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Home > Blogs > Get on the Bus > Archives > 2005 > November > 15 > Entry
Girls and body image
We finally hit bottom with the Halloween candy this weekend. My wife told the kids that she was taking any candy still left on Monday with her to work.
The unanticipated effect was this — my seven-year-old somehow wolfed down half a bowl of candy over the course of the day rather than give it all up. When we figured this out I made a few cracks that she would be five pounds fatter by morning and that I could see her butt growing as we spoke. These were good natured cracks and we were all laughing.
But later my wife happened to be studying for a class and read me something that made me think twice about making these kinds of jokes to my daughters, even in good fun.
She is taking a class in childhood behavioral disorders and her textbook has some disturbing statistics about girls and body image. Quoting a 1992 study:
—31 percent of nine-year-old girls reported a fear of fatness
—46 percent of nine-year-olds reported restrained eating or dieting
—At age 10, 55 percent reported a fear of fatness
—81 percent of 10-year-olds reported restrained eating or dieting
The study surveyed girls age 9 to 19. It found distorted body image peaked at age 11. At that age, 58 percent of girls surveyed believed they were overweight when only 15 percent actually were.
With three daughters, I am especially sensitive to this issue. Any advice for what steps to take or not take to help ensure young girls develop a healthy body image?
Permalink | Comments (6) | Categories: Young Children
Comments
By Muriel
November 15, 2005 11:31 PM | Link to this
What can you do? Make sure that even “good-natured” ribbing isn’t centered on a child’s appearance. When a child is told by their parents the same thing that the kids on the playground are probably saying (we know that this is happening if your child looks like something other than a Barbie doll — and yes, even at that age), it makes it seem as though — whether the child is obese or not — the other kids are right in their jokes and name-calling. And that those kids have every right to do so. This doesn’t just focus on weight, anything that could be picked on by a peer should not be fair game for a parent. So your kid has an exceptionally large forehead — you can bet that JoeShmoe in her class has made fun of her for it already. What you see as good natured and just kidding around the child can take in a heartbeat as you not understanding and being just as cruel as his/her peers. Even when they get a bit older and claim not to care what mom/dad think, they still want their parents’ approval and love. Even joking like that reinforces the disrespect shown by others.By Mary
November 15, 2005 9:08 PM | Link to this
While unconditional love from parents is important on the image issue, that is only part of the solution. “Knowledge is power” and children should also be taught by parents to question societal values and take charge of their health.By susan
November 15, 2005 3:32 PM | Link to this
the culture as a whole tends to evaluate women more on appearance than their other qualities. Even when talking about children we might say ‘he’s so smart’ about a little boy but a girl is so pretty. value is found in appearance rather than capability. since feminism has become less influential, women are now told that sexuality is a source of power, further encouraging girls’ interest in displaying their bodies. The preferred body type is thin so … emphasizing capabilities is a great place to focus which encourages active roles, not solely passive ‘look good’ value. it’s also a natural avenue to life-style choices that keep girls healthy … exercise and athletics are a great way for young women to feel good about themselves. finally, there is a very good book about these cultural, ‘Reviving Ophelia’ by Mary Pipher. Pipher reinforces what we may intuitively recognize: pop culture is what it is. what saves girls from the punishing judgement of the culture is the loving relationships of family and friends. MandyMo is right … it’s unconditional love.By Patty
November 15, 2005 3:29 PM | Link to this
I agree with MandyMo. Unfortunately, between TV and magazines, our daughters have such a distorted view of what they should really look like. I have 19 and 17-year-old daughters and they both think they are “fat,” which is just totally insane. Just keep telling them that you love them no matter what and they are NOT fat. Unfortunately, I think it’s an uphill battle, but don’t give up the fight.By MandyMo
November 15, 2005 2:00 PM | Link to this
At just over 100lbs, the cry of “I’m soooo fat” can be heard far & wide coming from my 12-year-old daughter’s room. She’s not at all fat, but media and our culture have distorted the female figure so much that having an anorexic figure is revered. As parents we’ve tried to ensure that we eat relatively healthy, balanced meals at home and do everything we can to promote healthy self-esteem. I’d like to chuck our TV out the window & burn fashion magazines by the truckload, because I have a hard time undoing the damage done in school & society in general. But as a parent, the only thing you can do and control is make sure your kids know you love them unconditionally.By Mary
November 15, 2005 1:00 PM | Link to this
You can help your children maintain a healthy body image by overhauling our culture, our medical system, and our food supply. In other words it’s an uphill battle. I try to stay focussed on health, not image. If parents would, then maybe children will follow. Problem is, from a personal perspective, there is questionable knowledge on how to even be healthy with so many fad diets. Time stressed lifestyles make for bad and expensive eating. I go for the “Eat Right for your Type” diet theory based on blood type because it at least acknoweledges differing genetics on what is good and healthy for the individual. My kids know about this theory, follow it to a degree themselves and know I go to a lot of trouble to eat fresh and organic.