Helping Families Thrive posted this information about how many girls develop a desire to be thinner by age 6. This is super sad and unnecessary and obviously leading to body image issues for girls and woman. Here’s the info and what we can do about it:
“As moms of young girls, we understand the worry that many parents have about how to help create healthy eating habits and body image. We also know we will have to combat the messages our girls will eventually hear about beauty, eating, and thinness.
Research shows that this work has to start even earlier than many of us realize. Several studies have found that girls begin to desire a thinner body than what they currently have starting at age 6! A study by Lowes and Tiggeman (2003) found that girls’ body dissatisfaction is associated with how girls perceived their mom’s body dissatisfaction. This means that if girls felt their mom didn’t like her own body, they were less likely to like their body, and vice versa. (Note: this doesn’t mean if your daughter has body dissatisfaction it’s all your fault.) This same study showed that girls reported that their parents were more controlling of their eating behaviors compared to boys. Other shown a strong connection between media and body dissatisfaction. Girls who watch TV shows with an appearance emphasis are less satisfied with their appearance (Dohnt & Tiggemann, 2006).
So what can we do?
Comment on non-appearance related things more than appearance.
Be aware of your own diet and body talk!
Talk about what your and your child’s body can do rather than what it looks like.
Ensure you children’s books and TV shows depict a variety of body shapes and sizes.”
Source: Helping Families Thrive
What we also need to remember is that boys start talking about wanting to build up their muscles at a similar age. Bigorexia is a body image based eating disorder too, and one that disproportionately applies to males; so it’s NOT just about how people talk to girls, or images available to girls. Muscle worship is drummed into male children from a very young age, with similar effects. This needs to be remembered, and it needs to be addressed, because it isn’t just young girls who are vulnerable to negative body image. Far from it.