes an issue. According to NEDA, “kids between the ages 8-18 are watching/reading some type of social media for 7.5 hours a day” (Media, Body Image, Eating Disorders). In today’s society, social media everywhere they go surrounds kids, persuading and altering the minds of theirs. Parents should watch T.V. with their daughters informing them the issues with the celebrities they see while watching. Deanne Jade states, “The media portrays the idea of having an ideal shape is the only factor that brings girls the feeling of being attractive, desirable, successful, and loveable, but is not possible without dangerous eating habits” (Deanne Jade). Celebrities illustrate the importance of their self-image being perfect. They go on diets that are harmful to their bodies, but show amazing results. Instead of reading articles on dieting, provide your daughter with magazines on healthy eating habits. Give them an average sized famous person to look up too and encourage them to not watch reality T.V. shows, exposing them to celebrity’s unhealthy lifestyles. Parents need to make it known to their daughters that famous peoples dieting tips are unrealistic and very harmful to their
It is harder to track what your daughter is looking up on the Internet when they are older than it is when they are younger. This is why it is important to filter what they are watching on T.V. at a young age, before they get cell phones and body image becomes an issue. According to NEDA, “kids between the ages 8-18 are watching/reading some type of social media for 7.5 hours a day” (Media, Body Image, Eating Disorders). In today’s society, social media everywhere they go surrounds kids, persuading and altering the minds of theirs. Parents should watch T.V. with their daughters informing them the issues with the celebrities they see while watching. Deanne Jade states, “The media portrays the idea of having an ideal shape is the only factor that brings girls the feeling of being attractive, desirable, successful, and loveable, but is not possible without dangerous eating habits” (Deanne Jade). Celebrities illustrate the importance of their self-image being perfect. They go on diets that are harmful to their bodies, but show amazing results. Instead of reading articles on dieting, provide your daughter with magazines on healthy eating habits. Give them an average sized famous person to look up too and encourage them to not watch reality T.V. shows, exposing them to celebrity’s unhealthy lifestyles. Parents need to make it known to their daughters that famous peoples dieting tips are unrealistic and very harmful to their