Why do teenage girls have such an obsession with their body image? And why does this obsession carry mostly a negative thought about themselves? Ashley has been obsessed with her body image lately and it is driving me crazy. She has been telling me about "flaws" she sees about her body, which of course do not exist. I don't know how she wants her body to be, but I think she already has the perfect body. I know I'm biased, but she has great muscle tone and a beautiful shape to her body. Why can't she see this?
Jason found a website that charts childrens growth, height, weight and BMI (body mass index). We input her information, and according to her age she is in the 75% for height and weight, and well below the range of being overweight. We showed her this information and she still thinks she is too big, compared to other girls she knows. I can't stand that she is constantly comparing herself to other girls. Why can't she be happy with herself? Does she really want to be a stick figure?
Ashley is a dancer and is pretty muscular. She has this amazing muscle tone to the back of her legs. I wish my legs looked like that! She is also pretty tall for her age and is nowhere close to being done growing. She is taller than most of the girls she knows. She's 13 years old and almost 5'5! How can she even begin to compare herself to them, but you can't tell a teenager that and expect them to accept it! I know all her friends would tell her she's beautiful and tall and skinny, but she just can't seem to tell herself that.
She doesn't eat bad either. Since I've been eating healthier, everyone in the family eats healthier. I make the kids lunches for school everyday and they eat plenty healthy. We don't keep a lot of junk food in the house so there are not bad things for them to eat all the time. We have some chips, cookies and ice cream, but those are always eaten in moderation. I told her if she really does feel that way about her body than she can cut those things out. Her response was "no way!" I told her, "Exactly! There is nothing wrong with the way you eat. There is nothing wrong with your body. There is no reason to change any of it." I'm wondering when she will actually start believing it...
By-the-way, here's that website. It's got some interesting resources for parents during all stages of kids' lives.
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