According to Healthyplace.com, "An estimated 5- to 10-million females and 1-million males are battling an eating disorder in the U.S. Eighty-seven percent of the estimated with eating disorders are younger than 20."
In my GirlSpire classes I have an activity that I like to have all the girls do on the first day. They get up on the microphone and introduce themselves to the group - they say their name, one great thing about themselves, they share an embarrassing story, and then it's open mic! I'm always surprised at what they say... I had a girl a few months back who said "I'm 8, and I think I might have an eating disorder"
What??? Did I hear that right? I thought to myself... YOU'RE 8!
As it turns out, it doesn't matter how old our daughters are - an eating disorder can strike at any age.
Among all the pressures our daughters feel while growing up, there is one we can control... and that is ourselves. How many times have we looked at ourselves in the mirror and thought "I look terrible today, or I need to lose some weight"?? We may not think our girls pick up on these feelings, but they do. We model our insecurities for our them to see, and that is not healthy for any of us.
Next time you find yourself in the mirror, decide what you want to model! Instead of noticing the negative, make an effort to compliment yourself... it might go further than you think.
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1 comments:
I do think parents are modeling dieting behavior not realizing their little ones are looking at them at wanting to do the same. I am aware that my fear of spiders and snakes will rub off onto my son, and I try my very hardest to not let it affect him, but most parents just don't understand that they copy what they see. You are doing such good with this!!
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